Not so portable…
The Powerwall is pretty darn neat. PS HQ actually runs fully on solar through the day (weather permitting). Our AC inverters are pretty noisy, though - we typically chalk in around 4.5% THD in.
Oh no! I thought it would make it better, great to know that, thanks Scott!
My desktop system runs off a Stellar P3 so it’s no problem 
Inverters are almost universally noisy; it just comes with how they convert DC to AC. I like that we run on solar, though, so I’m happy with the trade-off.
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It didn’t occur to me that the inversion process might be introducing line noisy. Might have to call the company and ask if they have any specs on this.
Yeah, it’s a bummer that the inversion process produces as much noise as it does.
Batteries are at their best when they’re in gear designed to work off of batteries - something like Chord’s portable DAC/head amps are a good example.
Using batteries to try and make clean AC tends to be a futile effort, though.
If you do give the company a ring I’d love to hear what they say regarding noise from their inverter.
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I couldn’t agree more with these statements. Or as an external module feeding the device with DC.
Got a hold of the company.
"I was finally able to catch up with our engineers and they have informed us that the fans can get as loud as:
-45db at ½ a meter
The AC inverter has a distortion rating of less than 5%. Hopefully this is helpful! Let us know if you have any other questions on these."
Less than 5% probably means right at 5, which doesn’t sound all that great. However based on the review from Enjoy the Music, and user feedback, there is a significant improvement in SQ. I’m curious though as to what the unit is doing to improve SQ, despite distortion being close to 5%?
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Thanks for posting this, that’s some great info.
I would agree with you that less than 5% is a pretty wide window, and they’re probably sitting on the higher side of that window.
Power can be pretty tricky, and audiophilia even trickier so I don’t doubt the possibility of something like this making an improvement, though I couldn’t tell you why it makes an improvement.
Ted, your post seems very interesting but I am not sure what it means. Can you elaborate a bit for my ignorance? Thank you sir!
The Blue line is 120V AC the desired output.
The Red line is an approximation to 120V AC that has less than 5% distortion.
I got the Red line by taking the biggest steps from one voltage to another as I could without more than 5% distortion. But that doesn’t matter, my point is that the redline could be an output of a UPS that has less than 5% distortion. I could give you much uglier outputs that are also less than 5% distortion. I’m not claiming that that any particular UPS would give the red line but some that claim sine output and only use three separate voltages.
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Got it! Makes sense. I guess using only three separate voltages doesn’t make for much of a “wave” does it? Ha!
Thank you for that.
I know this depends on the distortion coming in, but what kind of levels of distortion can one except from the output of the Stellar P3?
Solar cells - Batteries and HIFI - here’s mine - run smoothly
But they are not transportable lol - they come from trucks
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Wow, that’s quite the setup! Do those batteries supply enough watts to run your entire system, including amps?
Yes a few hours, only used when playing in class A
Very interesting thread. I have 4kW worth of PV panels with 18 micro inverters (1 on each panel). Have never measured AC quality but I’ll bet the SP3 I just ordered will help immensely. Didn’t even think about this aspect of power quality or lack thereof.
Thanks.
I have 2.8kV of panels on the roof and an inverter between me and the general utility. I got a P5 Regenerator and have been watching the input vs output. It may be the utility supplier, but I suspect my inverter, which is always online with my supply, is providing a very poor supply (as it is connected to my utility supplier through my main panel). On the P5 display I have consistently input 6.5+% THD…my P5 is doing it’s best to reduce that to .1-.2% on the output. It does make a difference.
Yikes that’s some pretty high distortion. My system is also grid-tied and a bit higher peak power. This regenerator is looking like a good idea.
Thanks for sharing.