Owner`s manual

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to interpolate and output 24-bits, but that the sampling frequency remain at 44.1

kHz. This allows the P-3A to handle the duty of 96 kHz frequency upsampling.

After lots of listening, I concur with this recommendation.

2. Each piece comes with two brackets that allow you to install and place the unit

vertically on your equipment shelf. This worked fine with the P-1A. However, the

P-3A really wanted to be used horizontally in my system. Further, I used three

Black Diamond Racing #4 cones under the P-3A for vibration isolation. I didn’t

use any sort of mass loading on either piece (i.e., putting a brick on top of them),

despite that fact that neither weighs a lot, as there was no audible improvement in

doing so.

3. Don’t use any other type of jitter reducer between your transport and the P-1A – I

tried the Monarchy DIP and it robbed the music of life. The Monarchy DIP is a

good product on its own when the P-1A is not available, but in tandem with the

P-1A, it does more harm than good.

4. This is a big one . . . I do not recommend using the factory-supplied I

S cable

between the P-1A and P-3A. Sure, I realize that theoretically this should be an

ideal interface, but that wasn’t what I heard. The cool thing is that you can

connect both the I

S cable and a coaxial digital 75 Ohm cable between the P-1A

and P-3A, and then toggle between the two to perform your own evaluation. Heck,

throw in an AES/EBU balanced cable if you have one, too. Speaking with a friend

on the topic, I think it comes down to the fact that the factory-supplied cable is the

culprit and not the I

S technology. I didn’t have any other I

S cables with which to

compare the one supplied by Perpetual, but rumor is that Perpetual is working

with a highly-regarded wire company to come up with a better I

S cable. In lieu of

the I

S connection, I had great results connecting the 1A and 3A with the

inexpensive Nordost Optrix coaxial digital cable, and even better was the awesome

Nordost Silver Shadow.

5. Give the P-3A a ton of time to break-in – in the realm of 200 hours. Really, that’s

how long it took in my system before the audible improvement stopped. The P-1A

took less time, along the lines of 100 hours, until it sounded its best.

6. Use power conditioning, especially with your digital front-end, if you don’t already.

The Perpetual gear loves it. I used units from Sound Application, ExactPower, and

PS Audio. This isn’t going to become a power conditioner review, but suffice to

say that they all help bring out the best that the P1A/3A have to offer.

- Paul Knutson -