Audioquest Niagara Series - Power Conditioners

[mdconnelly]

At a friend's place, we compared it to PS Audio P10 (default settings) and Isotek Serius Evo 3. The last one was clearly the best value for money but if money is no object Audioquest was definitely better than PS Audio. The only downside was that it emitted some buzz/hum which was audible from 3-4 metres when music was not playing. It's in the manual, saying that it's normal but still annoying. The place where we tested was in a huge apartment building where all sorts of AC noise must have been present, so the AQ did a good job but it might have caused it to hum. Perhaps a PS Audio Humbuster before the AQ could get rid of this but it should really be built in the AQ. Maybe in MkII in the future. It was not a Devialet based system, the amp was top of the range Plinius. The rest was a custom made computer based audio source with a custom made DAC.

When a power conditioner hums/buzzes, it's usually because of DC on the power lines.  I've got a PI Audio UberBuss power conditioner that works amazingly well on my Devialet.   But, during during hot summer months when there is a big demand on the grid for air conditioning, it will occasionally hum a bit.  The PS Audio Humbusters may help (are they even still made?).   I've had very good luck with an Emotiva CMX-2.