I live in California and for years have been fighting the problem where sound deteriorates in the late afternoon. I have tried different power conditioners, among them PS Audio Duet, Power center 5000, and P-500. None have solved the problem. I have 4 components: power amplifier, Preamplifier, CD player, and a phono preamplifier. I am now looking at the PS p-3, and would like comments as to weather this product would be effective.
Welcome, Martyt!
There are no guarantees of course, but the latest Power Plants do sound the best and are more likely to address the power issues you have. I have owned all generations of Power Plant and have been please that they keep getting better.
Remember that PSA has a 30 day try it out policy. If it does not do the job, you can send it back.
Agreed. But let me ask a question. What was the net result of the P500 experiment? I would have thought it would help lower the problem if all your gear was being powered by it.
Elk’s right in that the P3 is a better sounding machine.
The P500 did make a slight difference, but kept shutting down. I sent it in for repair and it was checked out and sent back. The problem still existed so I had to move on.
Hmm . . . does the incoming voltage vary a great deal from nominal? If very low or very high the Power Plants will protect themselves and the connected equipment and will not operate.
The line voltage is always 118, give or take a volt.
There goes that hypothesis.
The only other reason I know of for the unit to shut down is if the load is too great, but I assume you checked this.
I only had 4 components plugged into the P500 drawing a small amount of power. This was quite a while ago, as I recall it was overheating, but it was mounted on a rack with plenty of space around it.
Are you certain it was a small amount of power? I ask because the unit will not get hot or overheat unless it is addressing a significant load and/or a troublesome power factor. Depending on the equipment, both amps and pres can use a great deal of power, even at idle.
What specific equipment did you have plugged in and what is the power requirement of each (idle and load)? Be sure to consider everything plugged into the unit (such as a television monitor or other non-audio bits.)
I had a BAT 60 watt amplifier,BAT preamplifier, a Sony CD player, and a Parasound Phono preamp. The P500 is gone now and I will probably try a P3, Wally has a sale on now.
I think we found the problem. The P500 is limited to producing 500w. As an example, a BAT VK-60 alone idles at 500w. Plus, tube equipment often also has a difficult power factor.
The P3 made not produce enough power for your system. I suggest carefully adding up the maximum load your equipment is likely to need and determining if the P3 can do the job. PS Audio is happy to consult with you if you need assistance.