Is PS Audio's Power Plant Snake Oil?

[amirm]

I had the pleasure of trying power plant 12 for 1 hour.
After listening to the same combination of cd player + amplifier for 3 hours, power plant 12 was connected.

I was with my eyes closed, so I didn't know when the plant was actually connected to the cd player + amplifier or not.

The result I understood just 20 seconds of test track.

You have to repeat such a test at least 10 times and be right more than 8 times. Otherwise the results are simply unreliable. I have routinely guessed right 4 or 5 times only to be wrong repeatedly after that. So your experience is right but your conclusion is not.

Try the above and report back.

 

[DonR]

You have to repeat such a test at least 10 times and be right more than 8 times. Otherwise the results are simply unreliable. I have routinely guessed right 4 or 5 times only to be wrong repeatedly after that. So your experience is right but your conclusion is not.

Try the above and report back.

His test was single blind as well so can be discounted for that alone.

 

[DonR]

Probably.

Probably

Probably $ 8k Japanese CD player is not good.

I probably don't have an oscilloscope in place of the tImpano but a neural network that reacts to perceived emotions.

Thanks for your reply

How much you waste spend on a product is absolutely no indication of its quality.

 

[ing.daniele]

You have to repeat such a test at least 10 times and be right more than 8 times. Otherwise the results are simply unreliable. I have routinely guessed right 4 or 5 times only to be wrong repeatedly after that. So your experience is right but your conclusion is not.

Try the above and report back.

Dear Amir,
As soon as power plant will be in my house, it will be my pleasure to take the test as recommended by you and post the result. I will also choose whether to keep the product or invest 5k on the purification of the electricity network.

I am not the person who associates the highest cost with the highest quality, money is not on the ground. Simply if a product works and you have the opportunity to buy it then I do.

 

[Purité Audio]

That would also be a waste of 5K, jut buy properly designed components.
Keith

 

[ing.daniele]

How much you waste spend on a product is absolutely no indication of its quality.

The world is beautiful because it is varied.
Having said that, I would never allow myself to draw personal considerations on his system and his listening opinions.

Our tastes, musical genres, could be very different.

I love amplifiers with valve output stage, I could never listen to music with amp based only on transistor technology.
She may not have the same needs as I do, but I don't dare to say that she is wasting money or that her opinions of her are wrong.

P.S. I hope that at least once in your life you have tried a handmade Japanese fountain pen.

Regards

 

[pinpoint_oxford]

I am not the person who associates the highest cost with the highest quality, money is not on the ground. Simply if a product works and you have the opportunity to buy it then I do.

I think this is a healthy approach overall, but I always try to be a little skeptical of a product at first just to try to keep my bias in check.

That said I do own a P12 and have found it to work well in my specific use case of listening to vinyl. I have pretty poor quality power and I find that, without the P12, I was getting in consistent 60Hz leakage when listening to records. The P12 has helped that a lot. Maybe a simple isolation transformer or conditioner would have too, I don't know, I didn't try that.

The P12 has some additional benefits like monitoring, outlet control, and protection of spikes as well.

 

[DonR]

The world is beautiful because it is varied.
Having said that, I would never allow myself to draw personal considerations on his system and his listening opinions.

Our tastes, musical genres, could be very different.

I love amplifiers with valve output stage, I could never listen to music with amp based only on transistor technology.
She may not have the same needs as I do, but I don't dare to say that she is wasting money or that her opinions of her are wrong.

P.S. I hope that at least once in your life you have tried a handmade Japanese fountain pen.

Regards

Such trinkets don't hold any interest for me. If you don't consider the price of an object as indicative of its quality, why mention it?

 

[Xulonn]

As soon as power plant will be in my house, it will be my pleasure to take the test as recommended by you and post the result. I will also choose whether to keep the product or invest 5k on the purification of the electricity network.

Please communicate in detail with the experts here (not me!) about how to evaluate the "power plant" unit in your home. Your journey as a consumer to making an informed and objective decision about the usefulness of this controversial hardware could benefit others.

Many of the resident experts who contribute to discussions here at ASR are electronics engineers with relevant experience, and can back up their opinions with experience, evidence or referrals to good technical information.

 

[DonR]

I think this is a healthy approach overall, but I always try to be a little skeptical of a product at first just to try to keep my bias in check.

That said I do own a P12 and have found it to work well in my specific use case of listening to vinyl. I have pretty poor quality power and I find that, without the P12, I was getting in consistent 60Hz leakage when listening to records. The P12 has helped that a lot. Maybe a simple isolation transformer or conditioner would have too, I don't know, I didn't try that.

The P12 has some additional benefits like monitoring, outlet control, and protection of spikes as well.

It's likely a grounding issue. The PowerPlant also produces 60Hz.

 

[pinpoint_oxford]

It's likely a grounding issue. The PowerPlant also produces 60Hz.

That is what everyone has told me, but any "solutions" I tried didn't seem to help any. Especially since it was inconsistent. Still could be grounding, but I'm not smart enough to say one way or the other.

 

[Cbdb2]

Probably.

Probably

Probably $ 8k Japanese CD player is not good.

I probably don't have an oscilloscope in place of the tImpano but a neural network that reacts to perceived emotions.

Thanks for your reply

That should read "a neural network that reacts to BIAS."

Thinking a clean AC will make your bass tight is ridiculous. Just as thinking a CD player is good just because its Japanese and/or $8k.

 

[mhardy6647]

Not exactly germane, but arguably close enough for government work -- A fellow over at the Polk forums just had an interesting experience with not one but two AQ Niagra 1200 power conditioners.

Weird speaker buzz problem

Experiencing a bit of a weird buzzing problem over here. I purchased and installed a AQ Niagara 1200 power conditioner and at first had no issues.

forum.polkaudio.com

 

[ing.daniele]

That should read "a neural network that reacts to BIAS."

Thinking a clean AC will make your bass tight is ridiculous. Just as thinking a CD player is good just because its Japanese and/or $8k.

If your ears ever come to Italy I will offer you the same test with the same songs.

Obviously if you ever wrote with an handmade Japanese fountain pen, would probably change the point of view.

“Culture is against eyes blinders”

Anyway, thank you for the opinion, divergent opinions are always constructive even if they may seem pedantic.


Regards

 

[pinpoint_oxford]

Not exactly germane, but arguably close enough for government work -- A fellow over at the Polk forums just had an interesting experience with not one but two AQ Niagra 1200 power conditioners.

Weird speaker buzz problem

Experiencing a bit of a weird buzzing problem over here. I purchased and installed a AQ Niagara 1200 power conditioner and at first had no issues.

forum.polkaudio.com

Interesting. Seems like this person found the Isotek unit to work for them. I don't get the impression that audioquest makes high-quality products anyway.

 

[mhardy6647]

Interesting. Seems like this person found the Isotek unit to work for them. I don't get the impression that audioquest makes high-quality products anyway.

It is interesting that recently (and, of course, anecdotally) there seem to be numerous comments poppin' up on teh webz about quality/workpersonship issues in current/recent AQ products...
Not trying to rumo(u)r-monger or nothin'...

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

It is interesting that recently (and, of course, anecdotally) there seem to be numerous comments poppin' up on teh webz about quality/workpersonship issues in current/recent AQ products...
Not trying to rumo(u)r-monger or nothin'...

Kids just can't speel these dais.

 

[mhardy6647]

nor can they we grammer...

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Something like a surge protector seems like a good idea on its face. However, rip off artistes like Paul have attempted to invade this product category to spread their typical FUD (Fear, uncertainty, and Doubt) regarding these components by making typical absurd claims to sell some obscenely overpriced version of them. In short, the very definition of a rip off.

While almost everyone here will find these claims to have zero credibility, it would nonetheless be important to identify and test at least some of the reasonably priced, straightforwardly marketed devices to determine how well they perform their core function--surge protection. Given the investment so many of us have in our valuable gear, it would be highly useful to know what are effective and reasonably priced devices that genuinely protect our investment and whether some of them do the job better than others.

In short, apart from any of the absurd claims of the McGowans or the world, it is important to know whether there is something beyond the $25 surge protector that can be had at any Walmart that really do a better job of protecting our systems from electrical catastrophe.

 

[pinpoint_oxford]

Something like a surge protector seems like a good idea on its face. However, rip off artistes like Paul have attempted to invade this product category to spread their typical FUD (Fear, uncertainty, and Doubt) regarding these components by making typical absurd claims to sell some obscenely overpriced version of them. In short, the very definition of a rip off.

While almost everyone here will find these claims to have zero credibility, it would nonetheless be important to identify and test at least some of the reasonably priced, straightforwardly marketed devices to determine how well they perform their core function--surge protection. Given the investment so many of us have in our valuable gear, it would be highly useful to know what are effective and reasonably priced devices that genuinely protect our investment and whether some of them do the job better than others.

In short, apart from any of the absurd claims of the McGowans or the world, it is important to know whether there is something beyond the $25 surge protector that can be had at any Walmart that really do a better job of protecting our systems from electrical catastrophe.

While surge protection is mentioned as something it can do, none of the marketing claims from the power plant really mention it, and instead they focus on the regeneration of a clean sine wave for power. Whether that offers a benefit, I can see a debate to be had. However to compare the power plant to a surge protector isn't really fair since they are different things.