2. amps-preamps
  3. 126166-538

Power conditioner help

Hi All,

 Posting this here since there is no section devoted to power products. I also posted it in the miscellaneous section. 

If you had a choice between PS Audio P10 power plant and a Transparent Powerisolator Reference, which would you choose and why? Both available at reasonable prices, though P10 is still quite a bit more. I have a pretty high end system with a Musical Fidelity NuVista 800 integrated amp, NuVista CD (the new one), Scoutmaster turntable, SDS/ADS, Herron VTPH2, Wilson Sashas, and all Transparent Ref MM2 cables. System sounds great, but my present Powerbank 8 is quite old now, so I want to upgrade it.

Thanks for your opinions.
arsh
inna
7,132 posts
 
Well, then I would seek Herron's advice.
arsh OP
367 posts
 
I did. Aside from saying that power conditioners can make a big difference, he had no experience with these particular units, nor did he recommend any in particular.
inna
7,132 posts
 
This may sound odd but in this case I would replace Herron with another brand and leave everything else as it is. He is not a man I would want to deal with - he was most unhelpful. Thank you for telling us.

auxinput
2,920 posts
 

The PS Audio P10 is not a standard power conditioner since it takes the A/C voltage coming in and uses DSP to generate it's own "perfect" A/C sine wave for output using a normal power amplifier.  Many people have had excellent results with the PS Audio regenerators and have reported significant improvement over conventional power conditioners.  Normally, I would just recommend that you go with the P10 for all source/preamp equipment and then run the amplifiers directly to the wall (since the P10 has generally made more of a difference with source/preamp pieces and less of a difference with power amplifiers).  The P10 does have 1500 watts of A/C output and I would say it's good for smaller type amplifiers.

However, you have an extremely hefty integrated there (330 watts/channel and about 103 lbs).  Also, your Wilson Sasha's have a demanding impedance curve and drops down to 2-3 ohms in the 70-300 hz area.  This will put more demand on the amplifier and you need a lot of current on demand from both the amp and the A/C input.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-sasha-wp-loudspeaker-measurements#I1KGxHkW4v8MMPtS.97

I hate to say this, but I might suspect that the Transparent may do better here because it will not be as current limiting.  The PS Audio P10 may have a little delay when the amp demands more current from the A/C and you may lose bass/midbass punch and body.

arsh OP
367 posts
 
Thanks auxinput. That is really helpful.
Inna, I must respectfully disagree. Keith Herron is extremely helpful and always willing to answer questions and give advice when he can. His customer service has been exemplary. 
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