I did see that warning. ARC seems to want the owner to connect their AMPs directly to the AC, and not use any power conditioner or regenerator. Is that due to the power requirements of their AMPs? I purchased a PS Audio P10 to protect my equipment from surges, brown-outs, sudden electrical malfunctions. I also put a full-house surge protection unit that shuts down the panel to my home. In any case, are there specific attributes I should look for (other than 12 awg) in a power cord for a REF 75SE?
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Many find that power amps sound best plugged directly into the wall. In particular a regenerator such as your PS Audio is a pretty wasteful way to power a class A amp and may restrict dynamics. Personally i I get good results with the Synergistic PowerCell 12UEF but to start with go direct to the wall and on a circuit that's not shared with any of your other components |
folkfreak - I wish I had known that BEFORE I bought the PS Audio. I spoke to a lot of people before I purchased P10 who whole-heartedly support the P10 ... hmm! I had the contractor install a dedicated (i.e., there is nothing on the circuit but my stereo equipment) 20 amp circuit, with its own circuit breaker. I will do as you suggest; plug directly into the wall ... into the new Furutech GTX-D (R) outlets that started this whole forum entry. So, I will ask you, folkfreak, does the P10 'wastefulness' also apply to the REF 5SE and Accuphase equipment? Have I been restricting dynamics across the board? |
wylmars 0 ... I wish I had known that BEFORE I bought the PS Audio. I spoke to a lot of people before I purchased P10 who whole-heartedly support the P10 ... hmm! ...does the P10 'wastefulness' also apply to the REF 5SE and Accuphase equipment? Have I been restricting dynamics across the board? I wouldn't dismiss your PS Audio power regenerator quite so quickly. There are many variables when it comes to AC power. In my system - with multiple dedicated 20A lines - nothing is plugged directly into the wall. That includes the ARC Ref5SE and everything else, including big tube and SS power amplifiers. Yes, I've tried plugging things into the wall directly. Yechhh. And nobody who has ever heard my system has ever thought that it lacked dynamics. Just the opposite! |
@wylmars Firstly I trust by now you've learned to tale any advice you get on the internet with a pinch of salt 😏 and as @cleeds suggests you should try it for yourself, both into the P10 and into the wall. My cavil with PS Audio regenerators is that basically they are power amps outputting clean 110V -- agreed the newer ones such as your P10 are efficient (rated 85% at peak continuous load of 1200W) but they are throwing away 15% or more energy than you need. Early ones like the original P300 (I at one point owned three) were <50% efficient and ran hot as hell. However while the P10 is rated with enough power to drive your Ref 75 (peak load 500W) the consensus (and again you have to listen and see if you agree) is that Power amps in particular prefer a non current limited (i.e. more passive than active) power conditioning regimen, and in many cases sound best run straight from the wall. Sources (your Ref 5SE and Accuphase kit) will benefit most from the clean power the P10 provides So to conclude -- try it all ways and see what sounds best to you -- that's all that matters |
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