Maybe this has been covered, but how do you select the correct size power plant for your system?
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PsA sales will help. The class of Amplifier and its current rating, more draw,bigger the regenerator . P20 sounds best has lowest impedance. But most likely they can all make a difference no matter big or small. Buy biggest you can afford and have room for in the rack. Also try to time new purchase with sales or supplement with trade other times of year.
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+1
Go Big and take it Home.
Take it easy on me, I just retired 
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It’s hugely system dependent and for similar types of systems different people will have different ideas.
A limit of the smaller units is fewer zones.
Switch mode power chucks a load of noise into the mains. So a good start might be to eliminate any switch mode powered units by getting something like an iFi Power station. These units are quite cheap and their main features are cross-component isolation and surge protection. You may then be left with only 3 or 4 components and you have to consider how much power they draw.
I had a 300B Class A amp on the smallest regenerator and it was a good result because, although it was power hungry, the draw was pretty constant.
The easy answer is go big or go home. It’s pretty funny but I’ve heard someone tell Paul that they were running a P15 in their system and Paul followed it up with “why didn’t you get a P20?”
If it’s not a money issue, the P20 is always best. It’s output is superior to the others. Better regulations with lower impedance.
If you’re trying to be financially conscious, I ask people about their amp first and its topology. If it’s class D, 90% of the time you can get away with a P3 or P12. Some class AB amps can work in a P12 but it’s not terribly common. A P15 and P20 can handle most systems. If you’re running crazy class A amps or really power hungry class AB, some people have needed multiple P20s.
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I am very happy about my P15, and with M1200 amps I have never used more than 200W, even when the room is shaking!
But knowing what I know now, I will go with a P20. It is still on my long list of upgrades. 
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2 Threshold 12e + 2 Manley Snappers.
Hey James,
I’m using a Hegel H390 integrated with 250 wpc dual mono.
There is also a DirectStream DAC and some small draw wall wart items like my phono stage, TT power supply, as well as an opticalRendu and its linear power supply.
I was pretty sure a 15 would handle it, but was wondering if a Stellar PowerPlant 3 would be too small?
Man, those puppies will be pulling some current! At least a P20 and potentially another. Those will need some headroom.
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Yes, a P15 would easily power this. I would shy away from the P3 given this system. It wouldn’t have enough headroom that the system would want.
James is correct the P20 is a game changer! There are several components in my system I considered upgrading before buying the P20 and when I plugged them into the P20 they were all instantly upgraded! My Auralic G2 sounds identical to the PST in my system the BHK 300’s were greatly improved after I plugged them into the P20. If you have a chance buy one!
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How loud you like to crank the volume is also a factor to consider. I tend to play at moderate volumes, so my P3 never gets stressed. I have a class D amp (Marantz Model 30) and a sub (SVS SB1000) plugged in. I think I would keep the P3 even I switched to an AB amp.
FWIW, a few years back I had the P15 and demoed it against the Shunyata Denali. I liked both for different reasons and decided to try the P20 as well. The P20 won and was in the price range, I went big and it stayed home.
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The P3 specification is:
“The P3 includes 3 separate zones delivering 300 watts of pure continuous regenerated power, 500 watts of short term power(up to 30 seconds), and dynamic peak power (3 second or less) of a whopping 900 watts for explosive dynamics. From small to medium power amplifiers to all your source equipment, the Stellar Power Plant 3 will work magic on your system’s performance with pure, regenerated power. The Stellar 3 also includes up to 1000 watts of filtered and protected power for larger power amplifiers.”
Your H390 appears to have maximum power consumption of 830W with all components fitted.
So there is only minimal headroom with the P3 if you are running your H390 at full blast, but virtually all the time there would be plenty of headroom. The DSD draws hardly any power, so is pretty irrelevant.
I try and keep things in proportion. It’s easy to say “go big” with someone else’s money and buy a P20 that costs more than the audio system it’s powering. Relative to the cost of the H390, P3 = 50%, P12 = 100%, P15 = 150% and P20 = 200%. So the difference between P3 and P15 is the same as the cost of the H390.
It depends where you live, in the USA they have a sale and return scheme, outside the USA a dealer should loan you one to try.
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I get that but I say get the biggest regenerator you can afford because the larger the regenerator the better the sound. I have a P15 and system usage ts about 18%. But it sounds significantly better than when I used it with the P10 which sounded significantly better than when I used it with the P5.
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Your H390 appears to have maximum power consumption of 830W with all components fitted.
OK, that’s what I was looking for. How did you come up with the 830W figure?
It was in the data of a review. It’s not in the manufacturer data sheet.
There is a review by Raphael Todes who found it benefitted from regeneration.
I happen to know him and that he has a house in a very busy area of Central London, so I’m not surprised he says he has particularly noisy mains power.
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