Bigaloe

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Connossieur,Scotland

Summary:
I tried to live without this unit in my system,as part of a downsizing exercise.I even had the house totally rewired with new consumer panel,outlets etc,which improved matters,but there were still clicks and noise when various appliances switched on and off,and during a serious listening sesh,that just won't do. So the P300 stays in my system,providing clean stable power to all front end components,with just the Chord power amp relying on the mains ac. P300 performed perfectly for the first 11 months,then went belly up,just went dead while the cd and pre amp were on standby,thankfully it was still under gaurantee,and the dealers fixed it within a week. Sound is more organic and natural when the P300 is supplying juice to the front end,voices that more real. So all in all,i can't live without it in my system,which must be a thorough recommendation.

Strengths:
Extracts the best from your hifi,provides protection for your gear,and you know that your equipment is getting stable,clean power.

Weaknesses:
Runs hot (i only power mine up for a listening sesh),fan noise is obtrusive but can be subdued,i have placed my P300 on soft squash balls cut in half,and then on carpet.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Lotus

Summary:
A serious component every serious audio listener and audiophile should at least try. Most of the cases, the efforts are made for source components, amplifiers, speakers etc. But some gray areas are always there: Electricity, vibration, room acoustics etc. A "balanced" but moderate budget system with a better AC supply and good vibration control can beat many overpriced ones with poor AC, no vibration control etc. But PS300 is for every kind of audio setup regardless of cost. Most dramatic influence is seperation of instuments in music, improving soundstage, better dynamics with more detailed presentation. I use it at 230V and prefer SS1 due to better soundstage and depth than other wave combinations and sin waves. Heard their new Multiwave-2 but do not think I will need it. For fan noise as I think it is the only headache, I should say it is very much related to the bottom surface where PS300 is standing. I was using it on tick glass shelf and dissappointed with the huge noise even more than my power amp's fan. Then I tried it on carpet and other materials and discovered that carpet is insulating the noise but the hard surfaces like granite, glass are amplifying the fan noise. I put a hard carpet under PS300 with enough spacing to get air from bottom. Currently I can not hear any fan noise from my listening position, even in night listenings, the fan noise is so low that it is not a problem anymore. It is better to use it with PS Audio Ultimate Outlet. The combination even improves in all aspects. System: Audio Aero Capitol 24/192 cd player Audio Research VT-200 B&W Nautilus 803 (to be ugraded to 800 very soon) Transparent Reference Balanced Connector Transparent Audio Ultra Bicable Black Diamond Cones MK3 and MK4 (under source, power amplifer, speakers and audio rack) Black Diamond Source Shelf PS Audio HC Ultimate Outlet PS Audio P300 PS Audio Lab II Cables Finite Elemente Pagode Rack (customized for VT-200 with DIY supports and granite blocks)

Strengths:
increases dynamics, reduces noise floor, better soundstage and imaging

Weaknesses:
Runs very hot, not easy to position due to size (depth is too much wrt to height and width), I wish it could also show the input voltage and frequency (not a weakness)

Similar Products Used:
PS Audio Ultimate Outlet, PS Audio Lab II cables

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
After reading all the reviews,and the info on PS audio website,this seemed like a unique and original product,taking raw AC from the wall,converting it to DC,then back to pure AC. Packaging was good,three cartons,and the weight of the thing,phew! I ordered the UK export version,with three standard UK outlets,and a neutrik powercon outlet.First problem,where to put it,its too deep to go in my rack,so it went sideways on the bottom shelf.Second problem,the cooling fan was irritating on quiet passages,so I disconnected it,but then it became too hot with my current draw.Then it went on Michell tenderfeet (machined alloy cones about an inch high)and placed on the carpet under the rack,hey presto fan noise now subdued and not intrusive at all,and on these cones there is plenty of clearance between it and carpet. Installation problems solved,did it improve my system? you betcha! more realistic sound,more depth,any hardness before has now disappeared,and sounds nice and open and airy,the p300 seems to have drawn every last ounce of performance from my system.My system comprises: PS audio P300 powering all except poweramp Meridian 588 cd Michell gyrodeck with VC power supply Ortofon MC25fl cartridge Trichord dino phono amp Trichord dino phono power supply Chord CP2200 pre amp Chord SPM600 power amp PS audio minilab powercables and Isotek powercables Chord co odyssey biwire speaker cables B&W Nautilus 803's. Hifi+ (UK hifi magazine) noted how much better their Meridian cd sounded when powered by a mains regenerator and played through a Chord integrated amp (CPM3300 i seem to remember),and i totally agree with them,the p300 seems to make the most improvement on cd replay,the Meridian really sings now.I've played around a little bit with multiwave,and found differences to be very subtle indeed,SS1 is ok and PF2 brings centre vocals more to the front,still playing with the others! All in all,a great product,well built and engineered,definitely improved my system,wont be going back to raw AC.

Strengths:
Well built,unleashes full potential from your equipment.Female voices have that in your room quality,try Irish singer/songwriter Eleanor Mcevoy's cd/sacd hybrid "Yola" and see what i mean.

Weaknesses:
Noisy fan on quiet passages,challenging to install in a domestic environment (WAF factor)

Similar Products Used:
None.

Price Paid:  $1125.00 from local

Summary:
I bought this locally, brought it home hooked it up and compared it to my monster power HT2100 and to just going straight to the wall. Now this is being used in my audio room which also has a tv, but mostly a audio room. I did the standard listening test with the stereophile test cd 3 and the tv viewing of cable as well as avia setup DVD. Of course I tried everything with normal and with the vacum cleaner on (in room next door). My equipment: NAD c740 receiver Pioneer elite 301 disk changer Pioneer 739 cdr pioneer elite tape deck Sony Wega tv Sony progressive scan dvd player. old sony vcr sony playstation **kirby vacum (serious current draw) The p300 only has 4 outlets so I had to hook up a small powerstrip to get all my gear on it. I was impressed with the ps audio plant significant improvement over just power from the wall. My nad has some good filtering in it but the cleaner power helped the sound from the cd player. The cleaner power also helped the tv picture. And when I turned on the vacum cleaner the dvd picture stayed the same...impressive. BUT the cable tv signal artifacts are still there, because the P300 DOES NOT HAVE A COAX IN AND OUT. Okay the monster power 2000 did the same job at cleaning the audio signal from the cd player and the receiver. The dvd picture with the vacum cleaner on looked almost as good as when I had the p300. But since the monster 2000 has a coax filter the cable signal looked better. So at the end of it all the p300 did a better job filtering power but not 5 times better than the monster power (as the price would indicate). And man for $1000 ps audio should put some coax filtering and surge protection.

Strengths:
very good at filtering ac power

Weaknesses:
expensive no surge protection or filtering for coax!

Similar Products Used:
Monster power ht2100 panamax

Price Paid:  $1175.00 from Local Dealer

Summary:
I'm not sure what the two reviewers prior to me are smoking or using for equipment, but this is one upgrade any serious audiophile or enthusiast must consider. Most dealers offer 30 day return policies as do PS Audio on their website. I auditioned the P300 for a weekend and 10 minutes after listening, immediately phoned my dealer to place an order. Contrary to what some reviewers have posted here, the P300 does not draw a significant amount of power. My Power Plant has the Multiwave feature although the audible differences are extremely minute. Although the manual discourages it, I'm able to connect my 125 Watt amp with no problem. My system consists of the following: Mark Levinson No37 CD Transport, Mark Levinson No360 DAC, Mark Levinson No334 Power Amp, Mark Levinson No380 PreAmp, and Monolithic Sounds PS1/HC1 Phono Stage, and Rega P25 Turntable, and Martin Logan SL3 Speakers, Audioquest Kilimanjaro Speaker Cables, Audioquest Anaconda and Better Cables XLR Interconnects. Listen for yourself and decide.

Strengths:
Greatly improves all aspects of listening: dynamics, soundstage, highs, lows, and clarity. Considerably less costly than a set of esoteric AC power cables.

Weaknesses:
Runs hot when consistantly carrying loads greater than 100 watts. Noisy fan (can be disconnected).

Similar Products Used:
Various Power Cables, PS Audio Ultimate Outlet.