DirectStream P15

Power Components
21

I recently had a customer that upgraded from a P10 to a P15 and said it made a bigger improvement than upgrading his amp. Paul is right, the improvement with this new series is not subtle.

22

I ordered a P15 but after hearing a P20 at a friendā€™s house who upgraded from a P10, there was no way going short of the P20. The P15 was a huge upgrade from my P600 but the P20 is in a class of its own and reasonably priced. I was lucky enough to trade-in a more expensive item on the P20 than the P15 so the difference to upgrade was pretty much a wash.

23

Thanks. The P20 is just too big. It would require a lot of moving things in my rack which could cascade into interconnects and/or power cables. Gonna stick to the P15 if I make the move.

24

Wellā€¦looks like I canā€™t go back now. Just PayPalā€™d the money for the new P15. I send my P10 back once I get the P15: canā€™t be without a PS Audio power re-generator. It drop ships from PSA in two weeks.

Iā€™m still skeptical the P15 will be noticeably better, but not so skeptical that I didnā€™t put my credit card down! Cash on the barrel head as The Louvin Brothers song goes.

25

Canā€™t wait to hear about what you hear!

26

Me too! I need to get something in the next few months, a P20 is tempting, but my back is voting no!

27

I wish you well with the the P15 and believe it will surprise youā€¦the DS stuff (DAC and Power Regenerators) are bargains considering system impact!

28

Hire one of the local young high school football players to put the P20 in the proper locationā€¦the P20 is a huge game changer!

29

First of all, let it be known that I am not on the PS Audio payroll.

I had a P10, supplying my PS Audio DirectStream DAC and transport, a Mytek Brooklyn DAC, McIntosh preamp and power amp, an Autonomic media server and Dell laptop.

I took advantage of a P10 to P15 upgrade program and right out of the box, the bass, soundstage, and level of detail from both my PS Audio and Mytek DACs were immediately improved. I found it well worth the expense to do this upgrade. I now also have a pair of JL Audio F113V2 subwoofers powered from the P15, when Iā€™m really blasting it, itā€™s consuming less than 20% of its capacity. I would have considered an upgrade to a P20, but my cabinet just could not accommodate.

30

In a couple other threads Iā€™ve mentioned that, mid-delivery, I cancelled my P15 order and went for the P20. Decided to upgrade last Friday night, dangerously, with a pretty good buzz on. Very much Looking forward to receiving it.

I do have a conundrum and am asking for opinions. I get the P20 on Monday. Itā€™ll take a few days before I install it. Have to change a lot in the rack and itā€™s all heavy and a big deal. Then Snowmass will drop about the time Iā€™m ready to listen next weekend. Would you evaluate the P20 and Snowmass separately (would have to wait to install Snowmass) or ā€œgo for itā€ and do both right away?

A little background. Used to be all engineerey (I have lots of paper to prove it - and a job); however, I care much less about the science. For me, now, itā€™s the art and the moment. Live life!

Opinions?

31

My understanding is that the P20 sounds good out of the gate and gets better. Use them together for great sounds.

32

This is good to know about P15. Iā€™m saving $$ for one. Maybe get one come new year time.

Paul, do you think for around 8K, should I spent the money on P15 or new AN3?

Sorry I do not mean to hijack thread.

Thanks
-Hank

33

I like giving an upgrade time to burn in on its own before making any other changes. I like knowing what effect each individual change makes. If it were me Iā€™d plug the P20 in on itā€™s own for a few weeks and let it burn in. While waiting you can have some time to check out the Snowmass update. Have funā€¦

34

Nice. Let us know what you think when the P20 arrives. If it were me Iā€™d just go for the whole magilla.

35

I like to do one thing at a time so I have a feel for what did what. Even if you listen to the P20 one day and the upgrade the next, you can separate in your mind what you hear.
That said, I really canā€™t say that my P20 has improved with time. Maybe they burn them in at the factory?

36

Iā€™ve never heard a regenerator benefitting from run-in. My P10 and P20 sounded great from the word go and remained that way. Just my own experience.