I have a P5 coming this week and I have been reading and rereading the manual and I have a question about installing the P5. I get that you power down all the equipment that you plan to plug into the P5. Then you plug that powered off equipment into the P5 with the P5 in the off position. The equipment that you plugged in is at this point is also in the off position. Not in standby but off like on the back panel off switch off. You then power on the P5 and allow it to stabilize. This is where the manual gets grey. The manual says that the power will automatically come on to the equipment plugged int to the P5 but what I think it means is that the outlets will power up and then I need to actually turn on the components first by toggling the switches in the rear and then with the on switches on the front panels. Am I getting that correct?
Yes, sorry that’s not clear. We mean for you to shut the power off of your connected equipment just to be safe. If the P5 is plugged in but in standby more from the front panel, then it really doesn’t matter.
However you wish to do it is ok with this one caveat. Don’t have the P5 on and powered from the front panel and then plug in your equipment to the P5 sockets. It may cause a big spark and that’s not good.
Just make sure either the equipment you’re plugging in is turned off, or the P5 is turned off, or both before connecting or disconnecting products.
In my case, the Power Plant is left on and powering all the time. If I plug in or out a piece of gear, I just make sure that gear’s master power switch is first off.
Fantastic. Thanks for the quick response. The manual could be a bit better on this but I do get it now. Can’t wait until Wednesday when the new P5 shows up.
Please post your thoughts when you get the unit installed!
Will do.
Got my P5 today and had it up and running in short order. I can tell you that plugging stuff into this thing is hard work. One thing is for sure, whatever I plugged into it will never just fall out. Got all the outputs named and got everything configured and running. I had some questions and called in and got answers quickly. Now I just have to sit back and listen. Not a bad life. Will report more soon.
@jaiello I agree that plugging stuff into the P5 is difficult. More difficult than I expected. With some firm pressure, I was able to insert my aftermarket audiophile cables, but I had real trouble with the two stock power cables that came with my Bel Canto Ref600M monoblocks. The shape of the ground plug is circular instead of the “U” shape you see on most aftermarket cables. I think that was the cause of my trouble. I simply could not get them inserted for a while. I wondered if there was some obstruction inside of the outlets that I needed to remove first. Ultimately, it just took a great deal of force to get them inserted. I think it loosened them up a tad by first inserting and removing my audiophile cables a few times. @adminpaul It might be helpful to expand on this a bit in the user manual. As with any expensive product, I typically think if I need to force something together, I’m doing it wrong. Do you agree that some cable plugs are harder to insert than others?
blang said @adminpaul It might be helpful to expand on this a bit in the user manual.What specifically do you suggest, a mention that the outlets are tight and will take more force than plugging a cord into the typical wall outlet?
Most do not seem surprised the connections on a dedicated power unit are tighter than a cheap outlet, but this issue comes up on occasion.
I think it wouldn’t hurt to simply mention that the receptacles are much tighter than a typical wall receptacle and that some amount of force may be required to insert cable plugs. Yes, most audiophiles familiar with aftermarket wall receptacles or other power products will likely know this already, but again, it doesn’t hurt. I wasn’t surprised the receptacles tight. My surprise was that inserting my stock cables was almost undoable. I’m still hoping to get a response whether PS Audio knows of a noticeable difference in plugging in cables with different ground pin shapes. I noticed a big difference. If they agree, it would be helpful to note that in the manual. Just for the record, I ordered my amps and some new after market power cables at the same time but the cables are taking longer to ship so I’m forced to use the stock cables for now.
Interestingly enough I recently traded up my P5 for a P10. The new P10 was noticeably easier to get the plugs into than was the P5. It almost made be think that the new P10 was second hand. 