Power Conditioner or Preamp to improve sound?

I don’t currently use a PreAmp, but go directly from my DSD DAC to BHK250 - would adding a power conditioner be better than adding a comprably priced PreAmp to improve sound? Just thinking about it atm… any suggestioms?

Some people prefer not using a preamp. I personally always favor using a preamp. So in my opinion there is no easy answer to your question. Both could help, perhaps one more than the other. Budget?

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You’re dealing with two different things here.

A power conditioner (in the case of PS Audio products, a regenerator) should help compensate for poor quality power coming into your house. The worse the incoming power, the greater the improvement you will probably get – of course,YMMV. Do you know (or can you find out) anything about the power coming into your house; how steady is the voltage and how close to the ideal 120 V? You’ll also need to do your research about power conditioners, since there are many on the market that operate in different ways. Sometimes they make the system sound worse – for instance, more lifeless.

Many folks here, including me, do find that using a preamp improves the sound of a system. No one has yet been able to explain why this is so, and it’s not true for everyone’s system. There’s no way to tell except by trying it.

I might start with the power, since that will affect all the components in your system. But there is no hard and fast rule about this.

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Power conditioners suck in my experience.
Power regenerators are a completely different thing and they work a dream.
I think that the DSD to BHK250 combo sounds quite good.
The regenerator will improve the quality of sound of everything plugged into it, so start there. For just the DSD and BHK250, the P12 will be nice.

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Perhaps I misunderstood, but I thought Paul/PSA recommends plugging everything but power amps into regenerators.

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I’m not sure what Paul has said, but I’ve been using PS Audio regenerators since the introduction of the P300, and they have always made my power amplifiers sound better than plugged directly into the wall (I’ve used SET tube amps from 2 to 7 watts per channel, and a push-pull tube amp with 25 watts per channel over that time).

I’d not want to be without a preamp or a power regenerator, I’d start with the power regenerator myself.

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PowerPlant. 100%.

Preamps shouldn’t change the sound. If it does it’s perhaps 2nd harmonics (tubes) or other distortion/coloration you prefer but different isn’t necessarily better/improved. Main function of a preamp is to handle multiple inputs and control volume. DSP volume control @ 64 bits is completely transparent, more so than any analog potentiometer ever made.

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Start with the Powerplant first, and you may find you can wait on the pre a little longer. Pre will improve over DAC by itself for sure, but PP will help the entire system.

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Knowing your budget and sonic goals would be most helpful in providing recommendations. Personally I’d suggest a Pass Labs XP-22. Sold my power filter, (Puritan PSM 156) and power conditioner (P15) to step up to a Gryphon PowerZone 3.10. It is a big step up financially as well as performance wise.
Have a plan and move in steps, starting with the preamp is my recommendation.

I can confirm that not all amps benefit from a power regenerator. For example my cj premier 11a and Pass Labs XA-25 preferred a power feed direct from the wall. In each case the power was a dedicated 20 amp feed.

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I’ve never met a preamp that didn’t change the sound, whether by improving electrical compatibility or adding body and heft.

The Mk II sounds really good without a preamp, in my system better with my preamp. Tastes etc. all factor in.

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My two cents… If you 100% stream adding a pre-amp is not a good value. Can adding a pre-amp to your system make it sound better? Absolutely, depending on the system, BUT spending that money on upgrading something else will usually pay bigger dividends.
Also, paying an electrician to add a dedicated 20A line provides a noticeable improvement and less expensive than a power regenerator.

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My digital section sounds perfectly fine using the DSD volume control.
But I have never not enjoyed the added heft and body that Lonson mentioned, as well as added timbre, depth, dimensionality, texture, breath, believability that any of my preamps have provided.

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THE reasons to have a preamp in the system

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Great info - am going to have a think about budget and decide a path forward based on that. Appreciate all the feedback. Recently came to understand that hifi is a journey, not a destination… gonna enjoy the journey.

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I am using a PowerPlant P15 for TV now, and frankly it is a waste for using such an expensive generator for that. My TV remote sometimes triggered shutoff on P15 so that is another issue.

I am considering selling it for $3.6k. I do not know your budget, but PM me if you are interested.

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I am struggling right now with the question of running my amp (BHK250) into my P12 or directly into the wall. For a long time I ran it off the P12, but recently found that plugging it straight in on a dedicated line gives more life and presence to the music. Folks here have commented that sometimes amps sound better bypassing the regenerator. Is there a way to tell whether it’s simply so for my setup, or is the P12 underpowered? I tried to add up all the power draw from my components and compare it with the P12’s output, but ran into some problems. I’m not eager to move up to a P15, but perhaps could do so if there was reason to think it would help. Any suggestions?

If the amp sounds better directly into the wall, then connect it directly to the wall. I have had multiple amps that sound better connected to my P12, and I also had 2 amps that sounded better connected directly to the wall. But all of my other components have always benefitted from being connected to the P12, including two TV’s

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I believe you’ve answered it yourself. Best answer I can provide is to try it yourself, plug the amp into your power plant, and then compare it sans power plant. The sound you prefer is the configuration you should go with. Insertion of a power plant is no guarantee of a sonic improvement with various amplifiers.
As are most things in this hobby the sonic results achieved are situational, e.g. based on your gear in your room.

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interested - when I have saved up, will touch base to see if still available - mahalo

Sure, I’m not in a hurry.