Any sonic benefit upgrading from P3 to P5?

I am so impressed with the improvements I got from my P3 that I am wondering if there is any sonic benefit to upgrading to the P5? I have a very simple 2 channel only system that only draws a maximum of 110W. Maybe all I want is the cool color touchscreen? :smiley:

Good question. The P3 is less expensive due to a different power supply, chassis and the display. The regeneration engine is the same.



My guess is there would be little, if any improvement, for modest loads. For large demands, the greater capability of the P5 may sound better than a P3 under the same load.



The display is fun, but matters little after playing with it a little bit. I would stick with the P3 and buy loads of music.

Thanks @elk, I buy lots of music anyway! I average about 10-15 new CDs a month. I have about 6k CDs now and since I never get rid of any cd I am quickly running out of space. I guess I will have satisfy my newfound love affair with PS Audio by purchasing the Powerbase!

I agree with Elk. Having owned both I prefer the P3 over the P5. Actually I’ve owned just about the whole set (PPP, P3, P5, & P10) and P3 is the winner for me (the HC outlets are a big plus that the other powerplants don’t have). I suggest stick with the P3.

Wow, you have a much greater foundation for a opinion than the vast majority. Thanks for chiming in.

P3 is the winner for me (the HC outlets are a big plus that the other powerplants don't have). I suggest stick with the P3.
Well I don't know about the other powerplants but the P5 also has a HC outlet.

the P10 has two HC outlets on a separate zone.

In the P3 the HC zone doesn’t go through the regenerator, it is passive filtering only. This is fundamentally different to the P5/10, their HC zones are powered off the regenerator and thus anything connected here will contribute to the debt against the rated capacity. With the P3 anything connected to the HC outlet does NOT draw on the 750 watt rated capacity. This means that the P3 can power an entire system if your high current devices don’t need regenerated power.

I didn’t know that.

But in my case I bought the P5 to feed my poweramp with regenerated power in the first place and because of the very low output impedance to create more power and dynamics. When feeding my entire system it only takes 300W at normal listening levels so the P5 has an easy job. My poweramp bennefits the most of the P5 it became stronger at all frequenties.

I couldnt agree more with running the amp through the regenerated power outlets. The music has a sense of weight, power, and urgency to it that I didn’t have before going through the wall.

@tboooe - agree with your description exactly

In my application I get no sonic benefit at all running the power amps on regenerated power, so the P3 is a very nice fit for me (because I can connect the amps to the HC zone or directly to the wall via Duet and the P3 looks after everything else).