Audioquest Niagara 1200 & Thunder Review
Introduction
I took part in
TTVJ's Niagara 1000 & Thunder loaner program, posted
my review and eventually ordered the Niagara 1000 from Todd because of the tremendous difference it made in my speaker system.
I've been very happy with it ever since, except for one caveat that I realized only after buying it: it doesn't provide a good home for my subwoofer. Audioquest recommends against using amplifiers plugged into anything other than a high current outlet, but also recommends against using a power strip or similar to add more devices to the Niagara 1000's single high current outlet, mentioning a risk of fire. Instead, they recommend plugging the subwoofer straight into the wall, or possibly a second unit.
But I'm not just looking for a power conditioner, I'm also looking for surge protection. If my subwoofer were connected directly to an outlet, a surge could enter the rest of my system via the interconnects between the subwoofer and the preamp. If my subwoofer were connected to a different surge protector, a surge strong enough to overcome either one of the surge protectors could also reach the components attached to the other one. I like the idea of my audio system being completely isolated from other electronics in the house. A second high current outlet would allow me to reach that goal.
A second Niagara 1000 just for this purpose would double the cost, use more space and another wall outlet, and motivate buying another special power cord. It would however have an advantage in terms of placement - my subwoofer is further away from the other components than my speakers.
There was always the option to spend 4x as much and get a Niagara 5000, providing four high current outlets, but that would make it the single most expensive component in my entire system.
Enters the Niagara 1200.
Differences to the Niagara 1000
Apart from the second high current outlet, one difference in the manual is that the term "Ultra-Linear Noise-Dissipation Technology" present in the Niagara 1000's manual was shortened to just "Linear Noise-Dissipation Technology" in the Niagara 1200's manual. Is the Niagara 1200 therefore inferior? Audioquest assures me otherwise:
The Niagara 1200 while listing a Linear filtration system is actually using a better filtration system than the Ultra-Linear system in the Niagara 1000.
[...]
The Niagara 1200 will outperform the Niagara 1000. However providing how much of a difference is subjective.
The form factor changed completely. The Niagara 1000 is a chubby power conditioner with an inlet + power switch on one end and outlets on the top of the unit. It has a cheesy chrome finish that is hard to keep clean, and somewhat cheap looking plastic parts on each end. The Niagara 1200 looks decidedly more premium with its beautifully machined, thick, U-shaped enclosure with a matte finish. The device is shaped more like a regular component, with inlet and outlets in the back, but the power switch is still on the side. At 15.1 lbs it is almost 3x as heavy as the Niagara 1000's 5.5 lbs. It is almost as wide (19.61" vs 20.00"), not quite as high (3.41" vs. 4.00"), but significantly deeper (7.52" vs. 4.75").
Unlike the Niagara 1000 it can be used in three different orientations:
- Like a regular component, outlets in the back. This did not work for me because of its width. I can fit maybe 17.5" wide components into my furniture if I remove the door first, and the Niagara 1200 is even wider than that.
- On its face, using provided rubber feet with adhesive that fit into subtle grooves on the front plate. That is what I ended up using, but the approach has its issues. The unit is so heavy that you have to lift it up to move it, otherwise the stick-on feet will come off. When I received the unit, only two of the four stick-on feet were attached, so it looks like my predecessor had similar issues. After I was done, the feet had pretty much lost functionality. I cleaned up the sticky residue and put four round felt pads in the box for the reviewers to follow.
In my case the power needs to come from the left, which means the unit's bottom is facing me - exposing its regular feet and a sticker rather than the more attractive top. I would have preferred a more flexible design in that regard, maybe allowing the feet on the bottom to be removed and placed on the former face instead, thus solving both problems.
Routing the power cord in this orientation is also challenging because the inlet is almost 8 inches above the ground and is facing up. The Thunder power cord kinda sorta worked when I put it beside the unit, followed by a 270 degrees curve. Take that into account if you want the 1200 because it's slimmer.
- On its side. Or more accurately its left side, because the power switch on the right side sticks out, making that side unusable. Unfortunately the right side is also where the power inlet is, so that chunky, inflexible high gauge power cord you may want to use somehow has to find its way up there, with the right orientation of the C13 plug to boot. In this orientation, Audioquest doesn't provide any feet at all, instead you'd put bare metal on the floor. Awkward.
While I like the general idea of multiple usable orientations, I can't say I find this implementation particularly well thought out. I would prefer being able to place it on any of its sides except the one with the outlets, with proper feet mountable in any of these orientations. Ideally so that I can still reach the power switch, but since the unit stays on 24/7 anyway, that is less important.
Commonalities with the Niagara 1000
Speaking of 24/7 operation, how wasteful would that be? Not more so than with the Niagara 1000, for what it's worth. According to my Kill A Watt, both units consume about 2.4 W without any devices plugged in.
The five non-high current outlets on both units are divided into two banks, the two outlets next to the high current outlet(s), and the outer three. Like with the Niagara 1000, there is no indication for this separation on the unit itself, which I find very strange.
Both units have the same level of non-sacrifical surge protection. Both will shut down when the incoming voltage exceeds 140 VAC in less than 0.25 seconds.
I'll leave the remaining commonalities to the respective manuals.
So, how's the sound?
Since the Niagara 1000 and 1200 are so similar, and since the Niagara 1000 didn't make an appreciable difference in my headphone setups, I only tested it in my speaker system. And I'm happy to report that the Niagara 1200 sounds just as good as the 1000! The 1000 had been on for months, and the 1200 got about two days of warm up time (albeit without devices hooked up to it) before I swapped it in.
At that point, my subwoofer was still plugged into a Furman PST-8D in one of its two separate filter banks, using a 3 ft long Tripp-Lite 14 AWG power cord. For good measure, there's also an iFi AC iPurifier in the bank's other outlet.
I picked a few bass heavy songs and gave them a good listen to get a fresh impression of the sound. I then connected the subwoofer to the Niagara 1200's second high current outlet, using a 3 m long Volex 17605 shielded power cord, without making any other changes. I listened to the same songs again.
That slight grain in the bass that had always bugged me a little bit? Gone! The bass was smooth as butter, and blended much better with the rest of the sound. Delightful!
Of course I don't crave having to spend another $1k for this upgrade, so I thought I'll just try using the subwoofer in one of the Niagara 1200's regular outlets. The manual has this to say:
The circuit utilized for these five AC outlets is in part a series filter, so by definition it will raise the AC impedance slightly (although the circuit utilized in the Niagara 1200 can sustain an extraordinary 50 amps peak before soft clipping occurs). Like many system interactions, it’s impossible to simply intuit whether current compression is a concern; it will vary by amplifier. To be sure, you must listen to the results. In many situations, powering an additional amplifier or powered speaker from one or more of the five Linear Filtered Power AC outlets may work very well.
Worth a shot! Unfortunately, it didn't work too well. Someone not familiar with the system could be forgiven for not noticing that anything was wrong, but in direct comparison, the dynamics suffered quite a bit. When before the sound was rich and powerful, the system now seemed to struggle a bit to deliver the bassier sections - and not just in the lowest registers covered by the subwoofer. There was still bass, but the music lacked impact. For orientation, I am using a single Schiit Vidar as the power amp, driving a pair of ELAC BS 403, and the subwoofer in question is the Rythmik Audio F12G.
I would rank the options like this:
- Subwoofer in one of Niagara 1200's high current outlets (great dynamics, clean bass, nicely integrated)
- Subwoofer in Furman PST-8D or wall outlet (slight grain, but good dynamics)
- Subwoofer in one of Niagara 1200's linear filtered outlets (clean, but diminished impact)
Further driving my wallet into suicide, I'll have to call Todd to get me an upgrade. If only the Niagara 1200 had been released a year ago...
And the power cord?
Oh, right. Despite not hearing differences with the Thunder power cord last time, when I got the Niagara 1000 I also ordered two Pangea AC9SE Mk II power cords - one for the power conditioner (1 m), one for my power amp (2 m). I never bothered to compare them with regular power cords until recently, though. I was also enthusiastic enough to buy an Audioquest NRG Edison (15 A) outlet, for good measure. I won't comment on the sound here, but it sure is grippy!
I considered using the Thunder cord for my power amp, but it is simply too unwieldy to be usable in the confines of my setup - sorry. It was a straight line up from the power conditioner's outlet, but getting the C13 plug to face the other way seemed impossible. I don't like opinionated cables.
I did use it to power the Niagara 1000, though (instead of the 1 m Pangea cord), after almost giving up while trying to hook it up (the DBS attachment didn't help, either). Unfortunately, I heard no difference. I also tried a Wireworld Stratus 7 in this configuration, and noticed no difference, either.
The Stratus 7 did however help with my power amp and my DAC, cleaning up the sound further and seemingly making it slightly more resolving. I'm assuming its shielding and geometry simply keep the power clean past the power conditioner, and limit the negative impact on nearby interconnects. I am now in the process of replacing all my power cords with the Stratus 7. At 12 AWG it is still beefier than the thickest regular 15 A power cords, and it is shielded. Its flat design makes it less manageable than your average power cord, but it is still easier to integrate than the Pangea AC9SE Mk II or even the stubborn Audioquest Thunder.
So at least I am no longer power cable agnostic, but the Thunder is not for me.
Conclusion
The Niagara 1200 is big and heavy, and the location of the inlet can be tricky. It is more flexible than the Niagara 1000 in terms of placement, but less flexible than it could have been due to some design quirks.
If the above issues don't matter, I see no reason to buy the Niagara 1000. For the same price, the Niagara 1200 offers (at least) the same performance, and an extra high current outlet for a powered subwoofer, or that second monoblock, or two separately powered speakers, etc. It had the same major positive impact on the sound of my system as the Niagara 1000. When powering my subwoofer from the second high current outlet, I heard cleaner, smoother bass that blended nicely with the rest of the sound.
Apart from audible benefits, I like that the second high current outlet allows me to isolate my audio gear from the rest of my electronics without requiring a lot of additional space, extra cables, or another wall outlet.
The Thunder power cord may have audible benefits in some cases, but was too inflexible to use with any of my gear other than the power conditioner itself, where I didn't notice a difference to other audiophile power cords that cost a lot less.
Many thanks to Todd for organizing yet another compelling loaner program! Much appreciated!