PS Audio Duet saves the day


I want to share a recent experience I had with a PS Audio Duet Power Center. Let me say up front that I have no affiliation of any type with PS Audio.

I am using a Duet as an initial line of protection from the wall (PS Power Port) and then into a PS Power Plant Premier. As a rule, all of my components are plugged into the PPP. Recently, however, I have been experimenting and have plugged my amps directly into the Duet. The Duet and PPP are left powered on 24/7 unless there is a threat of thunderstorms. In that case I power down and unplug the Duet from the wall.

One morning last week I went to turn on my tuner and found that the Duet and PPP were both off. I presumed a breaker had been tripped, but soon discovered that was not the case. After a little experimentation, the Duet was isolated as the problem. It would not power up. There had been no storm and no loss of power since I used the system the previous day. In fact I have another Duet powering my home theater set up (in a different part of the house). That one was fine – everything working.
I contacted PS Audio and they diagnosed the problem as a burned out power cartridge with the likely culprit being a power spike or surge. They quickly sent me a replacement cartridge and provided instructions as to how to make the swap. When I removed the old cartridge, it was clear that it had been fried as evidenced by the strong smell of electrical burning.

The new cartridge is now in and all is working as before. I am very thankful that the Duet was there standing guard as it likely saved my Wavac amps from damage. The Duet is a very reasonably priced product that can clearly provide great value with no sonic detriment in my system. Further, it is backed up by outstanding customer service.
frankm1
Dweller, it doesn't need to "burn out" to work. I've seen mine cut out during surges and come back on after you push the button to reset it. What's more, the PS units seem to act instantly to protect your gear where many other units do not.

The cartridge system they use prevents catastrophic failure to both the Duet and to the equipment plugged into it. I think it's a good set up... and I'm very picky.
Turns me off that you have to "send away" for a replacement part to restore functionality.
I've been using an Adcom ACE515 for over 20 years and it's still going strong.
I've heard the protection circuit trip many times (lightning, etc.) and it always bounces back.
Why does the PS Audio product need to burn-out to work?