PS Audio UPC 200 Mini Review
F1nut
Posts: 51,701
This little box arrived yesterday via BlueMDPicker (he got one too), so I hooked it up, let the system warm up and sat down for a listen. First impression was that the sound hadn't really changed, which isn't such a bad thing because I've been happy with the sound for some time now. The real reason I bought the unit was for badly needed surge protection. I also realized that it needed to burn in, so I let things run overnight and most of today before sitting down to listen again. I can definitely hear a difference now, ever so slight, but still different......in a good way. The high end is a tad smoother and the bass has become tighter with a tad more extension. If it's as good as it's going to get right now, I'm still a happy camper as I have the protection I needed and it didn't do anything bad to the sound. For anyone looking for surge protection, I recommend checking out one of these.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
Post edited by F1nut on
Comments
-
Cool deal. Thanks for the review F1. I've been eying that surge protector since it came out. I need a quality surge protector for the third rig now. Looks like a quality product too. Two ulimate outlets all in one package. I was considering getting the ultimate outlet and the juice bar but this is a better option at close to the same cost.
-
Which one is this, price, outlets? Is it the $500, 4 outlet model?
Cheers,
RussCheck your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
Sorry, should have added a link with all the info, here it is.
http://www.psaudio.com/products/upc200_overview.asp
It's the model UPC 200, list is $499.00, but you can get at cheaper and it has two ultimate outlets, 4 outlets total, on the back with a IEC for power cord upgrades. Another point I forgot to mention is that it's also a power conditioner and is totally passive. One really cool feature is that you can totally separate your components using this thing or combine the two circuits together for one super high current outlet.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
F1,
Best deal I can get right now is 10% off from Music Direct before Jan. 2. You got a better deal than that?
Please, spill the beans bro...;) -
PM sent.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Right out of the box my UPC-200 took the noise floor to the sub-basement.
Unlike F1nut's setup, with a dedicated 20 amp circuit, my system uses a 15 amp duplex receptacle. I've been very pleased with the overall SQ of my system since upgrading ICs, speaker cables, and power cords. A week ago, I would have told you (and F1nut would confirm) it had a "dead quiet" background.
As I powered-up my components with the UPC-200 in the rig I was on one knee in front of the rack waiting for the warm-up circuit to kick in on the tube preamp. The volume pot was barely cracked off dead zero (as I always do when adding or changing components.) As the preamp kicked in, I started a CD - without increasing volume - and was floored by the DETAIL in the whisper soft output at that level. I've performed this ritual many times over the past few months and I'm very familiar with the startup SQ - before now, always attenuated to the point of muffled nothingness. I was, quite honestly, amazed. As I brought the volume up to listening level, bass extension and metal percussion were instantly noticable as much improved.
It's a strangely funny thing - the difference between what you "hear" and "don't hear." By not hearing a noise floor (that was always there) I'm better able to hear, and appreciate, the SQ components of a recording we all can identify, quantify and describe with singularity. I believe PS Audio has built a business and reputation on that very premise.
