AudioQuest Niagara 3000 AC power conditioner

It stands to reason that any audiophile system would benefit from improved AC power. The rooms in most older homes are equipped with a single duplex receptacle on each wall, maybe two per wall in homes employing more modern construction practices. Behind the wall you’re likely to find standard 14-gauge Romex, passing through via receptacles that typically sell for about a buck each. The electrical work meets local code, but audiophiles aren’t involved in setting local electrical codes.

Another, newer problem is the proliferation of cheap electronic devices. Computers, computer components, and other electrical stuff is mostly powered by noisy switching power supplies; that noise can find its way back into electrical circuits. So can high-frequency hash coming from wireless routers. And ubiquitous power supplies, which charge their capacitors only above a certain voltage, cause those precious sinewaves to be lopped off at the peaks.

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An example of an only moderately bad 60Hz sinewave, courtesy of 50-cent receptacles and 14-gauge Romex.

Audiophile-level systems require power for amplifiers, line and phono preamplifiers, multiple digital and analog sources, ancillary equipment, and perhaps a powered subwoofer or two. Sure, most electrical circuits are designed to filter noise and reject powerline distortions—but still, do you really want to connect all that gloriousness to a length of Romex of questionable origin, terminated with a 50-cent builder-grade receptacle, besieged with noise from inside and out? Exotic power conditioning units, which are intended to deal with at least some of those issues, are de rigueur in cost-no-object audiophile systems and come equipped with a multitude of high-quality power receptacles.

After living for 30 years in a modest home employing code-minimum electrical wiring, I built a new home 4 years ago and became seriously engaged in all aspects of my new home’s construction. Before I got started, I’d stumbled across a Stereophile article by John Atkinson that extolled the virtues of having a pair of dedicated AC lines with hospital-grade electrical receptacles installed in his home listening environment;1 I wanted to have that in my new digs. But would my relatively modest system benefit from an expensive AC power conditioner?

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Recently, I was talking with Stephen Mejias of AudioQuest—formerly of Stereophile—about my review of the Bel Canto e1X stereo power amplifier. I mentioned that the manufacturer had expressed a preference for AudioQuest power conditioning and AC cabling absent that, they preferred for the amp to be connected directly to the wall receptacle, which is how I auditioned the amp. Mejias offered to send the Niagara 3000 Low-Z Power Noise-Dissipation System ($2995) for review. AQ also sent along a pair of NRG Edison AC power receptacles and a selection of mid-tier AC cables for attaching my equipment stack.

Setup
I’ve installed a number of electrical receptacles, switches, and lighting fixtures over the years, but never in a setup that incorporated 10-gauge wiring, which is stiff, thick, and unforgiving. Installing the NRG receptacles was hard work (footnote 1).

A couple of years ago, I had a conversation with Gordon Rankin, the first person to apply asynchronous USB, the technology currently used in most USB DACs, to audio. Rankin designed AudioQuest’s DragonFly series and has his own line of audio electronics under the Wavelength banner. I told him I was thrilled to finally have separate, dedicated AC lines for amplification and source equipment. He told me that my enthusiasm was misplaced and my approach, flawed: All system equipment should be connected to the same dedicated line to prevent ground loops. So, the two 15-amp NRG Edison receptacles were installed on the same dedicated 20-amp line.

Upon completion of the installation, the Niagara 3000 was connected to one of the receptacles with an AQ Blizzard AC cable; my source equipment and amps were then connected to the 3000. The dual subwoofers were plugged directly into the two Edison receptacles—although Mejias told me later that the two subs should instead be connected to the furthermost two receptacles on the 3000’s bank of five receptacles intended for sources.

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Design
AudioQuest states in their Niagara product literature that up to a third of a high-resolution, low-level audio signal can be masked, lost, or seriously distorted by poor-quality AC power—which is surely true as long as you’re free to define “low-level” appropriately. The Niagara series has been designed to not only eliminate AC power noise but also to enhance the delivery of unhindered current to electronics. The Niagara 3000 is the base model in the line that features AQ’s Transient Power Correction, which provides a current reservoir specified to provide more than 55 amps of “instantaneous” peak current. It also claims reduced line impedance for current-hungry power amplifiers.

The 3000 also features AQ’s Ground-Noise Dissipation System, a patented technology that claims to reduce ground-borne noise without compromising safety or creating ground loops. AQ’s Level-X Linear Noise-Dissipation Technology is said to ensure consistent, wide-bandwidth noise dissipation. The NRG Series AC power inlets and receptacle used on the 3000 are said to utilize both high-purity red copper and beryllium copper; beryllium copper is used in springs and other applications where shape-retention under repeated use is required. Connecting surfaces are coated with a thick layer of silver. AQ’s Niagara Series offers nonsacrificial surge protection, which can protect equipment from power surges or spikes up to 6000 volts or 3000 amps without sustaining damage.

The Niagara 3000 is designed for shelf-, floor-, or rack-mounting; rack-mount hardware is included in the box. It has only two switches: a power switch on the front panel and another switch on the back panel that controls the activation of the Transient Power Correction Circuit. The default position for this switch is “energized”; otherwise, any connected power amplifiers won’t be getting the full benefit of the circuitry. The supplied manual describes connection scenarios where it might be beneficial to disengage this switch, but those situations seem rare.

Footnote 1: Apologies in advance for the boring, obligatory disclaimer, but seriously, do not attempt your own electrical alterations without understanding the risks and being sure you have the skills. Household electrical power can kill you and burn your house down. Plus, a job like this can be performed quite affordably, probably much faster, and certainly more safely, by a professional electrician.—Editor

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