[Konig]

I dont buy all that power theory for a tube amp though. You can experiment with the tubes to find the right combination of distortions that make your music sound good to your ears. Having clean power means finding another combination.

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konig /img/forum/go_quote.gif I dont buy all that power theory for a tube amp though. You can experiment with the tubes to find the right combination of distortions that make your music sound good to your ears. Having clean power means finding another combination.

Nope, i use a poweramp and i think especially tube amps benefit from clean power...and yes, i did tube rolling and i use expensive tube that are much better then the stock tubes but powerconditioning did more then a tube change...good powercords and clean power is more important...

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MdRex /img/forum/go_quote.gif I contest that! It must be those cute kitty/doggy postcards he has on the wall.

The powerconditioner is purring like a kitten.

 

[philodox]

Any respectable tube amp with a good power supply should be run straight out of the wall. Ask any designer you like. If you plug a tube amp into a power conditioner you will likely just limit dynamics and extension. Unless you want to shell out for an insanely huge balanced torroid and build your own I think this is a really bad idea.

Now for sources and some low power solid state [mainly headphone amps], power conditioning is great.

I am looking forward to trying a better power cord on my tube amp in the future, but am saving that as the 'last tweak' once my CD player is modded and my headphone amp is complete.

That Power Plant Premier is one sexy beast Patrick. You should try taking the P300 out of the equation and just using the Premier with all your components. Who knows, you might be able to sell the P300 and get some cash back for a source upgrade.

I also wonder what impact those other little PS Audio devices have [mwave, ultimate outlet, harvester, etc] now that you are using the Premier. Finally, if the vishnu suck so much why don't you sell them and buy some groceries?

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any respectable tube amp with a good power supply should be run straight out of the wall. Ask any designer you like. If you plug a tube amp into a power conditioner you will likely just limit dynamics and extension. Unless you want to shell out for an insanely huge balanced torroid and build your own I think this is a really bad idea. Now for sources and some low power solid state [mainly headphone amps], power conditioning is great.

Multiple steps of power conditioning seems to work for low power gear. On the P300 display it says my Benchmark DAC1 and PS Audio GCC-100 amp take only 10 watts.


Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif That Power Plant Premier is one sexy beast Patrick. You should try taking the P300 out of the equation and just using the Premier with all your components. Who knows, you might be able to sell the P300 and get some cash back for a source upgrade.

I have melted down the plastic for the input and output connectors and hardwired the Valhallas there. There was an improvement when I removed the internal wiring.

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif I also wonder what impact those other little PS Audio devices have [mwave, ultimate outlet, harvester, etc] now that you are using the Premier.

Harvester didn't make as big difference after I added the Premier.

When I change from Sinewave to MultiWave of the Premier I can hear the improvement instantly. More focus and clarity.


Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif Finally, if the vishnu suck so much why don't you sell them and buy some groceries?

I have cut my Vishnus to pieces and done experiments on them. I offered someone to try them for free and he refused, Vishnu is that bad...I don't know what Nordost was thinking when they designed the cable, they should have listened to it first before releasing it.

Myself I prefer a stock cable over the Vishnu. Vishnu lacks the edginess that makes it sound like real life, it's smoother than real life, it sounds very thin and lean. There are no dynamics.
With Valhalla something weird is happening with the power supply, it doesn't seem like it is neutral. Valhalla sounds both heavy and edgy while being smooth, the heavy speed is not normal! No matter how fat the cable is it gives the illusion of a blacker background and more transparency. With different sizes the detail changes but the transparency still remains. With Vishnu it was dull no matter what size I tried. When I cut Vishnu to pieces I was expecting it to sound close to Valhalla after the mods, I was wrong and had to pay for it.

 

[rb67]

My brain hurts.

 

[Patrick82]

When I replaced computer's Valhalla with stock power cord it got very edgy and harsh and gave me headache. But when I plugged P300 into Premier it's not that edgy anymore. Stock cable in computer works because the rest of the system is too warm. It sounds kind of boring though.
Valhalla + AC noise is a great combination, it does something special to the noise, that's why it makes a huge difference when adding it after miles of crappy wiring.

Between P300 and Premier I have Ultimate Outlet, I replaced it with JuiceBar and got a little more dynamics. I didn't notice less low-level detail. The detail still is quieter than I can hear. It seems like plugging everything into Premier might work.


Video

Something weird happened to my LCD display after I removed a Harvester from its AC line. I thought my display was broken because text was very blurry and I need to bend forwards to read it, it's still blurry even when reading very close. I thought it was placebo for video gear, I guess not.

Yesterday when I removed LCD from Premier the colors got very dull. I still didn't believe it though. But today text got so blurry I can't read it. Uh, now I realize my impressions after plugging Valhalla into LCD might be true as well. I don't have money to buy more Valhallas!

If I plug everything into Premier I have a Valhalla left that I can use with my LCD. I need to do it then.

 

[Patrick82]

It took only 15 hours to replace P300 with Premier. My old tweaking record was 16 hours. My body isn't aching as much as previous tweaking days, I'm still able to walk even when it's a little shaky.

I have been awake 22 hours and I'm too fatigued to listen properly now. But it sounds very smooth. Low-level detail seems to be good. It doesn't sound impressive though. Need to burn this in...

 

[Patrick82]

Premier sounds like MWave1 of P300 except it has more speed and low-level detail. But the MWave4 signature is missing!!

It sounds flat and lifeless without it, bass isn't special anymore, very thin bass. It sounds very boring. I liked P300 better.


I made the Valhalla between wall and Premier thicker by adding a conductor, I was hoping to get more bass, but instead all the low-level detail was cut off and it sounded worse than before I got the Premier. Then I put back the 1 conductor Valhalla and transparency was back.

 

[Patrick82]

I put 5 sheets of ERS Paper on Premier and it gave a blacker background with more bass!! It's more listenable now even though the MWave4 signature is missing. I don't have any paper left to cover it fully. I guess I shouldn't have used so much inside my amp.

 

[Patrick82]

There are 2 sheets on the bottom of the Premier as well.

 

[Patrick82]

I did a blind test on Premier, I compared Sinewave against MultiWave. It was pretty obvious. With MultiWave I heard more bass transients, with Sinewave they were gone.
The difference between them was as big as MultiWave of Premier vs MWave4 of P300. MWave4 is much better, it has more dynamics, bass transients, blacker background and low-level detail, loads of stuff are better with it.

It doesn't seem like burn-in of Premier is doing anything, it sounds the same as when I first got it. The lack of MWave4 sounds very annoying now, it sounds very empty without it. I need to put the P300 back, first I need to rest my body.

 

[Patrick82]

I used to have 1 Noise Harvester plugged into wall. Now I plugged in a couple more. I use 3 Harvesters plugged into JuiceBar and I'm hearing HUGE bass!

It increased weight of the bass but I don't hear a significant improvement in detail.

 

[Patrick82]

I couldn't stand the emptiness of Premier so I put the P300 back. I plugged the P300 into Premier.
I only hardwired my Benchmark DAC1 into the P300. Problem solved! Now it finally sounds better than before I got the Premier.

Benchmark DAC1 has a small Toroidal transformer inside and it NEEDS MWave4. My old Krell power amp (huge Toroid) NEEDED MWave4 even more. But my other amps and sources work fine with MWave1, they don't have a Toroid inside.

It's not possible for me to listen to music without feeding DAC1 with MWave4. It has that special blackness and whiteness which makes it sound like real life. Feeding DAC1 with MWave1 makes it sound open, thin and flat.

 

[Patrick82]