AudioQuest PowerQuest 3 Power Conditioner & Surge Protector Review

[bobbooo]

Smartphones? Many of them offer audio output of CD quality and above. It all depends on the source.

Yep, most modern smartphones are also likely transparent within the limits of audibility, when playing back offline files through a decent app such as Neutron Player or UAPP that bypass the Android audio mixer. Unfortunately however I don't know of any streaming app that does this, so often there will be resampling to 48 kHz when streaming.

 

[Willem]

But to be clear streaming using the CCA with the smartphone app is independent of the audio quality of the phone. The smartphone only serves as a remote, and the CCA streams directly from the router.

 

[filter_listener]

Is there a good reason why null difference tests are not more widely used in audio measurements? To me they seem a great way to determine the objective transparency of any audio hardware device (or even software codecs) using not just test tones but real music.

SoundExpert do just this with DAPs / DACs, from which they produce a single metric summarizing the difference between the input test signals / music, and what the DAP actually outputs, so measuring its sonic transparency. This seems like a better method than the standard individual THD/noise/multitone tests, which do not fully account for all forms of degradation such as IMD. Null difference measurements however guarantee to account for any possible degradation from the original source file to the device's output, and allow this to be tested with actual music, which is after all what we use them to listen to.

This is awesome, thanks for sharing! I'm going to have to sit down and think through their methodology, there's a lot to take in.

 

[Nango]

ASR should test only those power conditioner where the MFR exactly describes what he does (different than others) with exactly which intention. Everything else with no quotes on any scientific background is nonsense to check.

@amirm Will any of the 5V USB-Conditioner behave similar or equal than a ny other AC conditioner?

 

[bobbooo]

But to be clear streaming using the CCA with the smartphone app is independent of the audio quality of the phone. The smartphone only serves as a remote, and the CCA streams directly from the router.

True, but unfortunately it looks like Chromecast Audio also resamples everything to 48 kHz.

 

[GXAlan]

I wonder if the hifi hobby is dying or not. AHB2 amps were/are backordered for weeks, I had to wait almost 8 weeks for a pair of Revel bookshelf speakers and yes that may be due to the virus. I do have a friend in the business and he is doing very well. So I really don't know the answer but if you've read something that shows the hobby in decline let us know. We may all end up streaming (I'm already there) but there will always be a percentage of people who demand quality.

There will always be a percentage of people who demand *and* can afford quality. But the level of interest has gone from "many households" to "a percentage". For a smart TV in the US, 1/3 in households has one. I don't think the same numbers apply to "a nice hi-fi" setup.

Music is more popular today than it ever was, but the dedicated "sit down and listen to music" at home is definitely less common today.

The NAD 3020 sold 1.1 million units in its lifetime. The DIY Dynaco ST-70 sold 300,000 units in its lifetime
I don't think we see those kinds of numbers today for home stereo.

JBL has sold 100,000,000 portable speakers globally (like Bluetooth) and over 365 million headphones were bought last year alone, globally.

Heres some sobering data.

2015 to 2018 USA Home Audio Sales.
- Blue is components, which shows that there is a small growth, but this includes soundbars
- the market is "growing" for the enjoyment of music, nearly doubling over 5 years
- but while the split was 50/50 between red/blue in 2015 (wireless vs. components; you can imagine a home setup and a travel setup), that hasn't continued.

Here, we can see that soundbars are growing at the expense of "home theater audio". (USA data). The * means, "12 months, ending"

And for comparison, some global #s for soundbars (in units, not dollars)

 

[GXAlan]

You want me to hook up a speaker to power strip? If it didn't have distortion before, it would certainly have after.

After an initial tone burst, the background noise will be so low that it is beyond the threshold of even your APx555.

 

[Willem]

True, but unfortunately it looks like Chromecast Audio also resamples everything to 48 kHz.

It does not. This was only true for the first few months, a later update fixed this.

 

[filter_listener]

True, but unfortunately it looks like Chromecast Audio also resamples everything to 48 kHz.

The CCA digital output is capable of bit-perfect up to 24/96, at least when used with Roon.

 

[Willem]

The CCA digital output is capable of bit-perfect up to 24/96, at least when used with Roon.

Also without Roon. Whether the source delivers 24/96 is a different matter, and whether there is any sonic benefit in that is another issue again.

 

[bobbooo]

It does not. This was only true for the first few months, a later update fixed this.

The CCA digital output is capable of bit-perfect up to 24/96, at least when used with Roon.

Ah yes, it seems firmware version 1.17a fixed this. I just wish Google would fix the issue in the Android mixer on smartphones as well to stop it resampling to 48 kHz.

 

[ta240]

I wonder if the hifi hobby is dying or not. AHB2 amps were/are backordered for weeks, I had to wait almost 8 weeks for a pair of Revel bookshelf speakers and yes that may be due to the virus. I do have a friend in the business and he is doing very well. So I really don't know the answer but if you've read something that shows the hobby in decline let us know. We may all end up streaming (I'm already there) but there will always be a percentage of people who demand quality.

I don't think it is dying, I think it is morphing a bit. The middle ground is fading while the low and high ends are growing. GXAlan pointed out the ST-70 sold 300,000 units and that would be at almost $900 in today's dollars. While I don't think we will see hundreds of thousands of nearly $1000 amps sold in modern times I think we will see people cycle through a lot more $100-$300 amps.

It is just not the way for many people anymore to buy one well made item and keep it for a decade like back then. The youtube infomercial pretending to be a review trend drives a lot of Junior Audiophiles to cycle through a lot of components from the same category and similar price class in a short period of time. The search for the elusive magic budget component drives a lot of turnover. There are a lot of people that will spend $1000+ on stereo amps over a period of years but not on a single amp. Likewise many will buy several of the flavor of the month DACs at $100-$200 over a period of a couple years but won't consider buying a single $600 one. While a lot of them will resell their prior cheap component they will still generally take a loss each time. With the focus moving from long term ownership the middle ground components will have lower sales as there will seem to be no reason to buy a $600 DAC when the latest 'review' says the $200 one is amazing beyond belief.

 

[Morla]

But the Microdynamics!

Sa(i)d John Darko https://darko.audio/2019/05/fight-the-power-with-audioquests-powerquest2-3/

 

[amirm]

Is there a good reason why null difference tests are not more widely used in audio measurements?

Because capture drifts in each iteration so simple null test doesn't work. You can compensate for this in software but then (added to randomness of noise) you don't get infinite null. All you can say then is that they are the same to say, -85 dB. This kind of "gray" answer is not going to dissuade the believers. So you have done a lot of work for little value.

 

[amirm]

@amirm Will any of the 5V USB-Conditioner behave similar or equal than a ny other AC conditioner?

I have not found any of them improving the sound out of a DAC.

 

[AudioSceptic]

There will always be a percentage of people who demand *and* can afford quality. But the level of interest has gone from "many households" to "a percentage". For a smart TV in the US, 1/3 in households has one. I don't think the same numbers apply to "a nice hi-fi" setup.

Music is more popular today than it ever was, but the dedicated "sit down and listen to music" at home is definitely less common today.

The NAD 3020 sold 1.1 million units in its lifetime. The DIY Dynaco ST-70 sold 300,000 units in its lifetime
I don't think we see those kinds of numbers today for home stereo.

JBL has sold 100,000,000 portable speakers globally (like Bluetooth) and over 365 million headphones were bought last year alone, globally.

Heres some sobering data.

2015 to 2018 USA Home Audio Sales.
- Blue is components, which shows that there is a small growth, but this includes soundbars
- the market is "growing" for the enjoyment of music, nearly doubling over 5 years
- but while the split was 50/50 between red/blue in 2015 (wireless vs. components; you can imagine a home setup and a travel setup), that hasn't continued.

View attachment 72406



Here, we can see that soundbars are growing at the expense of "home theater audio". (USA data). The * means, "12 months, ending"

View attachment 72408



And for comparison, some global #s for soundbars (in units, not dollars)
View attachment 72411

There will always be a percentage of people who demand *and* can afford quality. But the level of interest has gone from "many households" to "a percentage". For a smart TV in the US, 1/3 in households has one. I don't think the same numbers apply to "a nice hi-fi" setup.

Music is more popular today than it ever was, but the dedicated "sit down and listen to music" at home is definitely less common today.

The NAD 3020 sold 1.1 million units in its lifetime. The DIY Dynaco ST-70 sold 300,000 units in its lifetime
I don't think we see those kinds of numbers today for home stereo.

JBL has sold 100,000,000 portable speakers globally (like Bluetooth) and over 365 million headphones were bought last year alone, globally.

Heres some sobering data.

2015 to 2018 USA Home Audio Sales.
- Blue is components, which shows that there is a small growth, but this includes soundbars
- the market is "growing" for the enjoyment of music, nearly doubling over 5 years
- but while the split was 50/50 between red/blue in 2015 (wireless vs. components; you can imagine a home setup and a travel setup), that hasn't continued.

View attachment 72406



Here, we can see that soundbars are growing at the expense of "home theater audio". (USA data). The * means, "12 months, ending"

View attachment 72408



And for comparison, some global #s for soundbars (in units, not dollars)
View attachment 72411

Thanks for that info.

 

[AudioSceptic]

It does not. This was only true for the first few months, a later update fixed this.

Would it really matter? Is there evidence that this resampling is audible?

 

[AudioSceptic]

Because capture drifts in each iteration so simple null test doesn't work. You can compensate for this in software but then (added to randomness of noise) you don't get infinite null. All you can say then is that they are the same to say, -85 dB. This kind of "gray" answer is not going to dissuade the believers. So you have done a lot of work for little value.

Surely the point is whether the null (or closest to that) is audible?

 

[Mnyb]

Notice how some switching power supplies work they accept 100 to 240 volt AC but they probably do DC too , so feed it any vawe form containing energy and it works

 

[Nango]

But the Microdynamics!

Sa(i)d John Darko https://darko.audio/2019/05/fight-the-power-with-audioquests-powerquest2-3/

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