Audioquest Niagra 1200

[Bob257]

Would getting this power conditioner be a good thing or a waste of money? I bought the 300 from them and was thinking of using that just for the TV etc, and the 1200 for the stereo. What are your thoughts?

 

[ryanosaur]

Audioquest is mostly a waste. What about your power needs "conditioning?" Do you have weird power anomalies in your house like spiking voltage or anything? Or do you just have an itch to buy a really expensive power strip?

 

[Bob257]

I can't tell that anything is wrong actually. Everything is plugged into their 300 unit so I imagine it's protected.

 

[ryanosaur]

There are two camps... buy stuff you don't need regardless of whether its warranted or not, and buy stuff that is useful.
The argument FOR power conditioning is basically made if you live in, say, an old Victorian Flat with wonky electricity. Then you might need a power conditioner.
The house I live in was built in the early 80's, and even though our landlord did some wonky things while building it, the power is largely solid.
Yes, lights dim a little when the fridge kicks on, but that's the worst of it. *knocks on wood
I have no need of a power conditioner.

End of the day, it is your system and your ducats.

Frankly, my Monoprice 12AWG OFC Cables sound just fine; no need of Audioquest there. My Monster and APC Power Strips haven't failed yet (less than $100 total!); no need for Audioquest there.

So I ask:

What do you hope this will do for you?

You mentioned on another thread, IIRC, that you had upgrade-itis setting in.
Save the money and buy some great amplification, or a great AVR, or some epic speakers. I'd love to upgrade to some swanky ATI amps (or something similar in quality). Maybe I would possibly hear a difference. Maybe not.
That is a want, not a need.

So to answer you very first question: It is an absolute waste of money, imo. If you want to test it, have somebody you know move plugs around. Get yourself a good quality Triplite power strip/Surge Protector to play with, or just a $35 Monster. Sit down blindfolded, and let your friend plug things in as they choose, so long as you don't know whats going on. It cant be done fast enough to overcome sonic memory... But you get the point, I think.

Unless you are in one of the outlier, pre-1950 homes with questionable electricity, then I think you good without.

Now, my consultation fee is half the cost of that power strip I'm trying to talk you out of buying!

 

[Pogre]

Almost anything Audioquest is a waste of money. Cables and power conditioners are one big scam to separate you from your money. Very, very few people actually "need" a power conditioner and the expensive cables they sell are so overpriced as to be offensive.

Speakers and subs, room acoustics, room eq, that's where you find areas for improving on sound quality. Anything else is audio jewelry. If jewelry is your thing then by all means by one of everything. If your after sonic improvements you're not going to get it with the electronics, cables or conditioners.

 

[lovinthehd]

Never saw the need for a power conditioner myself over the last 45 years or so of owning home audio gear. The one house that I lived in that did have ancient wiring/electrical I'd never heard of such a thing either way (that the electricity in the house was a particular issue for home electronics nor that there were such things as power conditioners). If you want surge protection whole home is the way to go, but can get some help via surge protection devices; if you want an uninterrupted power supply that's another thing altogether. Your power supplies in your gear should be able to handle normal household electricity in most areas of the US I'd think without any need for a power conditioner.

And as far as Audioquest goes, they are the last ones I'd buy anything audio (let alone electrical) from due to all their nonsense.