AudioQuest Niagara 1200 Low-Z Power Noise - Dissipation System

Before I write my review on this unit a little background may give this review some added weight.I've been a (recovering) audiophile for over 30 years and I've been lucky enough to have owned some of the most expensive audio gear (Krell) and power conditioners that money can buy over my 30 years in this hobby.Early on I just ASSUMED everybody needed a power conditioner for their stereo equipment in order to "clean up" their AC power coming from the wall. In the past I had utilized PS Audio's Noise Harvesters (10 of them!), PS Audio's best power cords that looked like bridge cable (!) and an Audio Power Industries Power Wedge Ultra 116 power conditioner (that weighed over 40 pounds) as well as other items to silence the noise that I thought was in my power lines going to my stereo system in my old house where I used to live. It was getting to be too much and I decided that I had enough. Just before I moved I sold all of my old equipment and thought to myself, I'm out of the stereo hobby!My new home is a smaller home with a smaller living room than the one I had. By this time I had gotten the itch again and I thought it was time to rebuild my stereo system but this time I decided to be smart about things...remember I'm a recovering audiophile!The first thing I recommend that you buy is a device that can measure RF noise on your electrical lines. They are not expensive and you can purchase them here on Amazon or elsewhere. These units will show you if there is noise on the line and some of them come with a speaker and you can actually hear the noise being transmitted along the power lines. I bought this device for my new house and what I discovered is that my power lines were pretty quiet in most of my rooms but not all of them! In the case of my little office I had a lot of noise on the electrical lines and I could actually hear FM transmissions and other artifacts riding along the AC lines. I play some electric guitar and bass in that room and I could hear RF noise through the speaker of my bass amp at certain times so I knew that a problem existed and this device helped me to greatly reduce that problem by experimenting with different power cords. Through trial and error I ended up switching to a Wireworld power cord (highly recommended) and a simple line-isolation transformer from Hammond. Now backgrounds are MUCH quieter. The main point here is that if your lines are quiet you may not need a power conditioner at all but at least you'll know exactly what is needed for your situation and won't be guessing at a problem that may or may not exist. The point is not to spend a princely sum of money if it is going to make a minimal or worse yet have a deleterious effect on your systemFor my new stereo system (PS Audio Stellar Strata integrated amp, a modified Oppo 95 universal player and KEF Q350s. I bought the Niagara 1200 because the buzz on the 1200 was so good I thought that it would be a good mate for my other equipment including my 55" flat screen TV. I've owned the 1200 now for about 8 months now and waited so that I could give the unit a chance to break in and I could write a comprehensive review.I can report that purchasing this unit is an excellent investment for any audiophile (or videophile) looking to take their system to the next level if your equipment is in the 9-15k range. After that I would suggest you look at Audioquest's other power line conditioners because they would offer more filtering for a more resolving system. I would also point out that Audioquest recommends you buy one of their power cords to run the 1200 because they claim that their power cords are designed to work with their power conditioners because they both employ similar grounding technologies. I bought an Audioquest NRG-Z3 to mate to the 1200 but I use Wireworld Silver Electra 7 power cords on my stereo components that connect to the 1200. Though the improvements in sound quality were not overt in my setup, most likely being due to power lines that aren't that noisy, I do notice darker backgrounds and to me that lowers the noise floor thus allowing for more music subtleties to be flushed out.Please keep in mind that with any power conditioner it is best to have a dedicated outlet to plug it into. Things like refrigerator motors, A/C units, light switches with a sliding control create all kinds of RF noise and this makes it tougher to lower the noise floor. If you can't plug into a dedicated outlet please make certain that all electrical devices that can generate noise are turned off. This will greatly enhance your listening experience.I would like to point out that here in Texas where I live now we get violent lightning and thunder storms and the 1200 offers excellent protection from power failures and surges when the power does come back on. Though this feature is as important as the filtering portion of the unit, I should point out that I keep my stereo components unplugged from the 1200 until I'm ready to use it jus...

My system has had on and off hum (depending on the equipment) over the years. I have tried power conditioners from PS Audio, Furman, Surge-X and others without any luck. I tried an isolation transformer and all it did was add noise. Ground lifters like Hum-X worked sometimes. On a whim, I decided to try the Niagara 1200 not expecting a change in the noise level. To my surprise and delight, it reduced hum through the speakers to a very low level and transformer hum quite a bit. This component may not work for you depending on your situation but it did for me. One comment- the unit is much longer in person and is heavy and well made

I’ve been building and tweaking my audio system for over 40 years. I’ve learned a lot and trained my sense of hearing over those same years. The biggest improvement about 20 years ago was bi-amping my speakers with an external active crossover and changing to more powerful amplifiers. But was I surprised more with this one addition. The Niagara 1200 has made a significant change in presence and that live sound we strive to achieve with every addition or change. I guess this was the perfect time to add this unit. 40 years ago I wouldn’t have noticed a change. I highly recommend this for anyone who has the equipment and considers themselves an “audiophile”.

Years ago I got the Audioquest Niagara 1000. Even without breaking in, immediately love its relaxed, sweet, juicy, smooth and liquid clear sound quality. When the new Niagara 1200 comes up, I was attracted but found no need to get another power filter. After reading reviews all over, I decided to get one (reviews truly are persuasive!).  The Niagara 1200 cost a bit more, but looks way humbler than the 1000. Unlike 1000, the 1200 needs over five days of break-in. It was a bit dry, cold, forward and sharp at first. After running in issues improved to a degree. The 1000’s still has more easy going, friendly, warmer sound. One obvious advantage of the 1200 is lower noise floor, more vivid detail imaging etc. This is not to say that the old Niagara 1000 sounding ‘dirty”. I found best cable to connect the Niagara 1200 from wall is important to use AQ’s own. If you want the 1200 to support both amplifier and pre-amp, CD or DAC front end equipment, my recommendation is Audioquest’s Thunder. I would not recommend the one that’s a level above Thunder. I love the Thunder’s fuller bass foundation, dense mid body image, even though it’s the lowest model in class. As from Niagara 1200 to your equipment, it works well with other cable brands to your choice. As I am not writing a “full review” here, let me conclude it this way. If you have an aggressive system that tend to sound bright, hard and thin, the 1000 will do a better job. Otherwise, the Niagara 1200 should be a better choice. Both 1000 and 1200 are nonetheless great gadgets anyway.

I think so! Hard for me to isolate sonic improvements, as I have recently moved house and so changed listening room, altered speaker positions and changed cables (long runs of (far) superior/more expensive cables). System seems to be much "better" after changes. I do think that the AudioQuest has contributed significantly.Unit is much more substantial and larger than I anticipated. That's my fault. Make sure you check dimensions as photos can be misleading. Seems like a quality piece. Very pleased with results. Also, it does have a role in protecting the system, which was tested shortly after installation due to local grid outages. I bought an AudioQuest power cable. It does not come with a cable. So lots of variables in system set up. Rest of gear is high quality with most music sourced through turntable/phono.