# THD IN 1.6% THD OUT 3.5% What is wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** Power Components\ **Created:** [April 2, 2016, 9:05am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939 "2016-04-02T09:05:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![markusbonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6f9a4e/32.png) [@markusbonk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/markusbonk)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 9:05am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/1 "2016-04-02T09:05:21Z")
Hi, THD IN 1.6% THD OUT 3.5% The scope also has a nasty glitch on the output: the input to the p10 looks a lot better. What can be the problem? Markus ---
**Author:** ![magicknow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@magicknow](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/magicknow)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 10:29am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/2 "2016-04-02T10:29:08Z")
Mine did that and it turned out to be the regenerater board ---
**Author:** ![markusbonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6f9a4e/32.png) [@markusbonk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/markusbonk)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 10:44am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/3 "2016-04-02T10:44:43Z")
Oh just great. I’ve been using it for two weeks, now. Initially the THD OUT was 0.1%. Can anyone recommend a more reliable product? ---
**Author:** ![Elk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/elk/32/1240_2.png) [@Elk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Elk)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 11:53am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/4 "2016-04-02T11:53:30Z")
P10s have a low failure rate. Unfortunately, you happened to get one of the few which developed a problem. Even if only one on a million fail, there is going to be someone with one which has an issue. You are that person. ☹ PS Audio has excellent service. Give them a call and they will take care of you. You may want to speak with your seller first as you had an issue so quickly. They may be willing to swap units with you or otherwise accommodate. ---
**Author:** ![Paul](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/paul/32/6_2.png) [@Paul](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Paul)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/5 "2016-04-02T13:17:48Z")
> **markusbonk said** Oh just great. I've been using it for two weeks, now. Initially the THD OUT was 0.1%. Can anyone recommend a more reliable product? Elk's correct. The units have an enviable low failure rate - though that doesn't help you much. One thing that might have happened is your power angle may have changed so much you need to adjust the phase - in which case there's nothing actually wrong with the unit. Can you call us on Monday so we can sort it out for you? Should it prove to be a regenerator we can turn it around for you quickly and at our expense. My apologies for whatever the cause. ---
**Author:** ![Brodric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c68b51/32.png) [@Brodric](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Brodric)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/6 "2016-04-04T04:08:52Z")
> **Elk said** P10s have a low failure rate. Unfortunately, you happened to get one of the few which developed a problem.... I must be really, really unlucky then. I've had 6 power plants fail (PPP x 3, P5 x 2, P10 x 1). All have either been repaired or replaced under warranty. Reliability has been getting better and better over the years. I've never had a P3 fail, it's my preferred power plant of all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Paul](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/paul/32/6_2.png) [@Paul](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Paul)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/7 "2016-04-04T04:48:55Z")
You’re not unlucky, you’re in Australia. There, our track record’s not so good - until we figured out why. In Australia the voltage swings are crazy high compared to just about anywhere else in the world. We actually had to perform a partial redesign to cover them, but now that’s been a few years and reliability, even in Australia, is quite good. ---
**Author:** ![Elk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/elk/32/1240_2.png) [@Elk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Elk)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/8 "2016-04-04T12:52:48Z")
Very interesting. How big are the swings in Australia? Do you know why their grid is different than other locations? ---
**Author:** ![stevem2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@stevem2](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/stevem2)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/9 "2016-04-04T12:59:33Z")
Just a guess but one possible contributing factor might be the distances that power has to travel. Oz is a mighty big place, which probably makes it harder to keep the voltages balanced. ---
**Author:** ![tedsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/tedsmith/32/96626_2.png) [@tedsmith](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/tedsmith)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/10 "2016-04-04T13:13:41Z")
I don’t know if it’s still the case but a lot of the wide open spaces in Australia were “single wire earth return.” Our small neighborhood was the last little chunk of SWER in PSE’s territory until a few years ago. I can attest that there are a lot more power interruptions with only one wire instead of multiple wires and worse, SWER often involves hardware that automatically attempts to close “circuit breakers” that might have intermittently tripped adding multiple spikes whenever something trips. Think of normal power distribution like balanced cables - there a good degree of common mode noise rejection (e.g. the noise from lightning storms, etc.) SWER is like unbalanced cables: you get whatever spikes come down the line. Here was our power pole before and after. ![2008-04-08-160338-1.jpg](http://www.psaudio.com/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-image-uploads/tedsmith/2016/04/2008-04-08-160338-1.jpg "2008-04-08-160338-1.jpg") ![2008-12-06-101506-1.jpg](http://www.psaudio.com/wp-content/sp-resources/forum-image-uploads/tedsmith/2016/04/2008-12-06-101506-1.jpg "2008-12-06-101506-1.jpg") ---
**Author:** ![Elk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/elk/32/1240_2.png) [@Elk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Elk)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/11 "2016-04-04T14:22:51Z")
Thanks. Ted! Neat stuff ---
**Author:** ![markusbonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6f9a4e/32.png) [@markusbonk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/markusbonk)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/12 "2016-04-16T05:47:38Z")
Quite frankly if you wish to discuss Australian power issues, please do, but start your own 'Power Down Under" thread, please. I am more interested causes a PS Audio P10 to break down in central Europe. Why would - if that is the problem - the regulator board blow and what will stop a repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Elk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/elk/32/1240_2.png) [@Elk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Elk)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 5:57am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/13 "2016-04-16T05:57:42Z")
Given that your post is the first in nearly two weeks, I think you are safe from being exposed to any more related information that happens to not be of interest to you. There is no way to guarantee there will not be a problem with a PowerPlant. Every electrical component can fail. Did you call PS Audio as Paul requested to get your issue sorted out? ---
**Author:** ![Paul](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/paul/32/6_2.png) [@Paul](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Paul)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 6:46am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/14 "2016-04-16T06:46:52Z")
> **markusbonk said** Quite frankly if you wish to discuss Australian power issues, please do, but start your own 'Power Down Under" thread, please. I am more interested causes a PS Audio P10 to break down in central Europe. Why would - if that is the problem - the regulator board blow and what will stop a repeat. One thing you might try is changing the phase which is available to you through the front panel touch screen. Sometimes power lines get out of whack far enough the Power Plant cannot lock onto the phase. Give that a try. If it still looks bad you'll have to go back to your dealer and arrange for repair. ---
**Author:** ![markusbonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6f9a4e/32.png) [@markusbonk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/markusbonk)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/15 "2016-04-17T05:19:59Z")
I had contacted support last week and they have been so kind to arrange for the P10 to be repaired/serviced. Before that I had tried adjusting the phase. As stated before I am concerned with what may have caused the issue - it had been working fine for a couple of weeks - and I want to avoid a repeat. The only thing I can think of is that I have been switching the system on/off more than I did before - are there any issues with switching on/off loads? ---
**Author:** ![Paul](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/paul/32/6_2.png) [@Paul](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Paul)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/16 "2016-04-17T05:52:30Z")
None that I know of. You should be able to switch away! ---
**Author:** ![Elk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/elk/32/1240_2.png) [@Elk](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/Elk)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/17 "2016-04-17T19:00:02Z")
There probably is nothing you did, or that you can prevent, which caused the problem. ---
**Author:** ![wglenn](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/wglenn/32/172_2.png) [@wglenn](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/wglenn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 6:31am UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/thd-in-1-6-thd-out-3-5-what-is-wrong/2939/18 "2016-04-18T06:31:01Z")
I know the problem downunder! I’ll bet the phase vector in OZ is anti-clockwise. ![21_gif](http://www.psaudio.com/wp-content/forum-smileys/21.gif "21\_gif")