From my experience power cords make bigger difference then power conditioner. However, if you feel you done with power cords one possible way to bring your PS300 to life is give it better power cord. With you (correct) demend for high fidelity to , as I understand real or acoustic sound, try Electraglide Fatboy, Copper conductors, Gold terminations, I also heard from friends whose opinion I trust that FIM cable is good. |
Rkelly - Confused how you were "underwhelmed" by the P300 yet find the P600 "a whole different story". Within the operating range of the P300, the sonic effects of a powerplant on a system are identical. Yes, Multiwave will make an improvement and this is probably what you heard. |
I was underwhelmed by the PS300. However, I decided that the remedy was to upgrade to the PS600. That was a whole different story. Everything improved, including musicality, the improvement was not subtle. The PS600 remains one of the most rewarding additions to my system. Now it is difficutlt to say exactly what the source of the improvement was, my P300 was without multiwave and the 600 had multiwave. I understand that the multiwave circuit cuts distortion in half. The improvement may have been the added headroom of the 600, the multiwave kit or a combination. |
I have a BAT VK-50SE and it is definitely too much of a load for a P300. I have purchased a P600 and I can tell you that in my system, it made a huge difference, and the only thing plugged into it is the BAT. I have a P300 that all the digital stuff is plugged into. My guess is that you are overloading the P300 with all you have plugged into it - not to the point of tripping, but to the point of "choking" it. I would receommed the BAT directly into the wall or, into a second P300 to let the system "breathe" better. |
I have a PS600 and originally thought I could only plug my front end and preamp in. I have a CEC Transport, a Dodson DAC and a BAT VK5i preamp. I then plugged my Plinius SA 100 amp in and turned it on class A mode. I half expected the P600 to go tilt, but it has not. The amber light comes on and I have gone up to 630 watts on occasion, but the 700 watt capacity seems to handle everything quite well. I am driving Epos 22 speakers, triwired. |
Deano: If you have the time please share your opinions of the Mapleshade cables on the Stealth Vs Mapleshade thread. Not a lot of user comments on the Mapleshade's. Thanks. |
Meta: That's a great system you have there. Certainly very capable of producing high resolution. Being a detail freak, I would think you would you would absolutley love the P-300. It definatley allowed me to hear more detail in my system. I'm a little confused about your laid back comment. If anything I found the P-300 to give a more forward presentation, although I would not label it as being forward. You may have somthing there with the recordings your listening to. I'm not familiar with Mapleshade, but have several Chesky's & yes I would consider them laid back. So with that, I would think it's your source. The musicians & intruments now playing in isolation I would think has to do with the blacker background you mentioned earlier. Not such a bad thing as long as it does not seem to exaggerated. Like most of us audiophiles you have a new toy & your obviously listening very hard at every little thing. IMHO more detail is never a bad thing as long as the presentation does not come across as too bright. Again I think you need to give it more time. Try a wide range of different recordings. You have spent the time to carefully build a great sytem to suit your personal needs. Especially if detail is critical to you, I think over time you will grow to appreciate the P-300 & consider it an essential part of your sytem. Hope this helps. Enjoy...Sagger |
Sounds to me that you have (1) a very high resolution system (2) a good pair of ears (3) know what real music sounds like. I too wanted the PS Audio 300 to be the answer to all the problems associated with AC power. I've been chasing down those AC gremlins before it was fashionable. Consider the following-Double Tice Power Blocks with Double Titans and Micro Block.Pac-Idos.Power Wedge.The original plastic cased MIT Z-Stabilizer.Chang Lightspeed.VPI Bricks.Cable Jackets.Versalab IEC Wood Blocks,Red Rollers, Split Rollers, Flat Rollers.Marigo Apparition (two different incarnations) with Reference Power Center.Bybee Pro wood case line conditioner with AC Chargers on every component.TG Audio power strip.PS Audio 300 (two of them)Audio Prism Quietline Parallel Line Shunt Filters,Noise Sniffer,Power Foundation 3,Waveguides.Honest to goodness it just blows my mind that I have owned and paid for all the above products(except the MIT Z-Stabilizer and the two PS Audio 300's which I returned for refunds) Power cords have been Cardas,Synergistic Research,Audioquest,Grace,Marigo,TG Audio,Silver Audio. As you can see my experience into power conditioning is extensive.Power cords so-so.I even convinced my power company to change out the transformer kettle servicing my house after an oscilloscope check showed the sine wave peaks were flattened from an undersized transformer.Before I end up boring you all to death with my stories let me get to the point.The PS Audio made a difference in my system just like all the above things did...but it didn't get me closer to the music. So what does do you say? I'll tell ya-Equi=tech 2Q Line Balancer,Quantum Symphony Pro and Omega Micro Active power cords. My advice is to first buy an Equi=Tech.These people invented the balanced power design and know it best.Furman copied it and makes it for CinePro.The Equi=Tech is simply incredable.You can make such a giant leap in the right direction by purchasing the Equi=Tech first.There are used ones out on the AudioShopper as I write this but my only experience is with the model 2Q.Yes I know..the Quantum got only luke warm reviews but then I always let my own ears tell me what is right.The Omega Micro power cords? Tweaky and expensive but worth every cent. So there you are,just my opinion...but I must say that it didn't come easy or cheap.My system FYI. Altis CDT-3 transport//Dodson DA-217 Mark II D//Sonic Frontiers Line 3//Manley 300B Retros//JM Lab Mini Utopias//Omega Micro Active digital cable//Mapleshade Clearview Double Helix interconnect//Mapleshade Clearview Golden Helix speaker cable//Walker Audio High Definition Links//Walker Audio Valid Points//Bob Regal feet//Rosinante' Dark Matter//Argent Room Lenses//Zoethecus equipment stands.Thanks and good luck..Deano |
Sometimes it does seem as if there is such as thing as too clean. too black a background. Musicians should not sound as if they are playing in the vacuum of deep outer space (black though it may be), there should be some sense of the "ether", don't you think, else they sound, as metaphysics says, as if they are playing in isolation (sometimes they are, of course). Yet it can be mighty seductive. I use a P300, but I appreciate that sometimes things sound bit too precious, as someone in these parts once put it. |
Thanks for all the comments. I will post back in a few of days to let everyone know my longer term impressions. Sagger: I'm a detail freak (hence the Dynaudio Confidences)and I definitely hear more detail with the 300. However, it seems that it has gotten too laid back. Also, it is almost as if the musicians and vocals are now playing in isolation. Maybe this is just the "separation". I'm referencing with Mapleshade and Chesky recordings, so they are not overproduced. |
Meta: Sometimes more musical is less detailed. The P-300 definately adds more detail & instrument space with a blacker background as you word it. If your not used to it it might seem etched & possibly fatiqueing. Some feel it thins things out which may be that bass tightening you mentioned. I personaly found the P-300 to make a substantial sonic improvement. You probably as I had no idea what a diffence it would make. It certainly does make things sound very different, something you are not used to. Less involving???...not for me. In fact quite the opposite. Give it more time & than take it out of your system. I think you'll find yourself putting back rather quickly. Than again, it's not for everyone. Only you know if it's for you. Best...Sagger |
D.jay is right. Meta, Post again after you have the unit broke-in. I would like very much your thoughts on the sound then. I do not mean to imply that you will feel any different about the sound. |
Metaphysics, I'd strongly recommend waiting for a few days before forming a opinion, there is a noticeable break-in period of 2-3 days and again ( to a lesser extent ) around a week later. D.Jay |
jcbtubes- I'm curious about your experience. I have a P300 and FIM gold IC's, SC's and PC's arriving soon. Thanx.mes |
Rcprince - Not only do I run my BAT VK-3i off my P300, I also run my DAC, transport, turntable, tube phono stage and RM200 amp off of it! I seriously doubt that the VK-5i draws more current than all of what I'm running. I would recommend you have PS Audio take a look at your unit (it may be out of adjustment). BTW, the P300 can be user-adjusted so that it can power more than 300W of equipment. Contact me if you'd like more info. |
Meta- I had a similar experience with the PS300. In my case, the PS didn't have as profound an effect- noticeable but not profound. However, the system sounded best after I got FIM cables throughout and when I removed the PS. I kept hearing what I associate with solid state audio, clean to the point of being sterile. Though the FIM cables are as expensive as a PS300, I did free up one cable that fed the PS. If at all possible, give the FIM Gold a try and see if you don't experience the same improvement. Goodluck. |
I'm a big fan of the PS product and have used it in two different systems with excellent (and consistent) results. In a high resolution system the PS has the ability to seemingly deconstruct the sound. A friend noticed the change in my system immediately and her initial reaction was similar to yours. I believe the the PS is simply showing what's really on the disc, blemishes and all. It can be a little disconcerting, but I've had mine for six months and consider the PS an essential part of my system. |
I have not had the experience you report with my P300. Not sure this will help, but try plugging the BAT into the wall and only the digital components into the P300. I have found benefits from isolating your digital source components from the rest of the system. The BAT, I believe, has a well-designed and regulated power supply, so plugging it into the wall should not have a big effect on its sound, particularly if you have a reasonably good power cord for it. Good luck! |
Kira: When I first turned everything on, the 300 would shut down. However, I think the VK5i takes too much power only from a cold start, i.e. fresh plug in. If I turn on the 5i first with the SF t3 off and the p3 on standby, it all start fine. I think there must be capacitors that need to charge up. This means that I leave the 300 on all the time. Only slightly warm with only the p3 in standby. Also, I notice that in the sine wave mode, the three components draw ~280W while in the multiwave modes, they draw only 180-210W. Not sure why, but it works. Cheers. |
Metaphysics: Do you have your BAT VK-5i plugged into the 300? I tried plugging in my 5i and the 300 shut down. I immediately called PS Audio and was informed that the 5i drew too much power and could not be plugged into the 300. Anybody else have problems similar to this? I do love the sound of my system with the 300 and I think the music is very involving. |
