PS Audio Power Plant P3 to P12


I currently own a P3 which I use for all my source components. PS Audio is currently having a promotion on the P12. Anyone made this transition?

128x128jaytor

Showing 6 responses by jaytor

I have been very pleased with my PowerPlant 3 so I have no interest in switching to another brand. 

I really don't want this thread to devolve into another objective vs subjective debate. 

As an electronics engineer, I think measurements have their place, particularly in ensuring production consistency. But I long ago learned to trust my ears above measurements, particularly measurements made by people who make no attempt to correlate them with the way a product sounds. 

I'd really liked to hear from folks that have experience with the P3 and one of PSA's larger models (particularly the P12). 

@audphile1 - PS Audio is not offering a trade-in on the P12 during the promotion since they are offering it at a significant discount. But I'm sure I can get a reasonable price for the P3 if I go this route. 

I don't really need the extra capacity since I doubt my source components are using more than about half the P3's capacity. But if you believe the comments from customers on the PS Audio forum, the bigger units provide additional sound quality improvements compared to the P3. I'm just trying to get a broader perspective. 

I don't really like the idea of buying something for a home trial unless I have a pretty high confidence that I'm going to keep it, although I certainly appreciate PS Audio's return policy. 

@tunefuldude - yes, I’ve had the P12 in my system for a couple weeks. It took a few days to break in, but is sounding really nice. I think it is an improvement over the P3, but I can’t be totally sure. With the P3, I occasionally had songs or even sessions, where I wasn’t totally happy with the way my system was sounding. The P12 has been sounding consistently great. But, I haven’t had it in my system for that long, so we’ll see if I still feel the same way in a few weeks.

My P3 is for sale on USAM. 

@tunefuldude - I used Auto Tune on the phase setting and it selected +1 (I assume this is degrees). I have not played with MultiWave yet. Mine is set for Sine Wave output.

I have it configured for minimum distortion and 120V. My input distortion is about 2.1% and output distortion is 0.1% (according to the P12). Since I don't have it set for maximum regulation, the output voltage is about 121v with a typical input voltage of about 122v. The voltage doesn't seem to vary that much. 

@tunefuldude - I played with the Multiwave a bit today. Multiwave may be a slight improvement over Sine - it's certainly no worse - but it's pretty subtle in my system. I am not using the P12 for my amps though. I would imagine it would have more effect on power amps which are drawing more current. 

@tunefuldude - Thanks for the album recommendation. Nice mellow jazz which I do appreciate. As with most recordings from this timeframe, sound-staging is not as good as with modern recordings, but otherwise it is well recorded and pleasant to listen to. Excellent piano.