AudioQuest Niagara 1200 - My First Impressions

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Ontheone, Jul 31, 2019.

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  1. pdxway

    pdxway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    Interesting....With my amps with toroid power transformer, I am
    also hearing low level hum from my speakers a few inches away. My receivers witout toroid power transformer have no such hum.

    Like you said, the hum doesn't really hurt music enjoyment. But I am still curious. Did you find any other ways to further reduce the hum?

    Thanks!
     
  2. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    It turned out the residual hum was solely inherent to the amp - a Cary CAD-120S mkii. I replaced it in my main system with a Pass Labs XA30.8 which is dead quiet. I also run the XA30.8 through AQ1200 and haven't tried running it without the conditioner. I should try this at some point just to confirm it's not degrading SQ but I love what I hear now and I like the protection. The Pass combined with a tube preamp gives me everything I like about tubes but punches so much deeper into recordings with enormous dynamic range and powerful bass that's difficult to attain outside of SS Class A.

    I connected with Cary Audio and ended up trading the Cary 120 for a new Cary SLI-80HS for my second system. The SLI-80HS is dead quiet with no conditioning but I do have a Furman Elite PFi 15 coming next week mainly as surge protection.
     
    pdxway likes this.
  3. pdxway

    pdxway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    I got the Furman Elite PFi 15 last week. It definitely improves my audio enjoyments. It would be great if you can compare it with your Niagara.
     
    Ontheone likes this.
  4. Mmmark

    Mmmark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    TLDR:

    Dude was noticing a hum through his gear.
    He thought a power conditioner would help.
    The power conditioner enhanced every aspect of his system, and was amazing.
    The dude's system still has a hum.
     
    hi_watt and petertakov like this.
  5. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    Update: As referenced a couple of messages above, I just tested running my Pass XA30.8 with and without the Niagara1200. Night and day difference. The conditioner added significant dynamic range, bringing more texture and detail into the sound. I was listening to Gene Ammons "Boss Tenor" (Qobuz streamed at 24/44 through an Auralic Vega G1) and the Niagara1200 brought out a "tactile" nuance of the reed much further than I could detect without the conditioner. I also perceived the music to be louder with the conditioner as a result of the DR improvement and with greater depth to the soundstage. I went back and forth a couple of times. After hearing the difference I'd really hate to go back to plugging the Pass amp directly into the wall. I'm just using the stock power cord that came from Pass as I've read Nelson doesn't feel that his amps "respond well" (i.e. improve) to aftermarket PCs.

    When I receive the Furman Elite PFi 15 I will see how it compares to the AQ Niagara1200. The Furman is half the cost.
     
    pdxway likes this.
  6. pdxway

    pdxway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    Actually, it seems the original retail price for the Furman is ~$840 per Furman Elite-15 PFi Power line conditioner and surge protector at Crutchfield .

    So the original retails are not too different.

    Anyway, top of page 8 of Furman user manual said "the performance of its circuit part will improve after approximately two weeks of continuous use or "break-in””. So I hope you will do more critical comparisons again after it is used for ~2 weeks. Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2019
  7. pdxway

    pdxway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    Any comparison impressions that you could share?
     
  8. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    I have rec'd the Furman and am using it in my second system where it's performing very well to my ears. I have not done a side-by-side comparison yet against the Niagara1200. I may try that this evening.
     
    pdxway likes this.
  9. JMCIII

    JMCIII Music lover first, audiophile second.


    When you get the Thunder, make sure you try it from wall to the 1200. I'm willing to bet you'll hear a bigger improvement that way than run to an individual component.
     
  10. JMCIII

    JMCIII Music lover first, audiophile second.


    I'd be surprised if there was any difference. AudioQuest themselves state that the 1200 is just a 1000 with an extra high current outlet.
     
    George P likes this.
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