Audioquest NRG Z3 power cord

[K4680]

Since 2 day's ago I am a proud owner of Audioquest Niagara connected through 1m AQ Blizzard to the wall power outlet and a second AQ Blizzard connected to  my D220 Pro. The Blizzard fits under the hood of the Devialet, but it is very stiff cable. ATV and my JRMC based Video renderer are connected via AQ NRG Y2/Y3 power chords.

My dealer also loaned me a phase meter (Oehlbach) to get the right phase.

I had always a small balance problem in my system , I though it was related to right (curtain, windows) and left (CD frame build from glass) speaker placement. But it was not. Everything has now the correct phase and the balance problem has gone away.

I will give it now a week to burn in, but first impression is all digital glitch is gone away e.g.  Emilie-Claire Barlow "The Very Thought of You" from 2xHD in DSD x64 sounds simply super natural, clear articulation, coloration of her voice. I also viewed the movie "Hunter Killer" through my Apple TV 4k connected via AQ Carbon HDMI to my LG OLED and then via AQ Carbon optical to my D220 Pro. It was an emotional tour the force.

I have attached a picture of my Power solution:

Slightly off the main topic but I also have an issue with balance and have never heard of the phase issue.  How did you measure and how did you fix it?  I have reversed my cables and still the same imbalance...big honking couch on one side has always been my theory.

My Dealer rent me a phaser: [/url][url=https://www.oehlbach.com/en/power/phaser]https://www.oehlbach.com/en/power/phaser

How to use it (german) https://www.bonsaimachos.de/phase-richti...essen.html

Hello Manfred, beware of devices with switching power supplies and devices that have no "hard power switch"! With the devices one gets partly no clear, or wrong ads! It did not work on my Devialet and other devices. I then used the conventional method with voltmeter! Oehlbach also points out in the flyer!

[Norty]

Since 2 day's ago I am a proud owner of Audioquest Niagara connected through 1m AQ Blizzard to the wall power outlet and a second AQ Blizzard connected to  my D220 Pro. The Blizzard fits under the hood of the Devialet, but it is very stiff cable. ATV and my JRMC based Video renderer are connected via AQ NRG Y2/Y3 power chords.

My dealer also loaned me a phase meter (Oehlbach) to get the right phase.

I had always a small balance problem in my system , I though it was related to right (curtain, windows) and left (CD frame build from glass) speaker placement. But it was not. Everything has now the correct phase and the balance problem has gone away.

I will give it now a week to burn in, but first impression is all digital glitch is gone away e.g.  Emilie-Claire Barlow "The Very Thought of You" from 2xHD in DSD x64 sounds simply super natural, clear articulation, coloration of her voice. I also viewed the movie "Hunter Killer" through my Apple TV 4k connected via AQ Carbon HDMI to my LG OLED and then via AQ Carbon optical to my D220 Pro. It was an emotional tour the force.

I have attached a picture of my Power solution:

Slightly off the main topic but I also have an issue with balance and have never heard of the phase issue.  How did you measure and how did you fix it?  I have reversed my cables and still the same imbalance...big honking couch on one side has always been my theory.

My Dealer rent me a phaser: [/url][url=https://www.oehlbach.com/en/power/phaser]https://www.oehlbach.com/en/power/phaser

How to use it (german) https://www.bonsaimachos.de/phase-richti...essen.html

Thanks Manfred

[Stino]

I bought some Blizzard power cords as a gift to myself after a difficult year 2019.

Initially wanted to go for the Shunyata Delta NR but it does not fit under the cover of the Devialet. And that was for me a no-go.

I did not audition the AQ Blizzard cables in my system (was not able to) so I had to fall back on an audition at the dealer. I'll let them burn in for a few days after posting my initial impressions. So far I can say that they are quite difficult to bend. So difficult that you better buy an extra meter than you think you need to have...

[kerkhoffd]

Shunyata Delta EF was not an option?

[Stino]

Shunyata Delta EF was not an option?

It was an option indeed since it fits under the hood and no doubt it is a good cable using pure copper and quite some thick isolation. But it does not have any noise filtering which I found a pity. In contrast, the AQ Blizzard has the DBS module fitted for RFI suppression. So I thought I got a bit more with the Blizzard than with the Delta EF for more or less the same price.

This is however (as many times) subjective since I was not able to audition Shunyata and AQ together at the same time. My main dealer only has the latter while another dealer in reasonable proximity of where I live only had the former and did not want to home loan me some cables. So yeah, let's hope i made a good decision. Sorry @GuillaumeB

BTW, just out of sharing some experience, Atlab cables are also very good, and a good fit with Devialet. I went for AQ over these cables since AQ has more net filtering options which I might consider as a later option (presuming that there is more synergy with AQ cables and their Niagara products).

[markush]

A decent high current cable from AudioQuest and the new Niagara 1200 (or even better) make such a huge step in sound quality - really amazing!

[kerkhoffd]

The new Niagara 1200 does get good press indeed. The next step up is the Niagara 5000 I think it was.

[Johnnydev]

I have owned the Niagara 1200 EU for a few weeks now and it is an asset.

Last year I tried out the entire storm series here at home.
Z3's, Monsoons and Blizzards.

in my case the Z3 sound best, the most musical.

The combination with the niagara is perfect.

[markush]

There is also a Niagara 3000 but the 1200 is such a great Price / Value entry product.
It’s interesting to see that the Devialet especially appreciates solid power - more than other amplifiers.

[Stino]

There is also a Niagara 3000 but the 1200 is such a great Price / Value entry product.
It’s interesting to see that the Devialet especially appreciates solid power - more than other amplifiers.

Wow. I did not know there is is also a 3000. Thanks for letting us know!

Seems to be a new product launched in Q4-2019. It also has 2 high-current outlets. Ideally for a 440 or 1000.

I heared from an Audioquest representative that the 1200 has an identical chipset than the 1000. So it seems to me that only the casing is different (which is a good thing).