Audioquest Niagara 1200 Review (Power Conditioner/Surge Protector)

[beren777]

If someone was worried about power issues causing damage or performance trouble and wanted to spend ~$2,000, wouldn't something like this make more sense, assuming it's sized appropriately?

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-SMART-UPS-RT-1500VA-120V/P-SURTA1500XL

 

[_thelaughingman]

I work in medical diagnostics field as an engineer and majority of the precision instruments used in diagnostic testing are hooked up to UPS that's hooked to 120/240 dual mains. Majority of these have surge protection built in and will auto shut off mains power to protect from surge and none of those instruments need a power conditioner for the 240v mains supply. I think having a decent power surge/UPS will do wonders without affecting the performance of the gear.

 

[Paweł L]

Speaking of AC line filtering products such as made by Audioquest, I wonder how they would compare to Bryston made Isolator. They provide schematics for most their products, so would I expect solid product from them.

https://bryston.com/power-delivery/

 

[egellings]

Still have my Popeil Pocket Fisherman!

 

[Mentanalyste]

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

Totally agree Ezra,

Thank you Amirm, your work is remarkable. The barriers of the marketing speeches of the audiophile companies are falling one by one. The audiophile community is getting organized and it is people like you who are helping to improve this market. You make us grow up so we don't look like fools anymore, listening to these liars who take advantage of the money we spend for our passion is heartbreaking.

 

[NgtFlyer]

All the rest aside, Niagara is also a brand of toilets.

 

[xaviescacs]

If someone was worried about power issues causing damage or performance trouble and wanted to spend ~$2,000, wouldn't something like this make more sense, assuming it's sized appropriately?

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-SMART-UPS-RT-1500VA-120V/P-SURTA1500XL

Country Selector | Schneider Electric Global

Country Selector Page

www.se.com

 

[beefkabob]

Hmm... 4 powerwalls.

 

[trl]

Country Selector | Schneider Electric Global

Country Selector Page

www.se.com

Any AVR should cut off power when overvoltage or undervoltage occurs.

 

[tyreman]

Very interesting and I must confess that not that surprising unfortunately

 

[Robin L]

This just in:

" . . . Moving the home theater circuit to the new subpanel produced a profound improvement; even my hearing-impaired, 92-year-old mother-in-law heard it. We could even turn off the subtitles while watching The Crown, so much had dialog intelligibility improved. Voices now floated on a cushion of air, projecting forward into the room. The Parasound Halo A 51 turned silky and transparent. It was like a complete system swap. . . "

Analog Corner #315: The Electrical Cure Page 2 | Stereophile.com

Two circuits would feed a 4-gang AC receptacle box located behind the amplifiers; each amplifier would have its own dedicated 20A circuit. The other two would feed another 4-gang box located behind the equipment rack. This should have been done 20 years ago when I moved into this house...

www.stereophile.com

 

[Theriverlethe]

This just in:

" . . . Moving the home theater circuit to the new subpanel produced a profound improvement; even my hearing-impaired, 92-year-old mother-in-law heard it. We could even turn off the subtitles while watching The Crown, so much had dialog intelligibility improved. Voices now floated on a cushion of air, projecting forward into the room. The Parasound Halo A 51 turned silky and transparent. It was like a complete system swap. . . "

Analog Corner #315: The Electrical Cure Page 2 | Stereophile.com

Two circuits would feed a 4-gang AC receptacle box located behind the amplifiers; each amplifier would have its own dedicated 20A circuit. The other two would feed another 4-gang box located behind the equipment rack. This should have been done 20 years ago when I moved into this house...

www.stereophile.com

That's amazing! I will never understand how sound can be transmitted through a gaseous medium like that.

 

[Ageve]

Your Amp is Being Strangled.

And now, your wallet is being strangled.

edit: Audioquest ad on the first page.

 

[Robin L]

That's amazing! I will never understand how sound can be transmitted through a gaseous medium like that.

I will never understand:
A: how a hearing impaired 92 year old became a standard for determining audiophile sound.
B: How Mikey can claim to KNOW that the sound coming off his turntable rig is so high and mighty when his electrical system has been FUBAR from the start and only now is being rectified [sic]. And yet be able to say than any Digital source is inferior.

 

[AudioSceptic]

This just in:

" . . . Moving the home theater circuit to the new subpanel produced a profound improvement; even my hearing-impaired, 92-year-old mother-in-law heard it. We could even turn off the subtitles while watching The Crown, so much had dialog intelligibility improved. Voices now floated on a cushion of air, projecting forward into the room. The Parasound Halo A 51 turned silky and transparent. It was like a complete system swap. . . "

Analog Corner #315: The Electrical Cure Page 2 | Stereophile.com

Two circuits would feed a 4-gang AC receptacle box located behind the amplifiers; each amplifier would have its own dedicated 20A circuit. The other two would feed another 4-gang box located behind the equipment rack. This should have been done 20 years ago when I moved into this house...

www.stereophile.com

Rex Hungerford, Edward DeVito, and Craig Bradley rode into town last week and, together with Audioquest's Garth Powell, solved all the electrical problems that have plagued my audio system for years.

Isn't this from someone who for years has been describing differences in gear that would surely require a near-perfect environment?

He uses a $23k preamp. His total system cost must be in 6 figures.

Can he really be so unaware what a self-parody all this is?

 

[Robin L]

Isn't this from someone who for years has been describing differences in gear that would surely require a near-perfect environment?

He uses a $23k preamp. His total system cost must be in 6 figures.

Can he really be so unaware what a self-parody all this is?

Can he possibly be aware that this degree of hyperbole places a shadow over all his previous subjective reviews of audio gear?

 

[egellings]

Who makes a 23 grand preamp?

 

[AudioSceptic]

Can he possibly be aware that this degree of hyperbole places a shadow over all his previous subjective reviews of audio gear?

Not a chance. He lives in a bizarre world only occasionally troubled by rationality.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Who makes a 23 grand preamp?

There are quite a few but Mikey's is a darTZeel <https://www.stereophile.com/solidpreamps/607dart/index.html> (Yes, they do spell it like that.) Needless to say, its measurements are less than perfect.

 

[Rc Lobarniz]

I have been following this forum with a lot of enthusiasm and I have to say how fortunate I feel to find such a vast amount of knowledge about Hifi in general.
After reading Amir's painstaking review of this unit I could not help but to look for the YouTube video review of this very same gear and oh man, is it fun.
Watching so many people making videos about audio gear withouth any other proof to substantiate what they say other than their own opinion is absolutely shocking.
It is also a lot of fun when I read the comment section of the video and someone mentions this forum or Amir's video and that Amir says this unit does nothing, and then another one feels offended by the mere mentioning of such a 'blasphemy', it's so much fun.