I've had the multiwave upgrade in my PP-300 for 8 days. A definite improvement, especially in soundstage width & depth. |
audiomark...did you put it in yourself or have the psaudio people do it.? if you did it,how hard was it? thanks |
In my own system with Quad 63s (AC powered), it was a bigger jump than installing the original PP300. Quieter, more depth, and more 'harmonic integrity'- fuller sounding, but quicker on attacks and decays. Extremely happy with it! Your own mileage may vary......... Installation is a snap, almost literally. One board and a chip. It takes longer to read the comprehensive instructions than to do it! About 10-15 minutes total. |
Tsouthworth and audiomark, I am interested in doing the upgrade as well. Please tell us how much the upgrade is. Thanks guys. |
I agree, the installation was very easy, just follow the instructions and you should be done in aprox.15 minutes. The price of the upgrade is $250 if either you or P.S. Audio does the upgrade. |
Does the new P300 come with the upgrade? Thanks Richard |
I am considering the multiwave upgrade kit and have read a couple of posts at Audio Asylum that claims that the Multiwave upgrade causes the Power Plants to run hotter.I know about the possibility of an internal or external fan and do not care to resort to that as of now.Any feedback on this is appreciated.Turning the Power Plants upside down will make them run cooler as well as cause them to look ridiculous and totally unacceptable.To Richard : New Power Plants will come with the Multiwave for $250.extra. |
I own the P300 myself & must admit am extremely pleased with it. One thing that bothers me though, is when a manufacturer who has a relatively new product is already upgrading it. In addition, the multiwave may offer great sonic improvements (I don't know because I haven't heard the upgrade yet), but $250.00 for a board & chip that I put in myself??? Sorry...but that's truly a RIP!!! I mean the whole unit only cost $995.00, so $250.00 for a board & chip. Come on PS Audio...give us a break! |
I'd agree with you except that even if you were to buy the PP300 now with the multiwave option installed by the factory, you would still have to pay the extra $250. It's not as if you were paying the $995 for the unit before the Multiwave option was available and now you'd be paying the same $995 with the Multiwave option. As for having to install it yourself it really is easy, though I would expect that if you didn't want to do it yourself you could work something out with the factory to have them install it. Only you can decide if the Multiwave option is worth the $250. |
Hifisam...I see what your saying, but I think your missing my point. Think of the cost of all the components that go into making the P300. Then add the cost of assembly. The P300 retails for $995.00. PS Audio is charging an additional $250.00 for the multiwave, which consist of a board & a chip...both relatively inexpensive items. On a production line this would take less than 2 minutes to install (I'm being very generous here). Based on this, my point quite simply is...the price charged for the multiwave is not justified. I think what's happening here is Mr McGowan has developed an improvement to his power plants & more importantly a real money maker. I feel the P300 at $995.00 is a great deal for the sonic improvements it makes to a system (which is why it has done so well). On the other hand I feel the price charged for the multiwave is a RIP OFF! In my opinion charging $100 would be a fair price & PS Audio would still be making a very nice profit. Manufacturers should not bite the hand that feeds them. Stop the price gouging PS Audio. |
Sagger, as with all things technology, the fact that it is merely a chip and a board is not a sound way to draw conclusions about what it should cost. For one thing, what's on that board? But the main thing is that you are paying for SOFTWARE here, new technology patented by PS Audio, who are entitled to recoup their development time and make a profit on it. $250 may be a rip as you say, but I tend to think not. --Dan |
Drubin: I guess we don't see eye to eye...There a hake of a lot more SOFTWARE technology & developement time in the original P300 as opposed to the multiwave. Sorry, believe what you want, but in my opinion there is no way that the multiwave upgrade jusitfies a 25% increase of that products total cost! |
What has been people's experiance with operating the PS 300 in the 250 - 300 watts range? A friend has had a problem with it over heating and cutting out. The equipment I have plugged into mine only draws 90 watts. |
Since it is apparent that you have no regards for PS Audio's R&D on the Multi wave and that you will not consider buying it,and you are happy with the P-300,then the best thing to do it forget about it.They could have just as easy have came out with a brand new P-3000 and made everyone who wanted it sell their unupgradeable P-300 for at least a 25 -33.33 % loss but they did'nt come out with a new version.Most will be buying the Multiwave asap and for the few who are bitter about the price,they will not. |
I haven't gotten a multiwave yet, but here's what I hear about multiwave and heat. It does indeed make the powerplant run hotter (especially the 300, not so much the 600). The multiwave option also allows you to adjust the output voltage. According to Paul McGowan, the most RMS meters will underestimate the voltage of the multiwave. So if the meter reads 115V, it's really about 118-9V (I can't remember the exact numbers -- find it on one of the various PS audio forums). You can mitigate the heat problems by lowering the output voltage. |
I run two PS Audio 300's. The one for my digital equipment is consistantly at 270 watts according to the display. The other for my analog varies but max's at 260. I have never had them cut out. My highest reading has been 280. |
Lihifiguy: It's not a matter of having respect for PS Audio's R&D. I just don't like being hosed. Futhermore, if you new anything about manufacturing you would realize to create a new so called P-3000 would be very expensive to tool up (not to mention obsoleting a product after it's been on the market only about a year would really turn off their customers who bought it). In addition, it's much more profitable to charge a big # on an upgrade ie: no or very little tooling/expense involved. I must say yours & a few others comments makes me wonder if you people are affiliated with PS Audio. |
Why bother posting all the fuss here. If you've got questions or comments, talk directly to the man that makes the machine. Paul would be glad to answer any of your questions or respond to any of your comments. Cut and paste the web address below into your browser and have at it. Sean http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/psaudio/ps.html |
Sean: I post all this fuss as you call it because that's what these threads are suppose to be about. In other words a freedom to express your opinion in reference to the topic, which is what I've done. If you don't like my opinion, your free to express yours. It is my belief that manufacturers & dealers should not be allowed to participate in these threads unless they are specifically address to, simply because their statements are completely bias towards their products. As an audiophile for a # of years, I learned very early on you that you get the real poop from the users who have experienced the products in their homes, not the dealers or manufactures or reveiwers. Sorry Sean, but I will continue to post my so called fuss. |
Okay, and I hope we can also get a few more comments about what the upgrade sounds like. |
I second that Drubin. Children why don't we have a quiet time. What does it sound like???? |
Yea, I guess I'd like to know what it sounds like too, but I'm not gonna know, cause I'm with Sagger. You'd think they would have given me just one chance to dust my P300 before making me feel I needed upgrading. Great product, but PSA, you are well on your way to becoming a typical American business. Yuck! |
I'm interested in hearing what it sounds like but I'm having a hard time getting one. I called one of the dealers to order it (1st mistake) the second day it became available. I've heard twice, "we are getting a shipment in a few days and we'll send one out". On my second call, they (I will disclose the dealer soon if I don't get one) claim they don't have a record of me ordering one. When I called PSAudio, they say my name is not on the dealer's list. I'm finding that this dealer in general is flakey for other reasons related to previous orders (claims to be able to still get ByBee internal p300 filter mod, then says he can't). He is also a well known dealer. |
I suggest you work directly with PS Audio. Notwithstanding the remarks above about their pricing, I have found them to be a good company to deal with--efficient, customer-oriented, etc. I also admire the way they have used the Internet as a channel to market and sell directly to customers while at the same time building a large dealer network. Their business model is proving to be an Internet-era success story for the high end, it seems to me. Not applicable to all audio product categories certainly, but impressive still. |
I bought the 300 about 6months ago and am very pleased. I can't believe there is already an upgrade and what is worse it costs 30% of the total payment. Pretty savvy marketing to us suckers. When is the next upgrade? It is a good reason to wait to purchase a new product until they're research and development can catch up to their initial product. |
I think I'll stay out of the marketing discussion and get right to the point of the initial question. How does multiwave sound? I've been running multiwave in a P300 for about 3 weeks (it took about 3-4 weeks from web order to delivery). There are multiple multiwave choices, some are easily discernable, others more subtle (e.g., I couldn't hear a difference). What I have found is that the image depth increases and most notably the transient attack (e.g., cymbals, snare drum)is much more sharp/quick. These differences are clearly evident and repeatable. All for the better. Heat: I purchased the fan kit and the multiwave board and installed them at the same time (really, a no-brainer if you pay attention to the very detailed instructions). I can not hear the fan unless I put my ear very close to the unit. Does it get any hotter than before the install? I can't really tell. The unit does get warm to the touch, no question (it did before too). The unit has worked flawlessly since I bought it about 2 months ago. I'm running a tube preamp, a DAC and a transport into it and running less that 100W. Hope this helps. Bob |
I find Rbianconi's description to be spot on as to the differences that the Multiwave makes. I use the PS2 setting, as I had transformer buzz problems running equipment at 90 hz and I have an air pump (Forsell transport) plugged in through the P300. I have my digital front end--transport, upsampler, DAC and DVD transport--plugged in. The upgrade is very simple to install; I'm a motor moron and could do it easily. I don't notice any increase in heat since installing the upgrade. I think the upgrade is a substantial improvement in a very good product. |
