At the 11th hour about to pull the trigger on the single most expensive component I’ve ever put in my system.
My kit is good, worthy of good AC.
The system currently fed by balanced mains, and the reduction in noisefloor etc was easily noticable. (I live in a block of apartments…or “flats” as we call em in the UK)
Good chat with my Dealer in UK (bought my DS Dac from him) suggests I’d get more immediate bang for buck with a BHK Pre over the P20.
Already decided Im getting one of those and a Nuwave phono converter…I’m a do it once and do it right kinda guy, and fortunatly I’m in a position where I can realistically add a P20 to power my system.
Wont get any better than that and I can tick the big “best power supply” issue as done.
What if…I got both BHK and a P20?
BUT…what if my voltage fluctuation from ideal isn’t absolutely terrible?
Done my research and I know Paul’s adherence to lowering impedance being as or more important than constant voltage, but given the cost of the P20 (no point getting the 12 or 15, do it right if its going to improve things, no point asking “What if” as life is too short)
…given the cost:
Are the other sine wave regen. non voltage fix advantages worth the price of entry?
I don’t know what balanced mains means in the UK context. You live in a block of flats (I’m an expat Brit), so does that mean that the circuit (or mains ring) that powers your hifi doesn’t power any other appliances and isn’t connected to other flats? i.e. the wiring goes directly from the supply board to the electrical outputs that power your hifi?
If it doesn’t there is a possibility that other devices in our flat (or other devices in adjoining flats) could pollute your hifi mains power.
HOWEVER, doesn’t your PS Audio supplier allow for a trial period for the P20? You could purchase the BHK-Pre and after a suitable period to get used to the Pre then trial the P20 to see/hear if it makes a worthwhile difference.
Not exactly the same unit I have (mines is all hardwired) but explains the principle.
Have this already, hence the audiophillia nervosa about the ‘what if’ of my AC voltage fluctuation being…you know…“actually OK” and the P20’s strengths being wasted on my system compared to how it is currently.
And a P20 is 10K?
But theres the lowest impedance thing…might blow the balanced mains out the water…happy to be rid of it and Im in a block of flats(apartments) …AC supply’s gotta be compromised?
Just want to make my aystem sound as good as it can.
I cannot see Paul saying anything but purchase a P20. He firmly believes in the principle behind it, Paul owns the company that builds them.
Perhaps the question is really how best to evaluate the results of both the Pre & the P20. Your local supplier suggests going Pre 1st. Is it fear of missing out that you don’t believe him? Borrow both units for several weeks.
You will at least have bigger biceps when you complete the comparisons.
Theory only gets you so far - listening in your own environment will tell you where and when to allocate your money - or purchase both and be happy you haven’t missed out.
I bought a P12 not only to protect my gear against mains fluctuations, spikes and dropouts but also to eliminate various types of noise in the power line that negatively affects how my system sounds. These include radio frequency interference and electromagnetic interference. I also recently found out that my mains line has a some DC voltage in it, which isn’t at all good.
Since the P12 recreates it’s own clean power and isn’t too expensive, it is, in my opinion, the most cost-effective way
But in hindsight, maybe I have bought the P20 instead of the P12. Have a look at my wattage draw.
That photo was taken just seconds before my P12 shut itself down.
I was comparing two Class A monoblock amplifiers with a stereo model, also Class A. As they warmed up, total power draw approached a thousand watts and my P12 shut itself off. Totally my fault.
Good question. I recall @Paul mentioning somewhere that if a light buzzing sound is heard from the Power Plant, there’s DC in the mains. I hear light buzzing from inside my P12.
My belief is that since the P12, P15 and P20 create their own AC, it is free from DC, and any DC before it does not get through to our gear. Perhaps someone from PS Audio could chime in?
While this balanced box of transformer has a good story I would be careful with its use. More than a few people have sunk large sums of money into mains isolation transformers with the promise of lowering noise only to discover the downside of weaker sound quality.
A regenerator like the P20 will improve dynamics in ways most people never thought possible. A balanced mains transformer will do the exact opposite.
