PS Audio Direct Stream Power Plant 15

[Ron Bates]

I'm thinking of buying a Direct Stream Power plant 15 so I wonder if anyone has experience with this unit and can comment about its contribution to the music? How does it compare to a line conditioner for quality of music, Audioquest products for example? I have Sopra 2 speakers driven by NAD M27 amp.

 

[stalag2005]

Gosh, where to begin...... Honestly you would do better and it would be thousands cheaper to buy an APC UPS unit. We used these things in broadcast engineering on critical equipment. Computers are also susceptible to line noise and other crap that can sneak in to a lower quality switching power supply for a computer.

APC Smart-UPS X, Line Interactive, 2000VA, Rack/tower convertible 4U, 120V, 6x 5-15R+3x 5-20R+1x L5-20R NEMA, NMC, Extended runtime, Short depth - SMX2000LVNC | APC USA

SMX2000LVNC - APC Smart-UPS X, Line Interactive, 2000VA, Rack/tower convertible 4U, 120V, 6x 5-15R+3x 5-20R+1x L5-20R NEMA, NMC, Extended runtime, Short depth | APC USA

www.apc.com

I have seen these protect equipment from both power surges and lightning strikes and with the battery it buffers all of that. And with pure sine wave output it would be perfect for high end audio. And a sight cheaper by thousands than the PS audio stuff. Power conditioning is one thing, but the features of this unit far exceed the PS audio power plant.

And this is only one such example.

 

[lovinthehd]

LOL more like BS Audio. Audioquest is similar, more a cruel joke on the audio industry than anything else. They won't do anything for the quality of the music, just a big dent in your wallet hoping your imagination will fill in the void....

 

[VMPS-TIII]

While UPS units can add protection initially, as they age they lose power. This leads to other problems. While supporting customers with large data storage RAIDs it became apparent one of the 1st things to try when the disks would not mount was plugging the HD enclosure directly into the wall.

In half the situations where a UPS was in use this fixed the problem. The UPS was limiting electricity flow to the point where disks could not spin up.

In audio use I would expect a 2-3 year old UPS could easily restrict power to the amp which is usually not the goal.

 

[jinjuku]

While UPS units can add protection initially, as they age they lose power. This leads to other problems. While supporting customers with large data storage RAIDs it became apparent one of the 1st things to try when the disks would not mount was plugging the HD enclosure directly into the wall.

Would these storage arrays have redundant power? Half into wall and half into backup? We make sure we have N+1 and arrange power accordingly so if the UPS bites it we stay 100%.

 

[jinjuku]

I'm thinking of buying a Direct Stream Power plant 15 so I wonder if anyone has experience with this unit and can comment about its contribution to the music? How does it compare to a line conditioner for quality of music, Audioquest products for example? I have Sopra 2 speakers driven by NAD M27 amp.

Based on the poop engineering that goes into their products I wouldn't spend a dime with them. Also look at Tripp-lite and Surge-X.

Also the NAD is a quality amp and filters it's own power. Two things that immediately come to mind that you should plug into a UPS: Laser Printers and Power Amps.

 

[lovinthehd]

Also the NAD is a quality amp and filters it's own power. Two things that immediately come to mind that you should plug into a UPS: Laser Printers and Power Amps.

Should or shouldn't plug into.... ?

 

[slipperybidness]

I think the big advantage/need for UPS would be for items with micro-processors and ICs, volatile memory, and projectors that need a fan running for a time after power down to allow for proper bulb cooling.

 

[mazersteven]

Direct Stream Power plant 15 = $4995

 

[stalag2005]

APC AV Black 1.5kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V - H15BLK | APC USA

H15BLK - APC AV Black 1.5kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V | APC USA

www.apc.com

Ran into this as a power conditioner/surge suppressor. Lot cheaper than that PS power plant

 

[txbonds]

Here is an interesting video. Unit looks a lot like an APC unit.

 

[Ron Bates]

Very interesting and helpful, thanks for your replies.

 

[txbonds]

I ended up with a surgex device but zerosurge or brickwall would work equally well I think.

 

[Ron Bates]

I looked up what Gene DellaSala uses in his home theater room with the large RBH speakers. APC AV S20 (surge protector, line conditioner and battery backup). I assume his amps are plugged into the APC. So I'll look at Surge X, APC, and Panamax products. I don't think I need battery backup since my projector is on a different circuit. The video attached above is very telling.

 

[txbonds]

Read about surgex, zero surge and brickwall before you decide. Different approach than APC and Panamax.

before finding surgex I had purchased a Furman DM15. First one had a broken ammeter out of the box. The replacement showed up covered with rust on the case, new out of the box. Rather than try a third I looked for alternatives and found the above three I mentioned.

I went surgex because I wanted the volt meter and ammeter readings in a rack mount form factor. That was the XR315 model. But all three companies use similar series style surge elimination.