PS AUDIO P500 as a Turntable speed controller?

Quiddity,

This is directly from the PS300 manual.

Any turntable or equipment with AC synchronous motors, such as some cooling fans should not be used with MultiWave II+. This equipment must be used with 60Hz
SineWave mode. End.

What I am saying.
Use it in the single sinewave mode not in the multiwave mode if you are going to use it as a speed control for a TT. You can adjust the single sinewave, voltage and or fequency with an a/c motor with no ill effect. It is best to start at 60Hz and adjust from there.
With the PS300 multiwave you can emit more than 1 sinewave at the same time and that is not good for an a/c motor. In multiwave mode you can and will destroy your TT motor.

Hevac

You said "do not use the dual f(r)eq option, AC motors do not like it, they can and will fail if used".

I have no experience of running the PS Audio units being discussed so this may be true of them but it is certainly not true of frequency controllers in general.

AC synch motors can usually be run at a wide range of speeds using frequency control if the controller is designed to achieve this and due respect is given to the heat load and mechanical aspects (eg bearings). A range of 50 - 150% of spec is considered conservative.

Of course if you use a single phase control then the value of the cap on the motor will be wrong for all but one frequency. This may be the cause of some of the failures you predict.

Mark Kelly

I have used a PS300 for years as a TT speed control. From my MS BL-91, VPI and now with my Basis Debut with no ill effects. Very stable. Make sure it has multiwaveII for finer adjustments. Do not use the dual feq option, A/C motors do not like it, they can & will fail if used.

Just be certain that you are not running other components from the PS300 that could be harmed by the different frequency. In this regard, when the Power Plants were introduced, some manufacturers claimed that use of PS Audio multiwaves with their equipment would void the warranty (ARC may have been one, I seem to recall). Not sure how this could be proven - the change affects the rate at which caps in a component are replenished - but you should be aware of the issue.

PS - I have experimented with changing speeds on my VPI motor by use of my PS300 and the other posters are certainly correct - it works - but given the above consideration and the other components also run from my PS300, I just move the belt for 45 rpm play (I only have a small handful of 45's).

When I bought my Nottingham 294 I also purchased a Walker MC (deluxe with Teflon circuit board). I also have a PS-300. I asked Lloyd directly about the PS product and he disparaged it a bit. I ended up selling the MC a few months after recieving it. I could not tell any difference between the Nott into the MC or the Nott into the PS-300.

IIRC, the P500 needs to be set at 81Hz to achieve 45 RPM. I had both a P300 and VPI SDS when I was using a TNT Mk II turntable, and the P300 was substantially inferior to the SDS, sonically. when used to set turntable speed. But I think the P300 is a terrific power regenerator/conditioner in general (I'm now using two of them).

I used to use a P500 with my Naim Armageddon to set the speed 100% correct and spin at 45rpm (the Armageddon only does 33rpm). It also improved the sound of the TT probably reducing the motor noise and vibration. Make sure you get a unit that allows for small adjustments.

Make sure that your P500 has the most current chip that adjust the frequency of the Power Plant in 0.0625 Hz steps from 50 Hz all the way to 120 Hz. If your P500 has the clean sweep feature, you should have the most up to date chip.

How does Lloyd feel about your using the P300 on his turntable, instead of his own Precision Motor Controller?

Have used an old P300 for over a decade on my Walker

Hi

Have used the P300 with great success for the VPI motors, so the P500 would certainly work as well

Peter