Exactpower Ep15a or PS-Audio p500

PS Audio has been advertising new power regenerators that are supposedly much more efficient (less energy loss as heat). You should look into that.

I like the sound of Accuphase regenerators, which are pretty efficient, but they are quite expensive.

Nsgarch: Actually it's not a TRUE Regenerator, it only fills in the voltage gap.

From Exactpower: "The EP15A is neither a power conditioner, nor a power re-generator. It is somewhere in the middle."

http://www.exactpower.com/ep15a.html

CDm: if you use your PS audio on the SIN only setting and don't boost the voltage or use any of the other features of the Powerplant, then the exact power model will do that.... But if you use the extra features the PS Audio 500 only add a little more power capability and has a number of ultimate outlets for the devices it can't power so it will help those other components but not all. So the PS Audio might allow you to use one or two low voltage products on the regeneration but the rest just plug into Power Ports.. Get a PS Audio Director 3.5 if you need lots of current and no regeneration. A Ultimate Outlet will clean up your plasma even more.

I am not familiar with the new PS Audio products to know whether they support full regulation and MW Settings apply to the full power amount.

Now saying that I liked the dynamics that my PS Audio Powerplant provided and helped immensely. But Utimately I switched to another Balanced condition that is very rare and built here locally in Phoenix. Platinum Power PP-1 makes music fluid. It supports a full 20amps and everything can be run though it.. hense the 55lbs it weighs. No heat is generate since it is only a balanced conditioner and not a regerator.

http://www.platinumpower1.com/

Cytocyle -- point taken. The result however is the same as a unit that regenerates ALL the AC it provides, but with much less power loss (and heat). So I guess technically, it should be called a "power correction" device. For me, the charm is that it doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater, which allows it to provide high capacity and high efficiency at the same time.

The other thing I like about the Exactpower concept is the fact that it "fixes" those parts of the power cycle it identifies as carrying noise and other artifacts, without the use of the sonics-robbing methods employed in conventional power "conditioners." I just think the use of an efficient Class D switching amp with a feedforward comparison circuit a brilliant solution. So far, I can't find any negatives.
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I own an EP-15A and like what it does.

The rap on the older PS Audio regenerators was that they necessarily were somewhat inefficient due to their use of a traditional linear amplifier to regenerate the entire powerline. Though I don't know the details, and haven't myself heard either the old or new PS units, it would appear that they've changed over to switching amplification now instead.

This would make them more similar to the EP, but without the feedfoward comparator technique, i.e., they still regenerate the entire powerline. Since the switching-amp architecture allows this to be done efficiently, it seems there'd be less relative advantage in EP's method other than greater compatibility with power amps and TVs, while on the other hand the PS approach allows additional features like MultiWave (of which I don't personally know the benefits) and balanced output (which I do, courtesy of my API Power Wedge Ultra's balanced isolation tranformers for sources only, and wouldn't want to give up). I guess one other potential advantage of the EP technique remains that if momentary demand exceeds capacity, the unit simply switches over uninterrupted to unregulated wall power and then back again after demand subsides. However, in my time with the EP using fairly high-powered amps driving 3-way towers in a mid-sized room, this function has never been necessitated at any volume level I can comfortably play.

But I will say this for the EP: Defying some 'conventional wisdom', my present power amp (a McCormack DNA-500) sounds distinctly less impressive plugged straight into the wall than into the EP. So -- maybe an EP for the plasma and power amps, plus a PS (old or new) for the sources?

Zaikes, I echo everything you said (and vice versa ;--) including power amp sounding even better through the EP.

I also wanted to mention a good reason to have the regenrator and balanced power unit as separates: The regenerator can/should go near the amp(s), powered speakers(Logans in my case) and powered sub(s). A BP device is useful near the source equipment, which may (probably) not be near the speaker/amp end of things, and will probably not need to be the same (high) capacity as the regenerator device. In fact I run a 15 foot 10AWG umbilical from my EP-15A over to the balanced SP-15A near my front end stuff. The whole system is "as quiet as a chair!"
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