The Power Plant Regenerator debate drags on

ASR is a bunch of idiots saying stupid crap to get clicks.

The PSA regenerator converts the incoming power to DC, then inverts it to a near perfect sine wave (.1% distortion vs 2-4% incoming).  The voltage is adjusted to whatever I set it at.

It doen't always improve the sound--depending on the power supply of your component.  some components are very tolerant of distorted power supply.  But having perfect 120V sine waves makes sure the quality of the power does't limit your equipment. 

The power in my neighborhood is horrible.  Old infrastructure, power lines still on poles, and overdeveloped in the last 20 years.  Voltage swings, especially in the summer (think all the air conditioners), are significant.  Momentary drop outs are common and the lines are noisy, very noisy.  (As I would find out, distortion was as high as 8% at times.)

I've tried higher end conditioners (Audioquest, Furman), which helped, but not enough.  So I bit the bullet and purchased a refurb'd Powerplant P12 from PS Audio last December.  All I can say is that the difference was noticable in the first 10 minutes.  The best way I can describe it is "relaxed and smoother".  Which components were positively affected, I don't know, and honestly, I don't care.  But I'm definitely liking the results and am sold on the technology.

I’d be curious to try it if I could get a solid assessment of my power. Presently, things are really quiet on my line, but as the saying goes, "You don’t know what you don’t know."

Paul at PS Audio takes ASR seriously. He doesn't agree with them, but he considers various elements in their argument and doesn't merely ridicule them. Good model to follow. 

I recently replaced a Puritan PSM156 with a P15. I agree with @jeffbij that it is an improvement, relaxed and smoother, is a good description. My goal was to have “Sunday night sound” all of the time, and I am pretty close to that with the P15. I should caution though, it was not a religious experience or a night and day difference in my case, but definitely an improvement and worth the investment in my system.

ASR reviews can be useful in certain cases, but they are only one data point. While their measurements might be accurate, I don’t think their conclusion is valid for the Powerplants. 

Never hurts to find out.  You could always pick one up used.  The seem to resell pretty quickly.  In fact, The Music Room  (tmraudio.com) has a couple of P5 units for <$1600 right now. 

For anyone who has the $ to throw at an "if"...

Definitey a YMMV product.

The BEST audiophool $700 I spent was on a used, MIC Power Plant Premier about 8 years ago? 

Sent it back to PS Audio 4 years ago and it should be good for somewhere between 5-10 years?

PP should be in your own setup to see if it does/doesn't do what it's designed to do. I don't hear any negative SQ even with a tube amp plugged in.

The SQ "improvement" is subtle. Plugging in the TV it's noticeable but NOT dramatic-richer color and sharper image quality.

I'd get another PPP,  but PS Audio no longer supports it for repair.

@carlsbad2 

+1 Definitely ignore anything from ASR. I completely agree. 

Honestly, I take most of what Paul says with a grain of salt. He really likes to listen to himself talk. 

I have been in this pursuit for fifty years. I remember when the first regenerators came out. I thought if they were god's gift to the high end audio world, they would take the pursuit by storm. They have not. I have read with interest accounts of their use for decades. It seems to me they achieve the same kind of results you may get with a good power conditioner... perhaps at a higher price. I know folks that have got them and quickly moved on... they improved the sound, but a good power conditioner did more. A couple folks kept them. 

So, I'm reading this string in case some folks provide some specifics Cause, the jury still seems out to me. Probably in some specific cases they are the perfect solution. 

@ghdprentice    I wholly agree with everything you said.  Before I moved into my current home, I had stable power (voltage and distortion) and a good power conditioner was all that I needed.  New home, different story.

So, I would put out there that:

If you have crappy power, then something along the regenerator type technology, whether PS Audio or someone else's, COULD be a solution and is worth exploring.

Every neighborhood has crappy power.  (I work for a very large utility).  

Why?  because most appliances don't care.  It really doesn't matter to most all appliances how crappy the power is. 

 Most power is generated by rotating generators driven by steam from gas, nuclear, or coal.  More and more power is generated by wind or solar.  The traditional power is generated as a pure sine wave and the large rotating mass is synchronized to the grid, not only providing great quality generation but adding important stability to the grid. 

Solar and wind are just the opposite and have to be converted to 60 cycles and fed into the grid.  this makes it harder to generate perfect power and makes the grid less stable.  But that isn't really the biggest problem.  Loads come in all different forms from motors to resistors (toasters, hair dryers, etc) to large asynchronous industrial loads.  These loads distort the shape of the electrical signal.  

So it doesn't matter if you live in an old neighborhood or a new neighborhood, it is all the same.

And a transformer doesn't change it.  If it did, we wouldn't want to send music through a transformer, would we.

there is no "if" you have crappy power, you do.

Jerry

Every neighborhood has crappy power. (I work for a very large utility)...
there is no "if" you have crappy power, you do.

If this is true -- and I’d like to know HOW the average consumer can measure what matters at the outlet into which they want to plug in their gear -- then why do many people hear no difference with power products?

If power IS crappy for everyone AND that results in obvious sound defects then why don’t these products fix it for them?

We can say some are too insensate to notice

We can say others have equipment that masks the problem.

But many others simply do not hear a problem (with their good ears and sensitive gear). (Many on THIS forum have said, "My power is not a problem for me.")

That would indicate that the initial premise is wrong -- and some people have power that is not a problem.

a) Room resolution bottleneck (untreated room for waf compliance, or 2 panels up for decorative purposes)

b) Old dudes, degraded hearing, untrained listeners, etc

If a, b or both are true, power products would only serve for safeguarding equipment, a cheap dac should suffice, 30 dollar cables are good to go, etc.

If this is true -- and I’d like to know HOW the average consumer can measure what matters at the outlet into which they want to plug in their gear -- then why do many people hear no difference with power products?