Then why specs are identical between P12 and P15? Also, how does that compare to what you get straight from the wall? The only difference I see is continuous load, and how much surge protection is available. Output impedance is the same.
PS. Under more duress, also would mean my point is valid, IF you system has to pull more power you may need to go bigger.
Continous Load:
1000VA - 1200VA
Max Peak Load: THE SAME
Output Impedence:
<0.008 ohm: THE SAME ON BOTH
Specs hardly ever tell the whole story. What I said is correct. The bigger power plants are designed to have a lower output impedance. It matters. Put another way: There’s a big difference between instantaneous current flow and average current flow, having more current available when current is needed is good. All power supplies fill their caps over a period of time, the impedance of the source and the impedance of the power supply before the caps limit the fill rate (which can be good or bad…)
You can’t get more power on average than you can from the wall: above a certain capacity the wall is the limit and hence the longer term averages have to be the same. It’s the short term capability that matters.
Need for a Power Plant is very much system dependent. If you’re in a rural area, with little in the way of power irregularities & “pollution” on your incoming line, Power Plant may not make a meaningful or cost effective difference.
Well, you said the output impedance is lower, but spec says otherwise. No other way for me to verify it.
In terms of wall output, my question was, wouldn’t you actually have higher instantaneous current flow if there was no device in between your amp and the wall? Assuming there’s no underlying issue with the supplied AC.
I have always agreed with you that the published specs do not make a convincing case for going to a larger Power Plant, beyond capacity.
I live in the country not a highly populated area. I also have a 10,000 watt solar system on my roof. I too was a non believer with the idea of a Power Plant. That until I added a P-10 to my system. I was not prepared for the improvement it made in my system. It was not subtle. The soundstage expanded further the overall sound was easier to listen to. Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it.
The power plants store some energy and can provide it on demand: e.g. they have caps. The trick is to have a low enough impedance path from them to the output when needed. You can look up the resistance of your house wiring (for 10 gauge, about an ohm / 1000 feet) and the nominal amps for short periods, 55A for 10 guage. 15 amps continuously. The resistance back to the breakers, the breakers themselves and the resistances of any wire splices force a voltage drop that’s larger for larger currents, the power plant’s job is to provide the correct voltage in spite of that.
In order to provide a cleaner sine than the wall, you need to be able to provide more current than you can get from the wall (for short periods of time.)
(And if it matters, remember I’m not an employee of PS Audio and don’t represent them, I’m just answering questions that seem obvious to me. For years I had my amps plugged directly into the wall, all conditioning I tried messed with the sound quality. I finally got a P20 to try and was quite happy with the improvement. [Edit] I have 8 direct runs of #10 to my breaker box. Each amp had it’s own #10 outlet. Plugging both into the P20 still sounded better than the wall.)
So is it with my P12. The music seem to be portray with more a sense of ease with cleaner images and more visceral dynamics when heavy drums comes into the picture. The difference in plugging into the wall is not trivial. Maybe my wall sockets are very high in distortion and noise, but it really muck up the sound with a lot of veiling. I guess it depends on what kind of power is coming into your house to know how much improvement you can get with a regenerator.
Some companies know how bad the sound is from wall outlets and use batteries in their components to avoid the garbage coming from the wall with excellent results.
“Knock it”? What part of “MAY not make a meaningful…” did you miss?
In my case ignorance is bliss. I make no judgements on the efficacy of powerplants but am very happy with how my system sounds.
There may well be a new level of sonic Nirvana at some stage in the distant future. 
Have you had a chance to look at the Power Plant information? https://www.psaudio.com/directstream-power-plant-12/ and click the tab labeled How it works.
Power Plants are regenerators. They take the incoming AC, convert it to DC, then regenerate new AC. What comes out is fully regulated to within 1/10th of a volt, lower impedance in the micro Ohms regardless of incoming impedance, low distortion,
perfect sine wave.
Tewd is correct that each successive Power Plant has more power supply and greater ability at peak current and delivery.
THIS! If one is happy with their system sound, that’s the only thing that matters! For me, I actually did the opposite, went from Power conditioner (nothing fancy, APC HT model from 10yrs ago), to the wall and sound improved!
Hi Paul,
I understand and I believe it helps when AC power isn’t great… question was more around P12 vs. P15 and if one needs that much reserve power of P15, which I think isn’t necessary for OP based on his system. Diminishing returns beyond P12.
Your observation is correct power conditioners are detrementle to sound quality. A regenerate is beneficial.
Not a universal rule. The basic conditioner I have and most in the market aren’t designed right for Amps. But correctly designed ones are. I’ve heard the audioquest conditioner and it sure sounds good and I’ve seen in other forums ppl have switched back and forth between regenerators and conditioners and one or the other worked better for them. It’s all relative.
I once had an Audioquest 1000 power conditioner and it improved the sound quite well.
It doesn’t approach the sq of my P20, but it was only $1K.