SAE P-500
A pro-rack power amp that toured arenas behind Pink Floyd's road crew, with a paper trail that is a mess.
Overview
Start with the mess. The SAE P-500 is documented here through a pile of period press that does not agree with itself. A February 1978 Studio Sound item describes a "P500" delay line, a pre-reverb unit offering up to 500 ms of delay ahead of a plate or spring, with response deliberately limited to 8 kHz. A September 1983 Mix feature describes a "P500" power amplifier built by Hafler as a pro version of the DH-500. It delivers 400 watts per channel into 4 ohms at under 0.04% THD, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, both channels driven, and over 800 watts bridged into 8 ohms. A February 1986 Studio Sound tour report credits "SAE P-500 and P-250 stereo power amps" in the bass and mid-bass bands of a large concert system. That is three different products under one model string. The archive cannot verify which one SAE actually sold under this badge, so this page is provisional until a manufacturer document surfaces.
The concert-sound story is the most specific, so it is the part that can be said with confidence. Studio Sound (February 1986, p.69) reported that the amplification for a major touring rig paired SAE P-500 and P-250 stereo power amps on bass and mid-bass, with modified Crest 5001 amps handling the high frequencies. The rig had flown arrays hung roughly 10.5 metres off the floor and twelve amp racks driving the main system. The same report puts the P-500 at up to 1,150 watts per channel into 4 ohms. That is a very different number from anything else in the file, and it should be treated as the writer's working figure, not a spec sheet claim. The design engineer quoted in the piece said the crew had spent months testing to find the right power combination rather than taking manufacturers' material at face value. So whoever ran that rig regarded the P-500 as a known quantity worth calibrating and road-casing.
The Hafler material is the other strong thread, and collectors will trip over it. Because MOSFETs are largely self-protecting, the design skipped complex protection circuitry and kept only an AC inrush limiter and a DC-offset relay with turn-on delay. It ran on 100, 200, 220 or 240 volts at 50 or 60 Hz, measured 19 inches wide, 7 high and 14 deep including rack handles, and used a four-point suspension for road mounting. Price was $949.95 assembled, $799.95 partially assembled. None of that is confirmed as SAE product data, because it is Hafler's. But if the SAE badge was applied to a reworked Hafler chassis, this is the closest thing to a spec sheet in the archive.
On this evidence the P-500 is not a documented audiophile artifact. There is no confirmed production run, no confirmed original SAE price, no service manual naming the model, and no owner consensus on failure points. Anyone chasing one should assume they are buying a road amp with a murky paper trail and price accordingly. Confirm the faceplate, the input complement and the output devices before money changes hands, because the name alone resolves to at least three different things in the period press.
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.