Received p3 today. Have connected per instructions and appears to be functioning properly. Won’t do any serious listening until later in week and will post impressions after that.
But I do have a question regarding the idle mode. The manual is confusing on why the idle mode would be used. It states that connected components should be individually powered down before placing p3 in idle mode. I never power down my components unless thunderstorms pending or on vacation. It’s a PITA to reach behind my amps to hit the power rocker switch on each. So why would I use idle mode? Can’t I just leave the p3 and all my connected components always on?
And the manual also states that before powering down the p3 (which must be done it says when adding or removing component power cords) it must first be put in idle mode. Why? What will happen if I forgot to put the p3 in idle mode but still turn off the main power rocker switch?
Good questions. So idle mode keeps the internal circuitry in the P3 juiced up but it does not output power from the outlets.
The reason we say to turn the gear off before putting the P3 into idle mode actually mostly has to do with when you take the P3 out of idle. If everything connected is set to on and you take the P3 out of idle, you’ll potentially have a lot of in-rush current draw - maybe enough to shut down the P3.
If you leave your gear on all the time, please feel free to continue doing so with the P3.
And last but not least, putting the P3 in idle mode when connecting new gear is a precautionary step. There should not be any issues at all plugging in gear with the P3 not in idle mode. Just make sure the gear you’re connecting has master power set to off.
Thanks. It helps. Just to clarify a bit more though, if I only have my DS DAC and Cary preamp plugged into the P3, could i just go in and out of idle without concern of in-rush current because they are low power draw when on and not playing music?
Also, what about the manual stating that before powering down the p3 (which must be before adding or removing component power cords) it must first be put in idle mode. Why not just turn off the main rocker switch in back even if not in idle mode? Will that cause some type of problem. Connected components would be off before doing that so what purpose would going into idle mode first serve?
Well, it depends on the Cary. A good few tube preamps don’t have any protection relays on the output, so when you power it up by taking the P3 out of idle (if the amp is on) you might get quite a bang through your speakers - not ideal.
So in most cases, turning your gear on and off by taking the P3 in and out of idle is not a problem, but please make sure you check with your gear manufacturers to ensure a sudden rush of power will not cause any weird behavior.
As I mentioned, though, if you like to leave your gear on all the time, I’d recommend sticking to that.
Regarding your second question, it’s all the same at the end of the day if you power down the P3 fully, put it idle, or leave the P3 on but have the rocker switch set to off on the gear you’re connection.
@Paul as a colorblind user, I have had some trouble with the interface of the Stellar P3. My output unit appears to glow green (to me an unknown) connected to a Push-Pull 300B integrated, a little Pro-ject Streamer, and my DAC. Is this within normal operating range or is it above 90%? I can’t ascertain if it’s actually yellow, and if so does that have an effect on its sound?
It’s a bit of a hassle you can snap a photo and use an “eye dropper/color picker app” to see the color values or can post here and we can report back to you.
It should be fine and should not affect the sound. I never considered the use case where color doesn’t work as an indicator. Doh! How dumb of us. I wonder what the alternative might be when there isn’t an actual display.
Paul, I’m sure it’s a rare use-case scenario and understand that layout limitations of the basic design make it hard (perhaps impossible) to get around this; I recognize so few design for this exception and am normally not troubled by it. Perhaps a rate of flashing or the simultaneous activation of multiple lights would help realize legibility for those with this impairment. I appreciate your even countenancing it (it’s such a fluke) and am taken aback by your thoughtful consideration.
For now, I did the color sample with Photoshop and it would appear to be R: 130, G: 215, B: 130 (which works out as follows in hex: #82D782). My girlfriend did say yesterday the light itself looks more green than yellow to her, but that can be a point of uncertainty even for those with proper color vision like hers, so there’s that too!
Now, the manual seems to indicate that the output light can be either blue (pulling up to 90%), yellow (90-100%), or red (over 300 watts), but makes no allowance for solid green. I’m not sure what to make of a green output LED here!
On a lower powered class AB amplifier (my new DC-heated 300B PP integrated is a prototype so no specs exist yet, and my DAC allows rolling output pentodes so is likely variable too), I am pretty sure the output LED was blue.
With no mention of green in the manual, I don’t want to take any risk stressing the unit by running it at over 90% or limiting transient response. Thanks very much for clarifying this point!
A quick and deserved compliment: here in downtown NYC, the Stellar P3 does make an improvement in my system, by the way!
Oh boy… I’m still new to my SGCD, Emotiva monoblocks and Maggies…but I have really been eyeing the P3 regenerator. It’s a hefty purchase (for me) and I’m not sure about the sound improvement verses plugged into the wall. But it sure is tempting to check it out.
If the output light appears to be green, you’re in the clear. Some of the early P3s used a solid green light instead of blue. We decided blue made a little more sense as it is our signature color and the same color as the standby button. It is a very simple software change, and doesn’t have anything to do with the hardware in the machine. Are you using that awesome Push Pull through the Regen setting or HC?
Thanks for the helpful response; that’s such a relief.
I ask because the very same unit showed “blue” with another of my amps connected, and moved to “green” with this one, so assumed it was “yellow” with my color vision impaired and no mention of a solid green output light in the manual.
I’m using the 300B integrated (the new Modwright PP prototype) with the Regen setting. Another factor is it goes back to “blue” if not using the Regen feature. Given the demonstrated shift, does green indicate a specific wattage in between blue and yellow is being drawn from the Stellar P3? With my vision and the manual’s non-specificity, thought I’d ask.
Thanks for asking! R: 130, G: 215, B: 130 (which works out as follows in hex: #82D782). This unit appears to move from blue to this color when adding higher draw components than before, so assumed it was yellow, but it is likely a green.
Given that the unit then runs blue, green, and likely yellow, and red, its coding is not fully explained in the manual or in the other posts here.
If your unit shows green, it won’t show blue. The three options are green, yellow, red. If it is turning to yellow when you plug int certain gear, you may want to run that through the HC zone.
Thanks for your attentive replies! Unfortunately, I really am running into this unit going with the output having gone blue to green when using the new amp through the Regen as opposed to through HC or, earlier, a more efficient amp through Regen. I have never seen the output light go “yellow.” The manual and now your comments don’t account for this exigency.
While I can’t offer any listening experiences with the P3, my system (Maggie .7s, an SGCD and an Emo BasX A-300) is powered by a P500 that I got second-hand several years ago, and the sum total effect is amazingly good, to my ears anyway. I can only assume since the P500 is no longer manufactured that all the available units are improvements in one way or another.
I had an over voltage situation and the P3 went into protect mode. It was really hard to tell if it was an over or under voltage fault. based on the flashing lights.
If someone at PS Audio could confirm if you have “dimmed” the display as in turned it off. If you are into the yellow zone will it turn yellow or will the light remain off?
I’m going to be adding a 150watt draw to mine soon… Maybe I just need to see if I can get a good deal on a P12 from my dealer
EDIT: I noticed a very big improvement in all areas when I added the P3.
No, when the LEDs are dimmed, (off) and it turns yellow, it won’t show. With it being dimmed, we are ignoring all commands from changing variables, as far as the LEDs go of course.
