I asked a similar question above. A part of Schroedster’s reply was:
On the other hand, The P12 and P15 sound better than the [P5] (https://www.psaudio.com/products/p5-power-plant/) and P10 and not by a small margin. What we learned from making the P12 and P15 carried over to the new P3. Things like an improved output stage that offers exceptionally low output impedance and a world class sine wave generator.
Plus we managed to make it fanless.
All things considered, the new P3 is an improvement over the old.
Should be fine. Stellar P3 can do 300 watts continuous which will easily handle the amps and then because it can do peaks with ease you should be alright.
All should be fine to plug into the P3. I probably wouldn’t hook the SVS into it though. Subs aren’t nearly as sensitive as your other components, and it could tax the P3 quite hard.
We’re not fans of puny transformers either. Paul figured out pretty early that things like transformers can have a major impact on sound quality. The Stellar P3 keeps with the trend of going bigger than needed on the transformer. Here’s quick pic out one of our engineering units.
@Schroedster… as someone who has participated on the PS Audio site for a long time, it’s really good to have an involved PS Audio employee, other than Paul of-course, be involved on the site. I think it’s an important role for the company, especially as the site grows (as it clearly has). Plus, you represent the company well!
How do we properly size the Power Plants based on our equipment? I know that bigger is better but if we wanted to be more accurate how do we calculate?
If I wanted to plug in my BHK preamp, DS Jr DAC, and M700 amps to a Power Plant. Would that be a P12? Or the new P3 is just about right?
Like @lopezjm I’m also wondering how best to gauge which regenerator is sufficient for a particular setup?
My class A amp sucks just below 200W, then I have the PWT and DAC, which I suppose aren’t very power hungry? Last but not least a class D 600W subwoofer.
I have also got a Oppo blue ray player and Denon AVR but never run them at the same time.
6 devices in total. Will the Steller 3 be okay? Right now I’m using the Dectet power strip.
I think they are looking for 80% max continuous draw so 300 x .8 = 240 watts continuous. You would of course have to estimate the total continuous. PSA will be able to tell you about their equipment but you will have to find out about the rest of your equipment on your own. The back panel of each piece should give max draw. You can use one of these also:
It is pretty difficult to give a pat answer for what works and what doesn’t because it isn’t as simple as just watts. Power Plants deliver what’s known as VA which is a combination of a few factors but basically involve power factor and wattage needs. Since
I’ll bet nearly none of our customers have a clue what the power factor of their equipment is it’s nearly impossible to accurately determine how much real power it draws.
As a rule of thumb most power amplifiers that are not class D based have a power factor of 0.7. Class D SMPS can vary from 1 to 0.2 depending on a number of factors.
Here’s an easier way to think about it. Our top 3 models of Power Plants can power almost any system. Let’s put that number of 90% of there systems out there. You’d know if yours was a beast but even then, as in the question of a 600 watt (or
even our own 700 watt mono amplifiers), our Power Plants are typically capable because rarely do system use anywhere near maximum power. In fact, most systems under loud operating conditions use no more than 20% of their amp’s power (if that amp is 200 watts
per channel or higher).
One crude way of getting a handle on power draw is with your hand. How warm does your system get? If really warm it’s telling you it’s taking a lot of current.
To conclude, our Power Plants easily handle most systems. You choose the device you can afford. Bigger is better sounding because Power Plant improvement depends on its output impedance which is dictated by the number of internal devices and power
supply size. A P20 outperforms a P12 on any system. That said, a P12 or P3 are sooooo much better than just what comes out of the wall that it behooves all of us to make sure we have a Power Plant at the core of our system.
You can always call us as well. Our folks are pretty helpful.
Great question. We do tend to say bigger is better, but isn’t always necessary. I like to look at the continuous load limits of the regenerators (P3 = 300W P12 = 600W) and when the system is on, be at about half of the continuous load handling. With that system on, you’re probably at roughly 120-150W. Depending on your speakers, you could go above that. The P3 would be great for this system, but for possible upgrades in the future and better regulation, I recommend a P12.
Have been very happy with my P300 for the past 20+ years as well as the Quintessence, Quintet, Duet, Ultimate Outlet, and duplexes used in various places in my system. Read all the promo info on the Stellar P3 as well as the history of the P-series evolution and the original patent (little of which I actually understood) so am close to pre-ordering.
Is there a Owners Manual available for the Stellar P3 for some light reading before purchase?
Thanks.
