As noted Garth is the magic excellent engineer w EARS behind Furman, AQ Power products and also very importantly cables….. collect em all and win.
Furman Upgrade to Niagra
I remember ready an article some time ago by @erik_squires on 110v power and him recommending these as a good place to start, so I bought a couple of: https://furmanpower.com/product/15a-6-outlet-surge-suppressor-strip/
I recall him saying to use one bank for analogue and the other for digital. Well, I have no analogue gear, so I just use all the outlets as needed.
What would an Audioquest Niagra 3000 or even the Niagra 1200 do for my system over and above my simple power strips, would the large monetary investment be a substantial beneficial to my system over my pair of PST-6s? Thanks.
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@tomic601 I find the AQ products a bit on the pricey side. I am researching alternatives and will post my findings later. Thanks |
I’ll second @adasdad’s opinion that the Niagara line is worthwhile. Since I’ve been in this hobby, I’ve tried the Furman PST-8D, AQ Powerquest 3, and consumer-grade options by Tripp Lite and CyberPower. None of those units made much of a difference for me. It wasn’t until I picked up a Niagara 1200 and 5000 that I heard positive differences. I was skeptical that the 5000 was going to be worth the cost, but it made such a big difference that I consider it an essential piece in a hifi rig now. I don’t know the guy, but there’s this small dealer on YouTube called OCD Mikey. He has said that power conditioners under 1k don’t make a difference. That statement is consistent with my experience. But Mikey is a big fan of Puritan, which is more affordable than most of the AQ Niagara products. I haven’t tried Puritan yet, but it looks like it works well too. I currently use the 1200 for my TV and the 5000 for my separate stereo system. I don’t feel that power conditioners are sexy, but that they’re foundational. And I feel that I made sonic gains with conditioners I couldn’t have otherwise made. |
I had the same experience. I brought home an AQ Niagara 5000 from Hifi Buys a couple of years back with a Hurricane power cord to replace my Furman Elite 15 Power Factor. It was expensive but very effective. I also have separate, dedicated power lines to the front end and amps. The Niagara is on the front end. I moved the Furman power conditioner to my HT system and saw a large improvement in the TV picture. It improved the colors and sharpness. So win-win. Funny story- last year I replaced my Sony LED TV with a Sony OLED TV. (This was after putting the Furman in the HT system.). I listed the old TV for sale and placed it in the garage. When someone came to buy the TV I plugged it directly into the wall. The picture looked dull and fuzzy to me. I started to panic thinking the TV was broken. Then I realized that’s the difference the power conditioner makes. The buyer thought the picture looked great. |
@tonywinga great story Tony, thanks for sharing! |
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