Audioquest Niagara 1200 Review (Power Conditioner/Surge Protector)

[Nango]

Darko is a case for the F.B.I.

 

[GWolfman]

Thanks.

 

[amirm]

OK, so just to play devil's advocate (and I know that these products are snake oil), if we're going to test them with an amplifier, don't use something like a Topping. It is well-designed and won't care what kind of input power it gets. If a power conditioner were to make a difference (and on occasion, power conditioning can be beneficial- see below), it would be with something that isn't so well designed.

You are going to spend $1000 to fix issues in a product that is not well designed? Why not get a better version of that?

Answering anyway, it won't make a difference on that class of device either. Regulating and filtering AC power is so trivial, and so low cost that even your junk designs are going to have sufficient filtering. And if they don't, this device will do nothing for them (their problem will be AC ripple which this device does not and cannot filter).

 

[amirm]

@amirm could you also test the poweramp sockets?

I did. It provides the same filtering as the low-current ones. Not sure what the difference between them is.

 

[Music1969]

I have a $200 SurgeX to protect most of my components, but I can’t use it with my power amp. The “inrush current elimination” feature which protects my other stuff kills the ability of my amp to draw instantaneous current for musical peaks with my low impedance speakers. Yes, it sounds worse with the SurgeX. So, it gets plugged in the wall socket, unprotected.

I wonder if the circuit design of the AQ has a similar impact with power amps.

Which amp? And which speakers? And anything was else connected to the SurgeX (when you had it all going through the SurgeX)?

 

[DJBonoBobo]

I wonder if the Burmester 948 Power Conditioner, which costs 6,400 EUR, performs 6x better than the Audioquest?
If someone is interested in this product, the catalogue cost only 5 EUR although it even has 2 pages.: https://www.springair.de/de/burmester-power-conditioner-948-prospekt/katalog/l7203

 

[Dennis_FL]

what worries me about thos reviews without any kind of proof is they are taking people for fools or being paid to outright lie

That's what I was thinking, also.

Or maybe the basic 110V A/C they are filtering is a different quality. Is that possible? I know some pipe the internet through their A/C.

 

[Vini darko]

So in what way is this better than my £35 tanshin? Up-sell me baby

 

[hch]

The video sounds like an infomercial. At least Ron Popeil sold products that worked.

If I weren't blond I would have, at one time, been a potential customer for his spray on hair.

 

[DSJR]

This thing is cheap...

An old friend and ex-colleague of mine spent the final years of his career working in a top high-end 'audio salon' in London, routinely selling expensive amps (top Krells before D'Agostino left and the D'Agostino amp line amongst others - they do actually sell the $200k approx Naim Statement amps as well, a handful per year I gather). he was rag about the 'cheap entry level' Transparent Audio mains lead at a mere £760 and then went on to discuss mains filters, of which Transparent have a range, or did last time I looked. Despite each having four sockets on them, you apparently only use two and add another filter box if you need more. the upper models claim to be even better (many thousands each I remember seeing) but all I could see was fancier styling and 'casework' - all carbon fibre fancy mouldings...


(Oh Gawd, the link has Tellurium Q ads as well - I'll get me coat...)

https://theaudiophileman.com/transparent/

Where I used to live in happy single-man times three decades ago, I did have variable mains quality and discovered the joys of clip-on ferrites (dirt cheap and the first one on the master mains cable did 'seem' to make a slight difference in the bass I 'imagined' - I also 'imagined' it changed back with said ferrite removed). Difference is these things are a few quid each and to me, totally harmless. For the digital sources, I still use (out of habit) sub-£50 Roxburgh 6A filters which here in this coastal location, make no difference I can hear, but they're there hidden away...

 

[Robbo99999]

Deary deary me, how can companies get away with such shenanigans, I know that their time on this earth is coming to an end when sites such as ASR debunk the myths, and good so, please have some ethics!

 

[D700]

@amirm https://www.brickwall.com/pages/the...MInr-RuIWS8gIVSvSzCh2TzwFREAAYASAAEgK3uvD_BwE

 

[Robbo99999]

Darko and Audioquest have a business relationship, that much is known. I am yet to see an Audioquest product that is doing something great... maybe their DACs, but the objective measurements tell us otherwise.

@amirm It is a bit of a waste of time measuring cables, power conditioners and such... Those who know the truth, know it already, those who believe in advertised value are not going to be swayed by yet another objective review. Your time is far too valuable for that.

That's a good thought, but I've heard of a headphone called the Audioquest Nighthawk.....surprisingly it does actually produce sound, but I wouldn't buy it!

 

[Robbo99999]

@amirm , could you test one of these or something similar budget: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000XT8XHU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Not sure why I'm including this in this thread! I do actually use this for switching between inputs, occasionally concerned it might degrade sound quality, or are high quality more expensive switch boxes an audio myth too?

 

[filo97s]

it would be interesting to see what happens when this thing is under load.
Maybe with a speaker amp like the AHB-2

 

[caocaolatre199x]

It does nothing but to consume more electricity on your home meters. Add a little bit of garbage for ~ $1500.

 

[KxDx]

or being paid to outright lie

It's not hard to guess the answer.

 

[DACs_Lover]

Want to see Megabuck DACs measurements the most

 

[respice finem]

Based on the pictures above, it is beautifully built (apart from the input IEC), contains a ton of surge (MOVs and gas discharge) components, an adjustable (preset) over voltage and plenty of filtering. No DC blocking.

Expensive yes, but I'd be happy to put one in behind my HiFi.

One might be tempted to "tune" an ordinary power strip to match this I guess <50$ for parts +PCB?
Or go "the lazy way": https://www.thomann.de/de/furman_m10x_e.htm

 

[restorer-john]

One might be tempted to "tune" an ordinary power strip to match this I guess <50$ for parts +PCB?
Or go "the lazy way": https://www.thomann.de/de/furman_m10x_e.htm

The overvoltage cutoff is an excellent function. We have a lot of solar feed-in in Australia and huge distances in our grid. Voltages vary massively.

My take on the device is, it worth a few hundred dollars for sure. Not $1k, that seems excessive, but it surely does not justify being portrayed as being total snake oil. That is not remotely fair. It's a decently made (internally) and a good looking product.

All you 'experts', what surge, overvoltage, overcurrent and filtering do you have in front of your precious gear?