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ExactPower EP15A

I was thinking of getting one of these after my not so stellar audition of the PS Audio P-500. Guys that have or have had one of these (the latest model)good or bad stories about them? Do you have everything plugged in to it or just front end gear? Break in time? Different power cords? I've heard that Ps Audio tried to buy the patent from ExactPower but they weren't going for it. It EP15A looks a better design all the way around. I was thinking of the World Power Power Wing but it doesn't do anything as far as maintaining voltage from a low or high voltage situation or correcting your 60 hertz signwave. The EP15A will maintain 120 volts at it's output while the incoming voltage drops as much as 86 volts, upon hitting 85 volts the unit shuts down to protect your gear also keeps you a 120 output up to 139 volts and shuts down at 140 volts, doing all this with minamal heat unlike the PS Audio P-500 that was spontanious combustion hot with just a 12% 52 watt load on it. Thanks
jackofspeed
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
I love my EP15A. I didn't know about the patent deal you mentioned, but it speaks to the unigue circuit design. No other power regenerator offers the features of this unit.

I use an Audio Metallurgy 9AWG power cord. My amp, Martin Logan CLS's and Depth subwoofer are plugged into it -- as well as a 15 foot 10AWG cord to an ExactPower SP15A (balanced power unit) which then powers all the front end stuff. This is the optimum setup, per Brent Jackson at ExactPower.

You can do it without the SP if necessary for $$ reasons, and just plug a high quality power strip (with no breakers or filters) into the EP if you need a few more outlets for the front end stuff.

Both units run very cool. I have a lot of equipment (check my system) and the whole shebang only draws 425 watts or so, with every component powered up.
babybear's avatar
babybear
106 posts
 
I agree with Nsgarch. I used to use the PS Audio 600 for my front end gear only. I did a direct comparison of the PS Audio 600 to the EP15A in my system and the EP15A was a definite improvement - more extended on the top end and tighter bass. And, of course, the EP15A runs much cooler. I now use 2 of these units. One for my amps and one for my front end. I think one could handle the entire load, but due to equipment location, it was mroe cost effective to have 2 of them. Nsgarch - did you notice a further improvement in your front end with the addition of the SP15A versus just having the front end gear plugged directly into the Ep15A?
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Babybear, re the SP15A balanced power unit:

I considered two EP's for the same reason as you did, but with 1500 watts of available output, you'd have to be running some BIG Krells or tube amps to need more than one EP. And the front end stuff, especially CDT's and DAC's (for some reason) seem to really benefit from balanced power; while big amps, powered electostats and subs don't really.

After I'd had the one EP for a while, with everything plugged into it, (and boy, what a difference that made!) I spoke w/ Brent at Exactpower. I'd already decided to do balanced power for my front end stuff, but I wanted to find out if I should just power the SP from a wall outlet near the front end, or power it from the EP using a long power cord. Brent recommended the latter. And in fact, I think ExactPower has a block diagram of just such a setup on their website now.

And yes, all the front end stuff performed even better with balanced power: blacker background on digital and almost imperceptable noise and hum on phono.

BTW, in case anyone was going to ask, with this kind of arrangement, one doesn't (in fact shouldn't) lift any grounds, and especially not at the balanced power unit! Just plug all the three prong AC plugs right into the outlets.

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