I picked up a pair of the PS Audio Duets to use in my system and initially I was quite pleased although I keep having an issue with them shutting off...a lot. Paul at PS Audio says that my house voltage may be causing the Duets to go into protection mode. My power company is supposed to check my power BUT in the meantime, I picked up a pair of the new Shunyata Guardians and plan to contrast and compare.

I have never had an issue with my HT power before (that I know of) and I am getting a little weary of stuff shutting down. Barrows at PS Audio says that they plan to reconfigure the under voltage protection parameters of the Duets as the shutting down thing seems to be an issue.


Anyway, I should get the Guardians next week. Has anyone hear experienced them yet?

What's the undervoltage of the Duet's set at? You could measure the voltage using an inexpensive multimeter. Put a lamp on the same circuit as your system. When they shut off, do you see the lights dimming tremendously?

I picked up a pair of the PS Audio Duets to use in my system and initially I was quite pleased although I keep having an issue with them shutting off...a lot. Paul at PS Audio says that my house voltage may be causing the Duets to go into protection mode. My power company is supposed to check my power BUT in the meantime, I picked up a pair of the new Shunyata Guardians and plan to contrast and compare.

I have never had an issue with my HT power before (that I know of) and I am getting a little weary of stuff shutting down. Barrows at PS Audio says that they plan to reconfigure the under voltage protection parameters of the Duets as the shutting down thing seems to be an issue.


Anyway, I should get the Guardians next week. Has anyone hear experienced them yet?
typical BS from PS Paul says one thing barrows says another. So who do you think is right?

The under voltage protection is set at 103 (?) I believe.
I don't know who is right but I have received my share of misinformation so far....

What it's supposed to be set at and what it's actually set at can be two entirely different things. Unless you've got something like a Variac or access to one, you'll never know.

I read the thread over at PS Audio dealing with your issue and I trust you walked away with the same general impression I got which was one of general incompetence, spin control, and suggestions that were ludicrous. All this was supported by various members (I wonder if they're really members) who echoed similar thoughts. I rather suspect that the undervoltage and quite possibly the overvoltage circuitry has a bit too much wiggle room and units are coming out of the factory that are too touchy. Further, suggesting your problem might be alleviated by a power cord change (one of theirs, perhaps? ;)) was more than a bit much. Consider for a moment that even a 2 meter power cord with 22 gauge is only going to drop the voltage by about 0.7 volts while pulling around 3 amps. I presume your cord is probably something like 14 gauge so switching to an 8 gauge or something won't do nothing but waste more of your time and cause you to incur return charges. Wowser!!!

Seeing as you live in Florida and just might have the infamous FPL as your electrical service, I sure hope you're not counting on those Duets to protect your system from lightning. If so, then maybe you can pony up a couple of hundred for a whole house system.

I did get the same impression actually. I like to give the benefit of the doubt but..... :eek:

FPL came by the house and saw nothing wrong with my voltage so far. They are supposed to put a monitor on the box for a bit soon. The Shunyatas come today. :D

Well, you can give them the benefit of the doubt, but essentially what they're saying is their product is fine and you're the one who's f****d up. Hope you get your money back.

ARRRGGGHHH those BSAudio people are just frustrating with the way they twist things.
I was thinking of going back there but seeing how they treat people who try to get straight answers out of them is mind blowing. I suspect as well that many of the posters are shills for them.

Well, speco, they do say their products are second to none. Look at the threads over at AA and it seems there's a general problem with the circuitry. Must be that old Lazlo playing a Halloween prank! Now, I'm wondering if I can use a laptop Sony battery....

Well, speco, they do say their products are second to none.


Does that mean that "none" outperforms them? :D

Marketing gibberish. Like Chock Full O Nuts, "Better coffee a millionaire's money can't buy."

The Duets are going back today. That kinda sucks because I really did like the sound. but I can't have them keep cutting off.

FPL finally determined with the computer readouts that I have no voltage problems BUT....


PS Audio has re-configured the power cartridge on the Duet which I was told would supposedly solve the shutting off issue so I re-ordered one. But now I have been told that it may or may not solve the shutting off issue as it is still a mystery to them. If I wasn't so enamored with the sound of this thing I would really be on the "PS Audio snake oil" bandwagon with the inconsistency in info I have been given over there and on their forum. Oh well. We will see. I have 30 days.

FPL finally determined with the computer readouts that I have no voltage problems BUT....


PS Audio has re-configured the power cartridge on the Duet which I was told would supposedly solve the shutting off issue so I re-ordered one. But now I have been told that it may or may not solve the shutting off issue as it is still a mystery to them. If I wasn't so enamored with the sound of this thing I would really be on the "PS Audio snake oil" bandwagon with the inconsistency in info I have been given over there and on their forum. Oh well. We will see. I have 30 days.


Well if they really took measurements on things instaed of blindly saying they sound great, maybe they could figure out the problem. They dont use devices to measure though. I really would love to do a real test with you to see if your really hearin a change. Why trust what these guys do, it seems every product they come out with has issues that they cant solve, and that the problem is always the customers gear not something they could have built. Now they have this new PPP that they claim to have inspected and then resent out. I have seen a boxed one at a dealer nearby and there is no way it was opened and retaped. And they are having all kinds of issues with it. Yet people say oh well it must be better than nothing.

Not jumping on you but really think about if you really need this thing. What problems were you having that made you want these? Were there any problems or just that you thought it might be a help?

No problems really to speak of. I guess like any power conditioner..you really don't know until you use it that it is a benefit. Trust me, If I did not hear an obvious difference with the Duet, I would not have pursued the matter as I have. I have tried a Richard Gray 1200, the Shunyata Guardians, and a couple of Monster HTS units and have preferred my amp plugged into the wall as opposed to into them after extended listening. The Duet blew me away. My replacement unit actually has arrived today so I guess I will see if I was delusional or not.

I have placed a order for one myself. We are going to put it to some tests. Some DB listen and also some electronic tests as well.

Well it already shut off once. I give up on this P.O.S. and PS Audio.


Edit: My roomate asked me today why the HT kept shutting off while I was at work.

Quality control issues involving poorly spec'd internal components come to mind. Read some of the threads on their website and AA. Betcha a fair amount of PSA stuff starts coming up on audiogon and ebay.

Here is the response from Paul McGowan at PS Audio when I posted that my 'new' Duet is still shutting off:

"Bummer. I have to run out the door so I can't answer completely. However, we believe it is NOT an over/under voltage problem. We believe it is some kind of noise or some mystery "something" getting in to the microprocessor. We can't seem to duplicate it so we're working on figuring out how. We're on it."

WOW Mystery Something???? That just drives the point home. Never let a DJ pretend to be an engineer.

OK. I got a call saying I would receive a couple of new power cartridges to try out on the Duet that should solve my problems. I will know tomorrow.

Just wondering if your new Duet solved your shut-down problems.