P12 vs P15

Power Components
1

My P5 is handling my current system at around 40% usage. Your specs indicate the impedance on the P12 and P15 is the same. So if I were to upgrade, what advantage would the P15 provide over the P12??

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2

Did you ever upgrade? I was in the same situation and just ordered a P12.

3

I recently got a P12. I am loving it thus far. The music sounds very dynamic now and the bass is very deep. I upgraded from a Shunyata Hydra Talos. I too wondered about the P12 vs P15, but ultimately decided on the P12 for a few reasons:

  1. I really don’t have power hungry equipment. My Luxman Class A amp is 60 WPC with a 4 ohm load. With all my equipment going, I am using no more than 350W; as reported by the P12 display. The P15 seems like it would be overkill for my system.

  2. Cost. The P15 is much costlier.

  3. I didn’t want another heavy piece to take upstairs. If I ever need to get this thing repaired or sell it off or upgrade it down the road, the P12 is much lighter and easier to move around.

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4

Exactly the same reasoning I used deciding between the P-12 and P-15. I’m keeping my P-5 in service, and the P-12 fit the bill. The size and weight of the equipment was a key factor in the decision.

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5

Has anyone tried a P-12 with a BHK 250, DS Dac and 2 REL S-3 subs all plugged into it? Is it capable of handling the load?

6

I’ve yet to try this exact setup, but I have a number of customers that run the BHK 250 and DSD DAC into the P12 with no problem. Adding the two REL S-3s won’t be enough draw for any cause for concern. They’re rated at 400W of class D, so they’ll be really efficient. The P12 would probably run a bit warm, but should’t be an issue. I do prefer to have a bit more headroom, for sonic quality, and possible future expansion. Something like the P15 would allow for quite a bit more headroom.

7

Would your best quality power cord be attached from the P12 to the wall, or from the P-12 to your (power) hungriest component, considering the regeneration process.

8

Jeez, that’s a great question. I’ve always been a fan of upgrading the cables in between the regenerator and your gear first. This has always made sense because you want to send that pure power to the your gear uninterrupted. However, I recently had a customer reach out to me and mention they upgraded the cable powering their P10, and said it made a HUGE improvement. I think my best advice would be to try it both ways. AB testing isn’t always that easy, but I think this is one of those situations that needs it in order to find the best configuration.

9

I just did both because upscaleaudio has a PS Audio cable sale going on. I’m burning them in as we speak. I didn’t take the time to do one at a time and compare. Sorry.

10

No need to apologize. Just enjoy the cables and let us know what you think once they’re burned in.

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11

I am using 2 Dectets and hope to replace with a P15 or P20 in the future. In addition to PSA power cables, I tried a PSA Noise Harvester. My 74 year old ears cannot detect a sonic improvement; but, the device works very hard when a dimmer switch is on. Proof enough for me, I immediately ordered a Noise Harvester for every outlet in my listening room.

12

I’m burning in my new M700s at the same time so it will be difficult to give a comparison. They replaced my S300 and were a large difference immediately. I can’t wait for burn in. I guess I’ll have to listen to a lot of music for a while. Such a burden.

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13

It’s shocking how much we have to suffer for this hobby. And our sacrifice is so under-appreciated by the non-audiophile world.

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14

LOL … I think an artist could have a royal time turning some of the remarks here into cartoons :slight_smile:

15

I picked up two AC-5s, and was curious if it was better to deploy both of them to power devices from the P-12, or to use one of them to power the P-12 itself.

16

I’m not the one to answer your question. I’ve never tried different combinations. Is setup such that you can try different connections?

17

My preference is to use one of them to power the P12.

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18

Got it, I’ll give that a try.

19

There’s enough of a difference with my P20 between the stock cord vs an AC5 to the wall that others who are not audiophiles and really don’t care, can hear a distinct improvement.
Just be sure to shut everything down before disconnecting/connecting power cords or you could blow some fuses.

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20

Thanks for the reply Ron. It will be a fresh installation on a new P12. Certainly good advice on the powering down during the connection of components. Have a P5 now and am adding the P12 to my system. The P5 will stay onboard for the TV, cable box, and blu-ray player.