P12 vs P20

And if you divide your displayed Watt output by the %, what do you get?

Can someone please confirm if these version numbers are correct? I inserted the SD Card from the P5 and I’m wondering if the P20 perhaps auto-installed the P5 firmware? But I don’t think so, as Main file version is 1.25…

Bootloader 1.13
Main 0.01.25
Power Meter 0.21.00
Oscillator 0.57.00
Web 1.22.00

I selected Restore Defaults and nothing changed, although the P5 firmware SD card was still inserted.

Why did you load P5 sd card in there? There are separate downloads for P20 and P5 under the Resources page.

Yes, I know. I just inserted the card that I had in the P5. I don’t think the P20 should load the P5 firmware. I keep the card inserted all the time.

I used a 20A dedicated circuit which I highly recommend. With BHK 300s, a BHK preamp, a DS DAC, DMP and 2 1000W sub amps connected my P20 ran between 30% & 40% depending on the demands of the music content. All that said, your speakers and the load they present to ty our amp/s can significantly change the demands on your P20.

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Thanks, but I’m looking for someone to actually do the math with a 15A circuit on a P20.
Does Output / % Load = 1500?

The math relating to the output percentage is a bit more complicated than simply dividing by the potential 1,500w. Due to regulations, not one single piece of electronics can pull all 15 amps, for obvious reasons. I don’t remember what number this is, but it ultimately doesn’t matter. The reason it doesn’t matter is pretty clever. Essentially, you are getting all of the hardware headroom benefits of the 20amp. Due to software, the P20 will detect if you are getting close to pulling the 15A limit. In other words, it will shut itself off safely before you trip the 15A circuit that it is plugged into. Unless you are actually throwing the P20 into protection, you are getting the full benefit of the headroom it offers.

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Ok great, thanks James. So do the firmware file versions look correct?
I hope the P20 would not auto-install the P5 firmware if the SD card with the P5 firmware is inserted?

The FW versions are correct. The P20 won’t load the P5 FW. Believe me, you’d know if it did.

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Thanks!
Ok so the takeaway is that the Load % does not correlate to % of 1500W (15A) or 2000W (20A)!
Thank you, again.

Day 1 with the P20 and I can already tell the dynamics are way more “dynamic” vs the P5. Seems like a lower noise floor as well.

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Another thing to keep in mind is that the total capacity of the Powerplant is rated in Volt-Amps (VA), and the measured power you’re looking at is in Watts (W). 1 Watt = 1 Volt-Amp only at unity Power Factor (PF), and with AC power you only see unity PF with purely resistive loads. The load that your PP is “seeing” is not purely resistive, so the load on the PP in VA is actually larger than the measured Watts on the display.

I would assume that the “Load %” calculation is being done in VA, since that’s how the PP is actually rated.

Thanks. Great point, and you’re exactly right.

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Ok, thanks guys! Very interesting… will try to educate myself on VA and PF over the weekend.
So while the Load % has not changed that much compared to the P5 (it dropped by about 10%), there is still a capacity increase -sort of- of 20% (1200 -> 1500W).
I guess I’ll just look at the graphical meter to see how close to the limit I am…

Not unlike yourself Brett, my P10 does well by me. I do use isolation on the secondary side that is an extremely well built isolation/noise filter banks with both common and differential filtering with 100dB of isolation from any other power bank or back into the power on it’s primary side, which I use to isolate each of the switched supplies and video and leave the high current 2 channel amp and the source in the primary power outlets on the P10, both having linear supplies.

Are these figures correct, for max continuous load:
P20 (15A) = 1500VA
P20 (20A) = 2000VA
P12 (15A) = 1000VA <- I read a Stereophile review saying it’s 1200VA, but per the website it’s 1000VA, correct?

P12 total current output
US and Japan version: 1,000VA
Europe and Asia: 1,200VA

Converting amps to VA
Single phase: Multiply amps by voltage (120 volts in the U.S.). 10A x 120V = 1200 VA. (P = V * I)

So a 1000VA is designed to handle roughly a 600-Watt load

Thanks @Barsley. And how do we get from 1200VA to 1000VA for the P12? I think it’s by taking into account the 85% efficiency factor.
That also gets us to 1500VA for the P20 on 15A (120V x 15A x 85%)

EU/Asia 240v
US/Japan 120v

You’ve got some apples & oranges stuff going on here…

“VA” is not the unit designation for “current output”…it’s Volt-Amps, often referred to as “Apparent Power”. Apparent Power (VA) is not the same as Real Power, normally expressed in Watts (W). The relationship between Apparent Power and Real Power is: Real Power = Apparent Power * Power Factor (PF). PF is a unitless ratio, less than or equal to one.

A 1000 VA device is designed to handle 1000 VA. At a PF of 0.6, that would be 600 Watts. At a PF of 0.9, that would be 900 Watts. It’s entirely dependent on the electrical characteristics of the connected load…

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The above information was given to initially answer the question of determining VA. (P = V * I)

Concerning watts, I was simply giving a roughly designed target, and not a definitive equation to it. (P (W) = S (VA) × PF)