just a couple of questions

Rocket · « **on:** 27 Jul 2003, 06:52 am »

hi guys,

i bought a p3a about a year ago and recently i sold it. not to worry i bought another p3a and monolithic power supply second hand, as this p3a had been modified by modwright to level 1.

gee what an improvement!

anyway i have an opportunity to buy a p1a and i am just curious if you think this already great sounding dac, can be improved upon if i buy the p1a?

i have a pioneer pds507 cdp and unfortunately it only has optical out. am i doing the p3a a disservice by only using an optical cable? at the moment i'm using a cheap optical cable but i intend to upgrade it later. i do have an onkyo dvd and compared optical and digital cables (albeit cheap ones) and i couldn't pick any differences (not to say i have golden ears anyway).

i won't nag about socs etc but my speakers are custom made and i live in australia. will it cost a lot of $$ for me to obtain socs and room correction?

thanks for your advice and information.

regards

rod

hectic1 · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Jul 2003, 01:56 pm »

Rod,

Congrats on the new p-tech gear. I too have the P-tech with Modwright level 1 and it is a definite improvement over the stock gear IMO. I also have the P-1A and once you put it in your system it is very hard to remove. The P-1A does an excellent job of taking any brightness or harshness out of the system without stealing important treble energy. I like to explain the p-tech gear with this analogy. Listening to music without p-tech is like watching a interlaced DVD player. Listening to music with p-tech is like watching an RPTV with progressive scan DVD player. IMO everything is smoother and has a "darker" sound that is extremely addictive. Hopefully MLS or one of the AV123 guys will be around to help with the techincal info on the P-1A and SOCS and ROCS...

I am considering upgrading to the Modwright level 2 on my P-3A. The only problem is not having it in my system for a couple weeks...

Rocket · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Jul 2003, 09:12 am »

hi hectic 1

thanks for your reply. i guess it is one of those things i may just have to try out for myself and found it if there is a difference. i don't like to waste my money as i'm always on a budget.

i still find on the odd occasion that i have a little harshness in my system.
i put the harshness down to poor recordings, as some other recordings i have are excellent. the good recordings don't appear to suffer from this problem, i also thought it could possibly be my preamp.

which do you think is the greater improvement p1a or modwright level 1? sorry to put you on the spot.

regards

rod

ps it seems a waste to have the monolithic power supply and not have the p1a in the loop.

Greg Marberry · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Jul 2003, 06:51 pm »

Hi Rod,
Thanks for your message. It's great to hear that you are enjoying your P-3A + MSP3. If you do end up going the P-1A route, it really won't be that difficult to get SOCS or RCS. We have what is called an MMK (mobile measurement kit) which we would send you so that you can take measurements of your speakers (quasi-anechoic), your room or both. You would then send the MMK back to us, we would generate the software and either load it on your P-1A at our factory, send you a CD-ROM to do it yourself w/ your PC, or make it available to you on a secure link via our website. It all depends on where we are in our "home use" development. This is all exciting stuff and I hope that we can get it all going soon. If you have any questions at all, please let me know.

Sean Parque · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Jul 2003, 08:52 pm »

>>>i have a pioneer pds507 cdp and unfortunately it only has optical out. <<<

Just an FYI...the P1 does not have a fiber input...it has to be digi coaxial, AES/EBU (XLR) or I2S.

Sean

Sa-dono · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Jul 2003, 09:56 pm »

Quote from: Sean Parque

Just an FYI...the P1 does not have a fiber input...it has to be digi coaxial, AES/EBU (XLR) or I2S.

Rightly so too IMO...although I'll know for sure soon

Rocket · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Jul 2003, 11:32 pm »

hi guys,

thanks for the information, well that kills off that idea in the short term.
i will either buy a new cdp or modify it to take coaxial first.

regards

rocket

Jay S · « **Reply #7 on:** 29 Jul 2003, 01:50 am »

Quote from: Greg Marberry

If you do end up going the P-1A route, it really won't be that difficult to get SOCS or RCS. We have what is called an MMK (mobile measurement kit) which we would send you so that you can take measurements of your speakers (quasi-anechoic), your room or both. You would then send the MMK back to us, we would generate the software and either load it on your P-1A at our factory, send you a CD-ROM to do it yoursel ...

Greg,

I believe that MMK is a laptop plus peripherals and software. Have you guys shipped it overseas (e.g. Australia, Hong Kong)? Would you have a rough idea how much shipping would cost. I have an external dac and speakers which are not produced in large volumes (nOrh 9.0); RCS/SOCS would make me consider getting a P1-A.

Thank you.

- Jay

Rocket · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Jul 2003, 10:30 am »

hi sean/greg,

has the p1a software ever been revised. if i bought one which was a couple of years old would it have the right software? or would it not matter?

thanks for your help

rocket

audiojerry · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Jul 2003, 02:03 pm »

Rocket,
If you get the P1A in the future, be aware that the gain (loudness) will be reduced, and sound quieter than using the P-3A alone. I've heard others report that they were not happy with their P-1A, and felt it diminished performance because they heard less detail. It's possible they didn't realize that it was causing the music to play more softly, which they mistook for less detail. It might also be possible that they were not using the Monolithic power supply with the P-1A. The Monolithic makes a significant improvement to both the P-3A and P-1A. My redbook playback sounded great without the P-1A, but with it my system is pretty much unbeatable. I've pitted it against one box players costing up to $10k, and my system always comes out on top. I have the Level 2 Modwright mods, Shakti onlines, ZuCable Mother powercords, Aurios Isolation Bearings, Classe CDT-1 transport, and Triphazers on the interconnects and power cords.

Sean Parque · « **Reply #10 on:** 29 Jul 2003, 03:23 pm »

Quote

I have an external dac and speakers which are not produced in large volumes (nOrh 9.0)

I don't see a problem with getting 9.0s measured here...

Sean

Sean Parque · « **Reply #11 on:** 29 Jul 2003, 03:25 pm »

Quote from: audiojerry

Rocket,
If you get the P1A in the future, be aware that the gain (loudness) will be reduced, and sound quieter than using the P-3A alone. I've heard others report that they were not happy with their P-1A, and felt it diminished performance because they heard less detail. It's possible they didn't realize that it was causing the music to play more softly, which they mistook for less detail. It might also be possible that they were not using the Monolithic power supply with the P-1A. The Monolithic makes a s ...

Quite correct...it's 6.02dB quieter. This is to allow room for the corrections.

Sean

Greg Marberry · « **Reply #12 on:** 29 Jul 2003, 03:32 pm »

Hi All,
Thanks for your responses.

Jay,
We have yet to ship the MMK overseas but we have sent it out of the US (to Canada). It will not be a problem to ship anywhere. I do not know exactly how much it would be in shipping to Australia or HK but I would guess at least $100 each way.

Rod,
Yes, the software in the P-1A was changed in June of 2001. This will not really matter much though if you were going to upgrade to SOCS or RCS as the latest version of operating software would have to be loaded on the P-1A at that time. This can happen in any of the three ways I mentioned before.

Let us know if any other questions arise.

Thanks,

Rocket · « **Reply #13 on:** 29 Jul 2003, 11:03 pm »

hi guys,

any ideas how much it will cost to hire the mmk?

regards

rod

Rocket · « **Reply #14 on:** 29 Jul 2003, 11:05 pm »

hi audiojerry,

thank you for the tip.

i find it a bit hard to believe that the sound can be any better but will probably give it a try.

regards

rod

Greg Marberry · « **Reply #15 on:** 31 Jul 2003, 03:15 pm »

I believe that MMK rental will be $250 + shipping. This was what we had originally planned but it may change before MMK goes into use.

Thanks,