Might just be me but they look a bit ugly too in white!
Puritan Audio Laboratories PSM136, PSM156, PSM1512 Power Conditioners
- Thread starter F208Frank
- Start date
vvume
New Head-Fier
Please do share your findings here with the classic plus. After careful A/B, I have discovered that my Pangea Audio AC-9 MKII does not reveal the delicate decay of sounds the way the classic cable does. So my upgrade path is definitely within the Puritan family set of power cables. I am concerned that the Ultimate might be a bit much for my system in terms of the top end brightness and so the Classic Plus might be the perfect balance.
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For the record, the Ultimate cable did not bring any "brightness" to my system.
Tubewin
1000+ Head-Fier
Agreed, not so much a bright cable but rather a revealing cable. The sound was balanced until I tried using 3 ultimate cables in the chain. 2 seems to be the sweet spot for my chain. The third cable was slightly too much high frequency, sounded fantastic with a tube amp though, not so much with solid state.
Tubewin
1000+ Head-Fier
Having one ultimate cable in the chain may not be that bad depending on your other components. I have a r2r dac (holo may) and a enleum 23r amplifier, that work great with 2 ultimate cables in the chain. If you are using a delta sigma type dac and a solid state amplifier that is more neutral, I can see having 2 Ultimate's being too much. Yeah, pangea ac9se mk2 are great power cords for heavy draw components, but they seem to add just a tad bit of digital etching and harshness to my ears compared to the puritan line. I'll definitely let you guys know what the classic plus does.
vvume
New Head-Fier
It so happened that my dealer had the ultimate in stock and so i just grabbed it and trying it out. Yes, it certainly feels more revealing and not bright (making it sound a bit forward as a result); bass impact is stronger with the Ultimate. But I am going to give it the 150 hours burn in before I make the final call on purchasing it.
Will be interesting to hear your comparisons vs. the Classic.
Are both your Classic and Ultimate the 20A versions connecting the PSM156 to the wall?
Are you connecting all components to the PSM156 or only some of your audio components?
Are both your Classic and Ultimate the 20A versions connecting the PSM156 to the wall?
Are you connecting all components to the PSM156 or only some of your audio components?
vvume
New Head-Fier
My PSM156 is connected to a SR Purple Duplex outlet. All my primary audio components (SU-6 DDC, Gustard R26, LHY OCK-2 Clock, Shiit Freya+, Peachtree Gan400 and Rythmik LV12M) are connected to the PSM156. My Bluesound NODE is not, but it has it own iFi ipower Elite 5v (using a modded power board) on the other outlet on the SR Purple.
The R26 and Gan400 also have the Audio Magic M1 Ultimate fuse on them.
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I am still enjoying testing different components connected and disconnected from the PSM156. It is clear to me that there is a split on whether the Puritan should be connected to every component or only some components.
I am still very much on the side of Puritan connected to digital equals very positive results, but connecting to analogue components makes things too harsh and dry IMHO. There is one interesting experiment I still wanted to try- which is to disconnect my DAC from the Puritan. A DAC is both digital and analogue and I have been curious how things would change. You may be wondering what I have left connected to the Puritan if my DAC is not connected? Answer: Two network switches, a streamer, a NAS, a 10mhz clock, audio-gd DI-20HE DDC; so plenty of stuff.
Results:- to my ears- in my system-- very close call. The DAC connected to the Puritan is technically a bit cleaner, and tighter, but the sound is fuller and lusher without connection. Really- a matter of taste... No DAC connection is more musical, and euphonic in the classical sense, connected is superior technical performance while still sounding quite musical; a smigen leaner- but not overly so at all.
Just sharing my experience as part of the team. I know people have different equipment, and different ears and everyone is entitled to hear it as the do.
I am still very much on the side of Puritan connected to digital equals very positive results, but connecting to analogue components makes things too harsh and dry IMHO. There is one interesting experiment I still wanted to try- which is to disconnect my DAC from the Puritan. A DAC is both digital and analogue and I have been curious how things would change. You may be wondering what I have left connected to the Puritan if my DAC is not connected? Answer: Two network switches, a streamer, a NAS, a 10mhz clock, audio-gd DI-20HE DDC; so plenty of stuff.
Results:- to my ears- in my system-- very close call. The DAC connected to the Puritan is technically a bit cleaner, and tighter, but the sound is fuller and lusher without connection. Really- a matter of taste... No DAC connection is more musical, and euphonic in the classical sense, connected is superior technical performance while still sounding quite musical; a smigen leaner- but not overly so at all.
Just sharing my experience as part of the team. I know people have different equipment, and different ears and everyone is entitled to hear it as the do.
Valuable, thank you! I have all components connected to the PSM156 including my 300W Class AB amplifier.
If I want to try connecting my amplifier directly to the wall, I'll need to buy a 9 foot power cable, which is an expense I've been avoiding, so unfortunately I can't share any experience on this.
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All of these observations are so subjective. The human ear- and our likes and dislikes are extrordinairly complex. I figure, others may want to try things out based on my experimentation to see if it helps their ears be happier or not. Sharing experiences is a lot of what we do here.
Where we run into problems is when someone disapproves of a product, or a tweak, or a connection that others like and than everyone attacks him. People need to be able to share their opinions and experiences- although it should be done in a respectable way. Agreeing and disagreeing in a proper way is important. Call it "freedom of speech". - with the condition of doing so respectfully.
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phoneslave86
100+ Head-Fier
I'm using beryllium headphones with tubes and PSM136. Ultimate cable adds life to the system. Vibrancy, increased dynamic peak, musicalness. I watched it pop open around day 4 and it kept getting better after that too. It was like watching a tube break in. I wouldn't recommend buying one if you haven't completed your basic system yet first. As something to add to the mix to combat bad power or to increase dynamics after you have everything else it is worth it then for sure.
Tubewin
1000+ Head-Fier
Everything besides my modem, router, and etherregen. Modem and router connected to power plant stellar 3, the etherregen is connected to a ferrum hypsos lps straight into the wall. My computer, usb card, ethernet card, dac, and amplifier are all connected to 2 different psm156's. I have one ultimate being used to power a psm156, I have the other ultimate plugged into my computer, which is connected to a second psm156, and the classic is being used to power that psm156. Yes, all of my puritan cables are 20A.
First psm156:
ultimate cable -> psm156 -> miscellaneous power cables(zenwave, neotech,skw) -> usb/ethernet cards,dac, and amp.
Second psm156:
Classic cable ->psm156 -> ultimate cable -> computer
vvume
New Head-Fier
This is so true. Also the number of variables involved make it difficult to simplify those experiences as an universal rule. What I am discovering is that the cost of the last few incremental improvements is extremely expensive at times. This becomes a stark reality as my $500 ES100 bluetooth dac and Blessing 2 IEM combo sounds just as detailed, dynamic, and fun as my now 20K speaker setup. The speaker system does have a more visceral feel and believable sound stage, but the price difference you pay for that is a hard pill to swallow.
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