PS Audio Power Plant P3 to P12

@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. 

After a few years with a P10, I sold it and got a P15. I could easily hear an immediate improvement. Very happy.

Oops! ... McCoy Tyner 

@jaytor Not sure how into jazz you are ...

but if you are ... try playing around with the MW Strength button on the remote between the top two settings. It's like having a super "fine control" at your fingertips, to literally get the perfect! scratch on the snare drum.

Or the same, on the tinkle of the piano keys.

Talk about realism.

ie: McCoy Tiner ... the name of the album is Nights Of Ballads & Blues.

The reviewer calls it a "low-key, after hours affair". His playing is much more laid back in style, I guess b/c he was kinda doin his own thing, as posed to playing in Coltrane's band. It was 1963. His energy is awesome.

Check out the blues number Blue Monk! It's a freaking jam!

Enjoy.    : )

@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 all good my friend I get it. Have a nice weekend, playing plumber and electrician today. 

@jaytor Have you hit that little Multiwave button on your remote yet?!?

: )

... that's the feature I love the most about my P15.

It's like having a super fine adjustment for the really fine like highest frequencies.

And it's quite literally like the perfect button on my system, Lol.

Have you played around with it yet?

@audiom3 I damn near went with a Niagra, but for my personal needs I thought that the PS Audio approach was the one.

I definitely subscribe to the principle that there's more than one way to skin a cat.

One of the ways I think we've hit a home run with whatever piece of equipment we've added to our system is when we have zero desire to change anything.

I hope you're there also. It sounds like you are!

@jeffstrick no angle.

In my profession I'm paid to listen to my client, so I can help resolve the issue they came to see me about. And the way that I've honed my ability to serve people thru the years is to observe what goes on along the way. I'm just trying to make connections, and learn.

I asked the question about cables because I thought you were commenting on the comment I had made about power conditioning.

I thought you were further distracting the thread with a derogatory comment about those of us who understand how important some form of power management is to achieving good sound. I guess my disclaimer on that statement would be: for those of us who need it.

I live on the top floor of a high-rise in an urban environment and need it big time.

I wasn't making a dig. I would own it if I did, because I enjoy ribbing guys around here just as much as the next guy.    : )

I was trying to identify a commonality. One of the things I've observed as a common theme around here is that people who think you can get the kind of sound we're getting with the kind of speaker cable and el cheap interconnects I used in high school are also, typically, of the mindset that it's ridiculous to spend, especially big, bucks on power conditioning.

I'm well aware that our approach to power management may be different, and it sounds like both of us are getting awesome results. 

I love the banter, the way. Like I've mentioned before, this group reminds me a lot of the diversity of the AA group I got sober at 33 years ago. I definitely don't like the mean spirited stuff. That's totally uncalled for, but the banter is not only part of how we learn, it's part of how we have relationship with each other.

Speaking of relationships around here ... anyone know what happened to that real cool and super eccentric cat that, I at least I, though was kind of a guru when it came to getting master class sound out of his vintage gear using all his eccentric tweaks based on complex physics principles? His name is on the tip of my tongue. I know a lot of you guys know who I'm talking about.

I owned a P3 and almost immediately upgraded to the P12. I used the P12 for a few years and I really didn't know why I was never totally thrilled with my system. I made a ton of other changes during that time, so I thought it must have been my newly converted fiber optical LAN or cables or something else that was causing truncated highs. When my P12 went down for a 2nd time (noisy fan) and I had to send it in to PS Audio, I wanted to try something different. So I ended up on an AQ Niagara 5000. Immediately after I plugged it in, I noticed my treble extension had returned and dynamics were fantastic. Far better than the system with the P12 inserted. Needless to say, the P12 was sold after I received it back.

@tunefuldude I see you have not answered my question. 

Curious what's your angle? 

As I have whole house surge protection and dedicated power on separate circuit breakers, I have no need for one of Paul's power regen units. I do have a 2 Puron filters plugged into my Wisdom Cable Technologies POWER STAGE ES-10SR Reference Mains Power Distribution hub. 

My comment on further down the spiral was in reference to those taking this post in a different direction like you have now done. 

I think that was your angle. No? 

@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 Why what’s your angle?

I have Transparent Audio, Cardas, Zavfino, all quality cables.

Hell, I even have one Pangea cable I use on my coffee maker. Makes the coffee darker and richer.

@jeffstrick I see.

You didn't answer my question.

Curious, what kind of cables are you into?

@tunefuldude not sure why. I have zero need for it. 

@jeffstrick You should score his P3.

Curious, what kind of cables do you use in your system?

That's so cool, man! I'm so glad it's meeting your expectations. I bet it was a really good investment in your system.

Curious if you've explored the Multi-wave technology slash feature and what your thoughts are about how to best use it.

Ditto on the Phase Tune settings. I haven't played around with it or really even explored how to use it. My system performs so well with it set to the normal setting I've never moved it. But I'm curious if I could dial my system to an even higher degree if I knew how to use it. 

I guess I could always read the instructions. Nah. Lol 

@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. 

Further down the spiral. 

Just came across this thread. I have a P15 and not only love it, I swear by it.

What did you decide, have you demo'ed the P12 yet?

...

@jaytor got it. Well I still stand by my recommendation to audition at home. Despite what anyone says about how it sounds in their system. I’ve had power products that sounded excellent in someone’s system and were horrible in mine. And vice versa. 

I have a P-10, and I love it. PS Audio is a great company with some of the best support in the Audio world. I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade your P3 as long as you can afford it. To me my P-10 not only protects my gear, but being a power regenerator certainly provides added benefits sonically.

@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. 

This forum again needs a block user function.

 

mastering92

716 posts

02-07-2023 at 07:31pm 

@audphile1 

It was satire. 
 

Don’t quit your day job. 

@audphile1 

It was satire. 

Read less and sleep more. Better for your limited mind.

@mastering92 I agree with you! I should definitely read less and reduce my chances of coming across something as dumb as your comments. 

@jaytor doesn’t PS Audio offer a trade in? Best to get the P12 into your system and audition it against the P3. That’s the only way to know. Power is a funny beast. And if you like the P12, send the P3 to PS Audio as a trade in. May be worth looking into if this works. 

@audphile1 

You should read less, post less, and listen more often...

 

Here’s the calcuation: Power Plant 3 x 4 = P12.

So 4 times better audio quality for you.

 

@mastering92 read more and post less.

@jaytor 

So then, buy the P12. It’s your money, use it when you need to!

Here’s the calcuation: Power Plant 3 x 4 = P12.

So 4 times better audio quality for you. I’m sure someone who owns a unit will suggest more performance improvements to you.

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). 

What @erik_squires said ✔

Also a good brand...but compared to what I'm using now, I would never go back.

Copycats on the market...audiophle-targeted brands often copy each other. That's why what I use is protected by 3 U.S. patents. 

Noise filtration from 100 HZ to 1 GHz - and any noise at 100 HZ is reduced in level far more than is required to hear it. Plus you're playing music...

Useful: 

Infrasonics: the Silent Enemy

Furman conditioners with voltage regulation, LiFT and SMP for me.  :-) May not regulate every cycle to 1%, but they also don't add any harmonics.

In this case, I agree with Amir and ASR 100%. Can’t fake these measurements. Audio component reviews...not so much. Check out the Bantam Vanguard PP18004A ... I use it and it really works. Check out his GR research power cable review as well. It's hilarious. And in a good way...