AudioQuest Niagara 1000


Hey Audiophobes,

Anybody have any experience with the AudioQuest Niagara 1000 Power  LOW-Z POWER/NOISE-DISSIPATION SYSTEM? I have one on loan and I am testing it out now. Unfortunately, I really can't effectively do an A/B comparison because all my power outlets and cords and not very accessible. Would appreciate any experience you all have with this product.

Thanks


pgaulke60
The 1200 does not alter the musicality flow of the music ,it for sure lowers the noise floorand presents better imaging and soundstage width and depth.
nit like most conditioners using mov for surge suppression, and most use Brass connections which suck. AQ uses Silver over Beryllium Copper even on the input 
and quality copper wiring they do things right. I have the same philosophy 
i took anything Brass in most speakers and amps Brass . I use only gold over Copper throughout my system same with wiring foamed Teflon Litz solid core 6-9s Copper throughout VH audio has some excelllent wire and Quality copper connections.
Please note: don’t judge the new AQ 1200 until you get 100 hours on it 
for all the capacitors,wiring,and connection needs to runin. 
That being said within a few hours you will hear better resolution   maybe a little bright at first, which fades after the first 50-100 hours.
I thought somebody mentioned that the unit has two bags of outlets, one for digital one for analog. I do not see that. Does the manual discuss the issue of mixing digital and analog outlets on the same circuit?
@audioman58 and others.

Finally got the AQ Niagara 1200 home and installed.  But there is a back story.  Bear with me.

I recently purchased a PS Audio Noise Harvester.  Primarily to check it out, and to see how much noise was coming through in various locations (outlets).  I took it to my local audio dealer and tried it out on various outlets, including outlets of high end power conditioners.  No matter what the outlet, including outlets with power strips and multiple computer peripherals attached, the Noise Harvester had the same blinking light.  Meaning it had the same amount of noise being harvested no matter the source, including when I plugged it into $5K Power Conditioners.

Then we did a test of it actually listening to music.  Three of us all agreed that when we had the Noise Harvester plugged in, it was damping the sound quality and the overall depth of music clarity.  Not by a lot mind you, but enough.

So I sent the darn thing back for a refund.  But I wonder if it is coloring my auditory views now.

Also, at the same time I installed the AQ Niagara 1200, I also installed two Shunyata Research SR-Z1 AC Outlets.  In talking with folks, since this is just an upgraded outlet, mainly in terms of the metals, it shouldn't have any real noticeable impact on the music.

Then I connected the AQ Niagara 1200 Power Conditioner. To my ears, I am hearing less soundstage and overall distinctness of the music.  Sorta that damping down of the music.  Only slightly.  As @audioman58 suggests, I am not at 100 hours.  I am also totally willing to admit that it could all be a figment of my imagination (or ears) based on the whole Noise Harvester escapade.  

My audio guys tell me that essentially the 1200 has the same circuitry as the 1000 that I was using before so it shouldn't be a difference in the way I am describing here.  I'm also told that I need to use something because a bunch of folks in the Atlanta area are having system blowouts because of power surges over the summer - so I need to have some protection.

With all this said, one of the days (when I want to crawl back in the back of the cabinet) I am going to do an AB comparison - with and without the 1200.  We'll see what happens then.  

That is my story, follow-up, and I am sticking to it, at least for now.

Thanks for reading.
That being said I tried a radically new magnetic technologies for cleaning distortions throughout not only the AC incoming ,but also the audio signal path.
High Fidelity cables , they have their basic $1k unit that is a steal  for anything up to 15 amps , the MC6 ,6 outlet unit and they have the units you plug into the wall where all the distortion begins . On  Audiogon their .05 AC purifier is very popular and cumulative. I just went to a Bigstep up from that with the MC1 pro,
there is no surge protection  ,I bought a Siemens 100  and  had-it installed first in line in my circuit breaker  box it needs 2-20 amp breakers one per feedcoming in 
getting back to this magnetic technologies it Transforms your system not just 
improve it.  the sweet  spot in their cables is the CT-2 , if you are into digital 
this $1k  spdif  cable is beating Everything usb orotherwise . against the
nordodt odin $3500 digital cable and soundly beat  it . The magnetics take time 4-500 to really shine a minimum of 200 to start opening up.  Go to their web site 
they can explain it 10x better then I understand . It is not ferrite magnets it is very similar  in  application to what an electron microscope does . Electricity is unfocused riding each pole the magnetic technology creates a waveguide 
where the electrical energy is focused similar to a laser  focused to the center .
your whole system takes on a whole new ability and  much more music realism.
try it  start with 1 item and add from there . I still don’t have their speaker cables 
or AC cables but plan on it when I have the extra bucks. Just check it out .
and yes another existing conditioner can plug into it like a AQ  and will for sure add more musicality to it. Just check it out and give them 4-500 hours  then 
give you can give your own hands on observations.