P10 or P5?

Power Components
1

I think I should try one of the Power Plants to see whether it improves the sound vs the Shunyata Hydra Alpha power conditioners I’ve been using for a while.

I’ve studied the info about the P10 and P5 on the PSA site. The two units seem comparable except that the P10 provides a little more power, has two additional outlets, and has no fan, and costs and weighs more. Have I overlooked anything important that would affect SQ? Is the fan audible in the P5?

Also, with both the P10 and P5: I gather these are best left on all the time. Is that right? How much power do they use if all the components are turned off? I’m trying to keep the power usage down when possible.

I have all my sources plus my NAS in my rack, with the amps sitting elsewhere close to the speakers and powered by a separate dedicated line, with one of the little Shunyata two-outlet conditioners. A P5 could go in the rack and power everything except the amps (not enough outlets). A P10 could power everything but I don’t know where I’d put it since I think it’s too heavy and large for the bottom shelf, not to mention a real pain to work with. Would a P5 significantly improve things if the amps were not connected? Maybe I could free up one outlet, but that would require a long and expensive power cord. Any other thoughts about this decision?

Thanks!

2

I wish someone would answer. I might make the same consideration. I wonder if the 10 can handle all the load I might throw at it with 10 outlets (two 600 watt mono blocks, preamps, players, etc.).

3

You may take the following with a grain of salt, as I have no P3/5/10 on anything in my house. When I CAN afford to add one or more the following is how I would approach it.

I would get a P3 or P5 to power the front end equipment in the rack. Few front end stacks are likely to challenge a P3, but a P5 may still be preferred. If that works well then I would consider a P10 (or two P5 or P10 for big monoblocks) for the amp(s). Part of my reasoning is that no matter how good even the P10 might be, I would prefer a separate Power Plant for the front end equipment as I feel that a big amp running at high load would still manage to modulate the output of the PP and possibly affect the source equipment.

Only loosely related to all that, I happen to prefer the aesthetics of th P3, but that is just a personal matter. If a P3 could handle the amp, I would be tempted to go with that rather than the P5.

Just one theory based opinion, but I hope that it is at least useful food for thought.

J.P.

4
magister said I think I should try one of the Power Plants to see whether it improves the sound vs the Shunyata Hydra Alpha power conditioners I've been using for a while.

I’ve studied the info about the P10 and P5 on the PSA site. The two units seem comparable except that the P10 provides a little more power, has two additional outlets, and has no fan, and costs and weighs more. Have I overlooked anything important that would affect SQ? Is the fan audible in the P5?

Also, with both the P10 and P5: I gather these are best left on all the time. Is that right? How much power do they use if all the components are turned off? I’m trying to keep the power usage down when possible.

I have all my sources plus my NAS in my rack, with the amps sitting elsewhere close to the speakers and powered by a separate dedicated line, with one of the little Shunyata two-outlet conditioners. A P5 could go in the rack and power everything except the amps (not enough outlets). A P10 could power everything but I don’t know where I’d put it since I think it’s too heavy and large for the bottom shelf, not to mention a real pain to work with. Would a P5 significantly improve things if the amps were not connected? Maybe I could free up one outlet, but that would require a long and expensive power cord. Any other thoughts about this decision?

Thanks!


The P10 has nearly twice the outputs of the P5 - in terms of devices - thus lower impedance and far better sound. Also, yes, you should leave the P10 on all the time.

If all the components are turned off the P10 alone takes no more than a small night light - it’s very low cost to keep running and worth it.

The P5 in a rack is just fine and would likely power what you have - though the P10 does sound better, and noticeably so. Having said that, the P5 is no slouch either.

5

Thank you, Paul. I’m like J.P. in thinking that having the amps on a separate device would give the best sound. Maybe this is because I am old enough to remember when we didn’t have these separate power conditioning units, and plugging the amps into a different circuit from the source components was our primitive form of power conditioning. But maybe that’s all passé now with the Power Plants.

I’ve just about decided to get a P5. I’ll have to add up the power requirements of all my stuff to see whether I could use my amps or not along with everything else. The amps are not particularly power-hungry, as amps go. I am hoping to get a BHK stereo amp at some point, so I should check the power requirements of that as well.

I’m still wondering about how much the sound will benefit if the amps are not on the P5. Getting a separate P5 (or P10) is not feasible either financially or in terms of floor space. I guess the only way to find out is to try it.

6

Yes, those are good and valid reasons - and improving sources with a Power Plant is an excellent idea, I still believe whenever possible, you should get everything running through the Power Plant. The benefits of all equipment, rather than a select few, being on regenerated power, are just too big to ignore.

7

Sometimes budget or other restrictions require us to accept that any improvement is an improvement, even though it is less than what is ultimately possible. Right now I wish I could afford a DirectStream, P3 or even a new power cord.

J.P.

8
wingsounds13 said . . . accept that any improvement is an improvement . . .
Always the best and most fulfilling attitude.
9

I stumbled onto this thread this morning, and I read it with avid interest as it has some bearing on a decision I made earlier this week. I’ve been very impressed with the DirectWave DAC/PerfectWave Transport combination since I purchased them last year, and thought it may behoove me to try more PS Audio products in my system. I too, have been trying to decide whether to go for the P5 or the P10…

The obvious differences didn’t need verification, lighter, fewer receptacles, less power, but I was wondering what I was missing in the comparison. So I called PS Audio Sales Support. Had a nice conversation with one of the representatives, who shall remain nameless, about the differences between the P5 and the P10. We discussed the obvious, and the difference between the heat-sinks on the P10, and the silent fans on the bottom of the P5.

But you know what? Not once did the difference in sound quality come up. I am pretty sure I didn’t specifically ask if there was any difference, more fool me. But I did ask whether the list of differences in the previous paragraph were the only ones, and I was assured they were.

So imagine my surprise when I read Paul’s comment:

“…the P10 does sound better, and noticeably so.”

Maybe surprise isn’t the correct word. Gob-smacked may be more appropriate. If I had been privy to that information, I may not have purchased a P5 from Music Direct yesterday. My two-channel Stereo System is nice, but not quite world-class, and you might argue that I probably wouldn’t hear much difference between the two. But my headphone system is in another class entirely, and whatever difference there is between the P5 and P10 will be readily apparent.

I guess it’s not all bad, at the least I have 60 days to evaluate the P5 risk-free. Hope the gnawing knowledge that the P10 sounds significantly better doesn’t taint my evaluation too negatively. Maybe the question changes to - “How does the P10 compare to the Pure Power One 5.0?”

Paul, my point in this is the obvious one, sound quality is an important consideration in this hobby; you might want to remind your Support People to relay the fact “the P10 does sound better, and noticeably so.”

10

Do remember that the word of “noticeably better” is coming from one with a pretty well tuned ear and a world class system to listen to. I don’t know about you, but I suspect that I would be hard pressed to hear a significant difference between the P5 and P10. I am not sure that I would hear any difference or would be able to identify which PowerPlant was in the system.

Of course, this is your purchase and your system, so it is up to you to decide whether you are likely to hear a difference and if it is worth the difference in cost.

Please do come back and tell us of your experience with the P5, and perhaps even your final decision.

J.P.

11

J.P. makes a very good point; certainly the system in Paul’s Music Room One is more revealing than what most of us have. Also, I suspect that differences between the P5 and P10 might be more apparent if one is using very power-hungry equipment, such as the BHK monoblocks that Paul gets to play with (is there a ‘smiley’ for envy?).

I’m setting up my P5 today (front-end only, until long power cables for the amps arrive). I’ll report back.

12
thranowsky said

“…the P10 does sound better, and noticeably so.”

Maybe surprise isn’t the correct word. Gob-smacked may be more appropriate. If I had been privy to that information, I may not have purchased a P5 from Music Direct yesterday. My two-channel Stereo System is nice, but not quite world-class, and you might argue that I probably wouldn’t hear much difference between the two. But my headphone system is in another class entirely, and whatever difference there is between the P5 and P10 will be readily apparent.

I guess it’s not all bad, at the least I have 60 days to evaluate the P5 risk-free. Hope the gnawing knowledge that the P10 sounds significantly better doesn’t taint my evaluation too negatively. Maybe the question changes to - “How does the P10 compare to the Pure Power One 5.0?”

Paul, my point in this is the obvious one, sound quality is an important consideration in this hobby; you might want to remind your Support People to relay the fact “the P10 does sound better, and noticeably so.”


I will have the sales people soundly thrashed in the morning! Actually, it’s one of the great pleasures in life, whipping employees outside the barn - I simply look for an excuse to do so.

Seriously, I thank you for this heads up. There’s a lot to learn and know and we don’t always get it right. The P10 sounds a LOT better than the P5, but that doesn’t mean the P5 is a slouch. Fortunately MD has a good exchange program.

13
magister said J.P. makes a very good point; certainly the system in Paul's Music Room One is more revealing than what most of us have. Also, I suspect that differences between the P5 and P10 might be more apparent if one is using very power-hungry equipment, such as the BHK monoblocks that Paul gets to play with (is there a 'smiley' for envy?).

I’m setting up my P5 today (front-end only, until long power cables for the amps arrive). I’ll report back.


I would bet there isn’t one among this group that wouldn’t immediately hear the improvements wrought by a P10 vs. a P5 and in any system. The lowered output impedance and bigger power supply make a lot of improvement.

14

Paul:

This weekend I was watching a movie (Mad Max: Fury Road) when my P5 overloaded and shut down. This happened once before when my A/V guy was calibrating my system for 5.1. Certainly both times the spl was very high, but I was surprised that it overloaded.

Does the P10 in addition to more outlets, also have more “headroom”? I want to be able to reach spl’s in the 100+ range without an overload.

The components currently plugged into the P5 are the following: McIntosh MX121 A/V preamp, McIntosh MC205 amp, Bryston 14bsst2 amp, Oppo 105D, Directv DVR, Directstream DAC, Music Server, and a small zone 2 amp. When watching a movie, the zone 2 amp and Directv are shut down. (Speakers being driven are Bryston Model T mains and a Bryston CC.)

In addition to the headroom question, do you think I’m asking too much of a P5 to run the system listed, or are you also surprised? Bryston rates the model T as Sensitivity: 89 dB SPL @ 1 meter with 1 watt (anechoic); Maximum SPL: 118 dB SPL @ 1 meter; Recommended Power: 10 watts to 500. Nominal impedance of 4 ohms.

Thanks in advance,

Steve

15

The P10 does have more headroom and is less prone to shut off than the P5. I use two P10s in my HT, though I bet you’d be ok with just upgrading the P5 to a single P10.

My amp is the 12 channel Marantz Atmos product and I have never shut it down - even watching Mad Max, the latest one - which I had watched at the insistence of my daughter in law and hated - because I thought it had a plot. Turns out it was never intended to. After going back once more, I warmed up to it a bit, love the guitar player in front of the band of bad guys.

16

That Mad Max Fury Road certainly presents a dynamic sound track! I’ll start looking at the upgrade process again.

Thanks,

Steve

17

Just thought I’d add in this thread that I did order the P10 and will be installing it when I get back from Christmas vacation. P5 will be up for sale in January.