Clean Wave on Stellar P3

I have read in the manual and on this forum that pressing the clean wave button on the remote will activate about a 5 second clean wave function. I can confirm this on my P3 as the time the blue clean wave led stays lit. However, it is also stated that pressing the same button twice will activate a 60 second cleaning. But when I press it twice all I see the same blue led on for the same length of time and the green multiwave button coming on after the blue but staying on for only about 3 seconds. Then it goes out followed by the blue light a second later. So where is the 60 second clean wave indictor? Is my unit faulty requiring factory service? Thanks.

I think you must be reading manuals for other power plants, e.g. 12,15,20 (or the earlier big PPs). The Stellar P3 only does a 5 second clean - I don’t know why they chose not to implement a full minute’s clean.

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@powerfreq This is correct, as far as I know. ^

I have elected to engage the function three times in succession (hitting the button after the light goes out each time) in order to ensure a thorough “degaussing”. I don’t know if that makes any sense given the design and function of the Clean Wave feature, but that is practice (based on something someone suggested in these fora somewhere) I have settled upon.

FYI/FWIW.

Thanks. I think you are correct as I googled Stellar P3 manual online yesterday and quickly hit a link to a manual that must have been for the originl P3, not the Stellar. I looked in my hardcopy manual just now and it does only mention a single 5 second cycle. But that now begs the questions, is 5 seconds enough to ensure thorough degaussing? As scotte1 mentions he needs 3 cycles. I normally do two cycles only because I have been raised to believe that two of most thing are better than one (eyes, legs, arms, speakers, dollars, etc.). I do notice an appreciable improvement in sound on my headphone system. When I had a two channel speaker system I could not notice a difference, even though I had high quality Luxman and Harbeth equipment. But with my headphones, I notice an immediate improvement in the air or reverb around the instruments (quieter/blacker background), smoother and deeper bass with better tone and an overall more detailed yet relaxed sound. The perceived improvement is as significant as a cable or component change to my ears. Maybe my perception is now enabled by the improved resolving capability that my headphone setup provides? God knows my hearing ain’t gettin’ any better.

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I have two P10s and one Stellar P3. I only put front-end digital stuff on the SP3 (namely a Melco music server and a Chord M-Scaler). The P10s have the digital crossover, three Direcstreams and three power amps (two of which are BHK250s for mid and treble) connected. I run two minutes worth of clean on the P10s approx every two hours and that keeps the system sounding great. As I said, i’m disappointed and surprised that PSA didn’t offer the full one minute on an SP3.

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Hi,

I bought a Stellar P3 three weeks ago and have had previous experience with degaussing sweeps on CDs like those by XLO and Ayre. I’m happy to share my experiences here.

I have found that if I degauss for too long or too often I end up with a less musical, slightly bleached out sound for awhile. The sound returns to normal in a few hours, but I prefer not to push things that far. So, I try to only degauss when my system really needs it. It’s hard, because it is always tempting to want to tweak the sound, but frequently I find it is the recording I am listening to that is to blame for a reduction in sound quality.

So, I think that it is important to have a CD or two to use as a reference if I think the system is a bit off. I use CDs that I know well, Anita Baker’s Rapture, Police Synchronicity and AC/DC Back In Black, all original masterings. The Baker and AC/DC CDs were mastered by Barry Diament, who has a musical ear that results in a natural, balanced sound in his work.

Even more important, my experience is that one should wait until the system is fully warmed up (say an hour or so of music playing) before deciding if degaussing is needed. In fact, with a lot of close listening, I have noticed that degaussing prior to full warm up can have an adverse effect on the sound, particularly on the overall tonal balance. I know this is contrary to what many have written on this forum, but this has been my experience.

How much degaussing is too much or too often? I think this depends a lot on how long I have had my system on. If I leave it on 24/7, I tend to degauss every day, maybe every other day. I can usually tell when degaussing is needed because the top end gets dull and lacking in clarity and the bass loses definition.

If the designers of the Stellar Power Plant had to choose between the 5 second and 60 second function for the Stellar, I am glad they chose the 5 second, as it can be used to fine tune ones degaussing simply by pushing the button again. So far, my experience is that the 5 second cycle is plenty for my system. Maybe if I didn’t degauss for a week or more, then 60 seconds would be needed.

I am curious to read any other experiences people have with Cleanwave and degaussing. I’d also love if a staff member could weigh in on this. It is likely system dependendent, but I always enjoy and learn from the experiences of others.

George

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For the record, I arbitrarily chose to hit the magic button three times before sitting down to some serious listening.

I leaves the sources and the SP3 powered on continuously and have established this routine.

I have NOT done any comparisons of 1, 2 or 3 CleanWave cycles to see what is more or less effective.

:thinking::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Anyone know if simply turning a component off, overnight, degausses the component?

George