ps audio p500

I've been using a Musical Fidelity A3cr ss power amp (135 watts/8 ohms), a Cary 308T cd, and a ss pre, all plugged into a PS Audio P500 for several years and everything sounds great.

I once tried powering the A3cr amp from a different wall outlet (on a different line from P500/cd/pre) expecting to hear better PRaT but there was only a slight improvement in this area. However, the overall sound degraded so much that I plugged the amp back into the P500. With music playing moderatley loud thru my Merlin TSM mme monitors (87 dB sensitivity), the wattage level on the P500 display reads only around 85 watts although when I switch the amp 'on' the inrush of current into amp causes the P500's display to read 360 watts for a couple of seconds before quickly going
to about 85 watts. Sometimes I will listen to music very loud but the P500's display has never gone over 100 watts.

Btw, the original Power Plants and the P500 produce balanced AC whereas the newer ones (PPP and current) do not.

There are many methods to reduce power line noise within an AC line. Balance power is just one method to eliminate power line noise by using an isolation transformer configured to provide common mode cancelation.

The P500 does not utilize balance power to remove AC line noise, it utilizes a more sophisticated method by rebuilding (regenerating) the AC signal.

Tabl10s, what is 'balanced power' ???

Probably not. It will overheat.

The PPP doesn't have balanced power.

Some use the older Power Plant adjustable frequency control as a turntable speed controller (assuming that the motor is AC powered). If you plan on using this feature, make sure that the Power Plan has the updated software chip that allows for minute frequency adjustment as appose to the standard course adjustment.

Exercise caution if using an older Power Plant with frequency adjustment on any equipment with ac motors as it will affect motor speed i.e. some CD players, tape recorders etc.

The PPP is a much better power regenerator than the P500. I has 1500w of capacity. Again, total up your equipment's power consumption to determine if it will work.

i have a chance to buy a power plant premier to for maybe
$150 more . that would maybe power my system better .

Onhwy61, what's caesium doing inside a P600?

thanks for all the great help everybody

I use a PS Audio P600 with a JRDG Model 112 power amp plugged into it. In four different houses the system sounded better with the power amp running through the P600. I've used this combo for 10 years powered up 24/7. It has withstood multiple power outages and a near miss lightning strike that took out other components in secondary systems. Never, ever had a problem with this setup.

WTF, the P600 just leaked caesium onto the carpet! It looks like a tough stain to get out.

If you decide to buy the PS500, replace the PS Audio fan with a much quieter fan. I used a Noctura fan (50% db quieter than the original)

Both ZD and Elizabeth are correct. I use a P500 with great results. But...

The P500 has two completely different banks of outlets. One bank of four outlets supplies regenerated AC. I use these for my phono pre, CD player and turntable controller. The P500 works great this way, with improvements across the board. But, in spite of what the literature says, they are current limited and would not be good for power amps. As Elizabeth says it would run way too hot, and would adversely affect the sound. Even my large power supply line preamp has trouble when plugged into the "regenerated power" outlets, sounding dark and congested as a result.

But, the unit also has two non-regenerated power outlets that are simply one of PS's "Ultimate Outets". These are not current limiting and use simple non-regenerated filtering which would be fine for power amps. I find the sonic effects of these to be subtle to say the least. But, overall, the unit can work well for efficient power distribution for power amp and front end component filtering.

If you are buying the unit used, be careful that it was not previously used with power amps in the regenerated power outlets. My unit had been used that way and as a result the resulting excessive heat had dried out the caps. They had to be replaced. I recommend you replace the power cord with something of higher quality; especially if you will use a power amp with it (in the non-regenerated outlets).

Absolutely NO. Check your equipment's power consumption specifications. The PS500 was not really designed for power amps.

It depends.