The best use of a Power Plant

[@ThinkingBetter]

Few people need a power plant. Using the money for that instead on better speakers will yield better sound for 99%.

[@ryanschipp8513]

His power plants are the epitome of snake oil

[@endrizo]

everybody needs an AVR ..those used for computers. ac from the wall is a disaster fluctuating mess.

[@DrLoveQc]

Look at ASR review, it was painfull to see the performance of this thing. Its an AB class amplifier that produce the 50/60Hz 120/240V AC, so very limited in power because of the AB class effiency. People wpuld be better with a online ups (Single-Phase Double Conversion UPS) if there electrical is very unstable and could damage the equipments, otherwise dont add anything except a surge protector on your electrical panel.

[@ThinkingBetter]

@@DrLoveQc Yes, those ASR reviews are generally done very well. The idea that you need a power plant to clean your AC power is perhaps true if you live next to some factory in a third world country but in most locations I’ve seen, the quality of your mains power is at a level where your products can handle it, provided they have been designed with care on mains power noise and fluctuations immunity. If a power plant really makes your source device sound better it would make me suspect that the source device is terribly designed in the power supply of it. Possibly the problem can be fixed by a 20 cents capacitor over the Vcc in such case.

[@edd2771]

I’ve long maintained that the best use of a power plant (and devices like it) is to be sold for a profit by the manufacturer. After that, the number of use-cases falls dramatically.

[@Baerchenization]

I had set up a stereo in our lounge where there was none previously. Not knowing how the system and room should or could sound like, it just sounded wrong, like the first minute. I immediately had a suspect: our dimmable light. Switching them off immediately changed the sound for the better, and this was audible to everyone. Since we added one of those special power splitters for cleaning up power (like 50 bucks item), not even a power re-generator, the issue went away. And I am the first to admit that I am not a super audiophile with golden ears blabla... Maybe you have great circumstances as-is in your place, or maybe you only "maintained" and never tried ;)

[@erdemkaya6472]

Spot on. Kind of like the silver speaker wire and the $500 interconnects.

[@jareknowak8712]

@@Baerchenization It might mean that there was something wrong with Your amp. Usually amps have such filters onboard.

[@Baerchenization]

@@jareknowak8712 That would mean we have four defective mono amps... that would be very sad :)

[@edd2771]

@@Baerchenization sounds like you have/had a fundamental wiring problem that could/should be solved for under a hundred dollars by a competent electrician, not by a "band aid" device costing $50, let alone thousands for a power station. As for me, my system is mostly all vintage, bought new 40+ years ago, and its current value (even its original value adjusted for inflation) is a fraction of what a power station costs, so I will continue "maintaining". I have no desire to try such a device, only a desire to apply my common sense.

[@AllboroLCD]

Just remember before splurging on the power plant, to make the far less expensive investment FIRST of running a dedicated line to your rigs main outlet.

[@djhmax09]

How much does that typically cost?

[@joelowens5211]

@@djhmax09 I did all separate runs with 10 gage copper romex and upgraded the plugs and individual circuit breakers at the panel for each piece of equipment all in labor and materials under 2k and would say much superior to a power plant or conditioner. Now my breaker panel was one room behind my listening room and had access attic for running new wires. If you have long runs through lots of tight areas to get to a panel it can get very expensive and the conditioners might make more sense. It's a case by cases basis type thing that depends on your budget.

[@djhmax09]

@@joelowens5211 yes, I'm aware it'll depend on the situation. I was just curious so thank you for sharing. But you did all that yourself, would you know how much it would cost to have someone else do it for you?

[@joelowens5211]

@@djhmax09 I didn't do it myself. I had a home theater type company with their electricians do it. Took 2 guys and about 6 hours of time. They charged a little over a grand to do it and that included the romex cable which is expensive. What an electrician charges will depend on what state you live in as each state can be less expensive or more expensive with cost of living.

[@djhmax09]

@@joelowens5211 got it, thanks for clarifying!

[@laptopdragon]

what's the difference between these power plants and a UPS (battery backup that absorbs voltage spikes and even protects from brown/blackouts) ?

[@steenstube]

Can one say, that in countries with 115 V, and higher current capacity, the impedance and sensitivity induced by current draw, is higher than where the outlet delivers 240 V? And regarding noise and distortion on the outlet sockets, some countries are much more clean and stable, where others are the opposite.

[@chrishicejr4366]

I'm going to have a much more detailed question on this but I need to get all my specifications to my setup before I ask. I'm dealing with some noise through my system.

[@ford1546]

ps audio power plant i thinks they are a powerful amplifier, you put inn 60hz or 50hz in and you get 110v out. if you live in a 230v country, this amplifier must be powerful. no amplifier is completely free of THD noise and other things. you push this amp or whatever you want to call it pretty hard I think. so if you want to reduce noise by 50%, it is not certain that it will reduce that much

[@AT-wl9yq]

A regenerator is a power amplifier. There's only slight differences between the 2. A few years ago when PS Audio came out their top of the like regenerator, I think it was the 1000, the also came out with a new power amplifier at the same time called the Classic 250. They looked identical. When Monster started making regenerators, they also started making power amplifiers at the same time. Again, the products appear to be almost identical, and I believe Monster hired Richard Marsh, a famous power amp designer, to make them. I know other companies did this as well, but its been a while and I just don't remember.

[@Geerladenlad]

What if you have more than one circuit in the room and the power plants with the source components on one in the power amps are on the other will they still affect each other?

[@Fastvoice]

Why only 360p? Looks like web videos in the 1990s (or worse). 🤔

[@Paulmcgowanpsaudio]

It's the stupid Final Cut Pro. Their new default is now really low. I will try and redo it. Thanks.

[@Fastvoice]

@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio That usually depends on your own preset values and choices in the "share/export" menu. Just change the preferences and you're okay.

[@Paulmcgowanpsaudio]

@@Fastvoice It used to, yes. Unfortunately it's now permanently chosen in low rez and one must manually change for every video. Sigh.

[@davidfromamerica1871]

Apple strikes again..🙄😳 Tim Cook knows what’s best for HIS OS, IOS and software and firmware. 😀 And you thought you bought an Apple device you own it..😀 Read the entire User Agreement you digitally signed and clicked that AGREE button for use of their hardware and software..😀 Maybe it’s best you don’t read it..😡🤮

[@JonAnderhub]

Here's an even better use for your Power Plant Carlos! Sell it and use the money for something that will actually make your system sound better. The Power Plant is just more "audiophile" snake oil. All system components already have their own voltage converters built into them that convert the A.C. into D.C. that the component actually uses. It doesn't make a bit of difference what condition the A.C. is in before reaching the components converters. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2O3aH18gayfnJI

[@NoEgg4u]

Amir is not a scientist. He is the king of trolls. All of the "everything is out of my financial reach is snake oil" lemmings gravitate to Amir's flawed testing. Stop listening to Amir, and start listening to your ears.

[@stimpy1226]

With regard to my prior comment Paul just affirmed what I am currently doing. I don't believe that I will ever have the financial ability to buy a power plant that can handle my amp at my stage of life.

[@blakewitte8047]

"Men-nomminy" Falls... one of the harder WI town names for out of staters.

[@ryanschipp8513]

You in Wi?

[@billwillard9410]

The disconnect is always amazing to me - the salesmen of multi-thousand dollar units praising their remarkable quality, to then make an about-face to tell you you need to buy a “helper” unit because their wonder unit you just bought from them is so incapable of handling an issue that every single electronic unit needs to deal with worldwide. So which is it - did you or did you not buy a piece of garbage?

[@ryanschipp8513]

👍👍

[@Bassotronics]

Welcome to the audiophile world!

[@MassimoTava]

How come the designers of audio gear don’t think ahead and design circuits that deal with normal transmission fluctuations?

[@ryanschipp8513]

@@MassimoTava good call!

[@andydelle4509]

@@MassimoTava "How come the designers of audio gear don’t think ahead and design circuits that deal with normal transmission fluctuations?" They do! Always did for the most part.

[@anonimushbosh]

What's the reason you don't build a unit that runs everything off a battery that automatically recharges when the music stops? Wouldn't no AC be even better than clean AC?

[@Toymortal]

Is it's best use as a gullibility test??

[@Toymortal]

"There's none so easily parted with their money than an audiophile. Now does anyone want to buy some anti vibration air bags from me? Genuine gold spray painted tennis balls." - Socrates

[@NoEgg4u]

@@Toymortal ""There's none so easily parted with their money than an audiophile. Now does anyone want to buy some anti vibration air bags from me? Genuine gold spray painted tennis balls." - Socrates" You cannot afford it, and you are bubbling over with envy. Ergo, you bash what you never heard, and is out of your reach. Got it.

[@scottscottsdale7868]

Well. I can guarantee you that power cords make a difference as well. Hi-fi is like religion. It will be there when you are ready.

[@stimpy1226]

That's an outstanding question for someone like me who owns a model P-12 for many components but not my amp and subwoofer where I use an older passive PS Audio noise filter.

[@ryanschipp8513]

You got duped too?

[@JonAnderhub]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2O3aH18gayfnJI

[@jimtekkit]

I like your channel, there always seems to be something interesting to learn about. My old ducted air conditioner would dim the lights whenever the outdoor unit kicked on every few minutes. Even on it's own circuit, it'll still do that. That's why air conditioners have a soft-start system, if they were to just turn the compressor straight on then it's too much sudden power draw and it affects everything else.

[@ryanschipp8513]

Which isn't comparable whatsoever to a hi-fi rig. My friend has one of Paul's power plants and we are playing at some pretty insane volume levels for a bit and the most that ever came up on the power plant was 130 Watts used. When someone plays their stereo system loud it's not like the stereo system asks 1,500 Watts from the outlet.

[@davidfromamerica1871]

@@ryanschipp8513 Some people are missing the point of all the laughter about a audio power conditioner that cost 💰💰💰💰💰😀😀😀😀 on an audio system that cost tens of thousands of dollars or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hundreds of dollars or more for room treatment. Hundreds or thousands of dollars for cables to operate it. Add in the cost of all the specialized recorded vinyl records and CD’s to play on it. 💰💰💰💰💰💰 Thousands of dollars for a streamer to play music on a streaming service. A collection of phono cartridges and tone arms. 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰 Now they need a power conditioner to play it..😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀 That is like the guy who is single owns a 28 room mansion, two Olympic size pools, has a five car garage. Each car over a million plus dollars. Lives on an Island he bought and has to use a helicopter to get to the grocery store. 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

[@ryanschipp8513]

@@davidfromamerica1871 you hit the nail on the head man

[@endrizo]

any affordable AVR used for computers will improve things. no need to spend fortunes on one.. since AC from the wall is a disaster fluctuating mess you need one. on pc, on audio gear.. on any machine etc i even have one feeding my fridge.

[@Johnnytrades101]

Most quality components have very good power supplies in them, and will work perfectly well with voltage swings, and the dreaded "dirty" power syndrome. I would expect that all PS Audio products have very good power supplies in them which would already provide clean consistent power for what ever that unit requires. Case in point,...I have owned 2 PS Audio M700's, dead quiet, and have never had the slightest issue. Power regenerators, conditioners in my opinion are not necessary, and a waste of money.

[@ryanschipp8513]

Yep Paul is worse than a used car salesman with these powery generators

[@davidcross890]

You are sadly spreading provable misinformation

[@davidcross890]

It's what you don't know that always hampers you

[@Johnnytrades101]

@@davidcross890 Very true David, I have a extensive electrical background both in electronics and a journeyman electrician. My rig is north of 40K, and has no need for power plants or other things. Don't think I am knowledge hampered

[@JonAnderhub]

@@davidcross890 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2O3aH18gayfnJI

[@Antoon55]

I read that modern high class audio devices handle power much beter then in the old days. Makes this a powerplant obsolete?

[@Roof_Pizza]

Snake oil more accurately.

[@volpedo2000]

Yes

[@geddylee501]

Yup, he obviously can't get rid of them, hence this video advert

[@NoEgg4u]

@@geddylee501 "Yup, he obviously can't get rid of them, hence this video advert" From which of PS Audio's financial reports did you find your information to backup your assertion of what is obvious? Or did you gain access to PS Audio's incoming and outgoing inventory database?

[@NoEgg4u]

@@Roof_Pizza "Snake oil more accurately." Please name the components of the stereo system on which you conducted your listening test.

[@SuperMcgenius]

Hi Paul, will you be making a class D power plant, on paper it would make sense. I am not an engineer, just wondering. yes to source components for power regulation they are more delicate and also draw much less power.

[@logtothebase2]

Take 240 /120 AC make it into DC, Make it into 240/120 AC again, Take the new 120/240 AC turn it back into DC and then hang your Transistors off it to make an amplifier. It seems crazy

[@hoobsgroove]

Really a power generator is a switch mode power supply. A SMPS controls the voltage doesn't matter if the voltage changes. Just use a isolation transform conditioner with storage capacitors 1 amp that would do all the source equipment

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

I am not convinced that is true. I thought it was a large conventional amp outputting 120V at 60Hz. That said, I do use a conventional power conditioner. I have tried an isolation an transformer at 1kVA and did not like the results. In some ways it helped, but it also compressed the dynamics of the sound. It sits collecting dust.

[@writemeanovel]

I've read so much controversy about this subject, and unfortunately there are more opinions than people with real world experience. Don't get a PowerPlant if you have $200 Sony speakers driven by a $300 HT receiver. It won't help. PP's are elite level components for those that have high level HiFi, and even then not all hear a difference. I have the PP12 recently purchased and have been evaluating it with multiple types of components, cables, power cords, speakers, amps... and I can say that for me, in my system, it is worth the money as my entire system got an upgrade in sound. Part of that is from the DC blocking capability, part from the consistency of power. Regardless of the exact reason for improvement, it's a dramatic upgrade from what I had.... (Niagara 1200). Night and day. If you have tried one and it doesn't work for you that's fine... but you should consider trying a thing first before panning it based on some flat earther reviews on a web site.

[@enniol8043]

Wow, the comments on here are so toxic. Hardly anyone has anything positive to say - just a bunch of criticism from people who don't do anything.

[@stevenoconnor5693]

Power conditioner might help power plant too costly

[@jerry6789]

My power plant reduced the overall noise in my system tremendously. Fantastic addition to a stereo system. I highly recommend this unit. Edit: to explain what I mean by noise. The background has become completely black. Additionally the music notes are sharper, and the system works with no effort.

[@edd2771]

Is “noise” the same as noise?

[@jerry6789]

Yes. Not sure why I put it in parentheses. Sorry for any confusion.

[@ryanschipp8513]

What kind of spiff are you getting from Paul to make this comment?

[@davidcross890]

@@ryanschipp8513 there are some power products that ridiculously outperform others

[@jerry6789]

@@ryanschipp8513 I'm so sorry that your system can't hear the difference. Up until a year ago, I did not have a revealing system. Once I got my new system, the power plant made a huge difference. Don't dis it, until you tried it.

[@richardsmith2721]

Living in the Great Lakes region it's hilarious to hear you butcher the names of places.

[@scottyo64]

Heat? My time in Houston taught me that there was a whole different language going on there! We are all different. Embrace it.

[@richardsmith2721]

@@scottyo64 Typo. Fixed it. BTW.. In the south they don't really speak English.

[@NeilDSouza7]

The best use of a Power Plant : GROW IT !!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@NickGiordano-zu4em]

I guess it’s really expensive to invert ac to dc then invert dc back to ac and truly rebuild it from scratch . Why can you invert in your RV ? from DC to AC that to me is clean power generated from dc totally isolated from the power company .

[@Oystein87]

Well.. Normal amps RARELY makes the volt drop any noticable if any.. For that to happen you would need to use ALOT of power and that powerfull amps are rare in peoples homes. And amps rarely use near the max power draw at normal and even very high volumes. So this would by your own despcriptiob really only help in a really a old house with an old unstable electric system. Or maybe on your 120volt grid.. Don't really see the benefit in a 220/240v grid in a newer house. I see more of a benefit if you have alot of noise in the power grid.

[@EnpuerKT]

Ametek Powervar pwr conditioner is the way to go

[@gtrguyinaz]

PS Audio power plants work .. best use is for preamp ,CD player and turntable…

[@ryanschipp8513]

I've heard one first hand and it does not work, it's a gimmick

[@alfonsodelafreg259]

@@ryanschipp8513 Were you dropped on your head as a child?

[@JonAnderhub]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2O3aH18gayfnJI

[@tudorsomkereki9603]

@@ryanschipp8513 clean your ears and tell your friend that his 5k Macintosh isn’t a big deal at all. My cables are maybe double that price and I bet on his 16k speakers that I can prove him the p20 makes a difference. Period

[@ryanschipp8513]

@@tudorsomkereki9603 Tudor the Fanboy! There he is!! Congratulations on getting scammed on cables LOL! I wouldn't be proud of that if I were you. Obviously you just have to try to justify your power plant purchase so you're getting your panties up in a bundle now

[@Roof_Pizza]

Paul, I've heard it said that you are a self taught engineer, does that mean that you aren't a real engineer?

[@jasontimothywells9895]

What do you mean by this statement , one does not need to waste time and money going to university and wasting time and money , real engineers are self taught with the guidance of those willing to take them on as a apprentice. If you want to learn you can just learn , hell I did , I went to Tennessee Tech University for 2 semesters just to figure out I could learn it all on my own with help from the world outside of university cost and all the bullshit extra courses one is forced to take just to make the university wealthy . If one has the passion in a specific field and wants to be in that field, all is needed is info and applied technics in the field 9f desire , Doctoring is a different story , but even wanting to be a lawyer, it only takes passing the bar 🍺 exams, which means do your own legwork, and take the test .

[@JonAnderhub]

@@jasontimothywells9895 Electrical and electronics engineers typically need a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, electronics engineering, or a related engineering field. Studies include classroom, laboratory, and field studies. Courses include digital systems design, differential equations, and electrical circuit theory.

[@jasontimothywells9895]

@@JonAnderhub only those that do not have there own capacity and people around them to be an apprentice for , I did what I did at Tennessee Tech University and then I went to work and was paid while learning , in highschool in 1987 my father hooked me up with his friends in the audio business. Stereo Hifi center and Miller & Kreisel sound Lab. My family was engineers in aircraft and audio . I have had several of my own businesses around the states dealing with sound and even got into recording when I built my own studio . It's about who and what you know that gets you where you want to be , me I have a boutique business in audio and other tech related things , I am my own person and did not need to go the route that others either had to , chose to or was forced into by overzealous parents . The difference between what I do and what Paul does is in different realms . And I have a lot of respect for Paul and the others in this field. I just do not want or need to be in the limelight.

[@ryanamendt8363]

None of that is relevant since he doesn't engineer and is merely a snake oil con artist.

[@Toymortal]

The best use of a power plant? Is it an overpriced door stop?

[@Toymortal]

Hey there buddy. You have to hand it to Paul - anyone who can so comprehensively delude themselves and talk authoritatively about something proven in independent tests to be bull, has to be a clever guy. Snake oil? This is WHALE oil mate.

[@cameraplus7233]

Love how you're on here, to watch someone you disagree with, to keep all us others informed & enlightened with your insights & knowledge.

[@volpedo2000]

What’s wrong in watching something you don’t agree with. It might even enlighten you and change your mind. Or would rather see only comments with aligned opinions? Where would the debate be?

[@cameraplus7233]

@@volpedo2000 I never said there was anything wrong. Would you order a meal that you didn't like, just so you could make comments about it? Same thing. I'm all for debate or constructive criticism, but I'm guessing you're obviously intelligent enough to know the difference between debate & the type of comment left.

[@Toymortal]

@@cameraplus7233 If I ordered a meal and I didn't like it then I can express my opinion on that meal. That doesn't mean I'm correct in my judgement of that meal, it is just my own subjective opinion. Similarly if I watch a KZbin video (and I do also happen to have prior knowledge of the product in question) then I can also express an opinion. Doesn't mean you have to agree with it and indeed you can feel free to completely disagree if you wish. Personally I think Paul and indeed many an audiophile talk rather a large amount of BS. You might not and that's fine. What you should know, even though I have no need to let you know this in order to justify a personal opinion, is that I don't make comments from an uninformed position. Music and audio technology is a field I've been involved with for 48 years, and due to it being my autistic obsession - I know a fair old amount about it. If you have heard, studied and weighed up the claims about the Power Plant then please share your own opinions about it - it helps discourse. Was my original comment somewhat sarcastic and pithy? Yes. Yes it was. But in my own personal opinion, products such as this deserve to be called into question for the good of peoples wallets. Feel free to disagree it's not me you have to convince. I've researched it thanks, and formed my own opinions.

[@ryanschipp8513]

Folks he is talking about one of the top snake oil devices in the industry. One of my friends bought a power plant and I listened to it connected and unconnected there is absolutely no difference. Even he admitted there's no difference but he just decided to keep it because it looks cool LOL. Paul do you understand that if somebody play their music loud enough to make their ears bleed it still wouldn't consume the wattage that a hair dryer or an oven ? Even my friend's power plant showed that only about 130 Watts was being used when we were playing his music ridiculously loud . So no, there is not a massive voltage drop from listening to music on your Hi-Fi system . This video is comical. It's so knee-high in crap it's unbelievable.

[@alfonsodelafreg259]

While it is true that not everyone will benefit from the use of a power plant or similar devices, you can't count them out. As an example, I live in very rural PA where the power lines are literally run through trees. If a fly farts, we get a power glitch. During storms, forget it. I have had two pole transformers, feeding my house, explode over the years. Power glitches and short, minutes, outages happen all the time. I don't use a power plant, but I do use pure sine wave regenerating UPS's. They work very well, but are also expensive. I happen to need the battery backup portion, or I would use something like a power plant. If you live somewhere that the power is stable and run underground, then I agree that you may not need such devices. There are no absolutes. You poo pooing Paul is no help and rude.

[@ryanschipp8513]

@@alfonsodelafreg259 OK...it MIGHT be beneficial for 2% of the hifi people out there. Congrats to Paul for attempting to ripoff 98% of the hifi people out there. Better?

[@PSA78]

@@alfonsodelafreg259 I agree, at my friends house the light flickers to every bass beat. 😂But you know how these people are. 😉

[@alfonsodelafreg259]

@@ryanschipp8513 Such negativity. You probably just not watch Paul's posts, or you may get a brain hemorrhoid.

[@alfonsodelafreg259]

@@PSA78 Yep.

[@davidfromamerica1871]

The best use of a Power Plant..??? 😀😀😀😳🙄 I couldn’t hold in the..LOL Call the Hydroelectric Hoover Power Dam 🙄😀😀😀😀😎👍🤗

[@richardt3371]

Best use of a Power Plant? Dunno, got a wonky table that needs propping? A door that needs holding open? Paperweight? Power Plants / Power Regenerators are hokum, sold to the easily confused. A domestic environment with a properly wired electrical supply will NEVER need a Power Plant. It's pure elitist audiophile nonsense - in no other part of your house would you think, hmm, I wonder if my TV will give me blacker blacks if I change power supply? Maybe my Mac will run faster and get better search results if I introduce a power plant? Maybe my refrigerator will keep things fresher? Wake up and smell the coffee.

[@CrazyJoeyJo]

AC to DC to AC to … DC again. No need to be a genius to see that the thing is useless for sources and amplifiers alike.

[@NoEgg4u]

"No need to be a genius to see that the thing is useless for sources and amplifiers alike." I agree that you are not a genius. Considering that you never auditioned the product that you are bashing, evidences that you are not a genius.

[@NoEgg4u]

@Douglas Blake "Most amplifiers (etc.) have power line filtering and DC regulation built in. Makes the power plants kind of unnecessary." Most also have covers and circuit boards and cables. What they do not have is clean, regenerated power.

[@JonAnderhub]

@@NoEgg4u It has nothing to do with "auditioning the thing" it's just common sense and very obvious to everyone but those that believe in "magic".

[@NoEgg4u]

@@JonAnderhub 'It has nothing to do with "auditioning the thing" it's just common sense and very obvious to everyone but those that believe in "magic".' Not everyone has what is common. Not everyone has common sense. Someone that writes that they know how something sounds, without listening to that something, is lacking common sense. Please recommend cars that you have never driven. Please recommend food that you have never tasted. Please recommend hotels where you never stayed. Etc. Please let me know which reviewers, for any products or services, you respect. But limit your list of reviewers to only those who never used the items that they are reviewing. Use your common sense to know all the above.

[@leeross7896]

Paul throw that horrible keyboard and even worse that trackball in the trash