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Gryphon Amp Owners: Results with AQ Niagara?

As many know, amp vendors including Gryphon urge power cords to be plugged directly into the wall.  I also read a review of an account where a Gryphon Diablo 300 was underwhelming at a show, until they removed the power conditioner and connected the amp to the wall.

I’m not looking to debate whether that logic is correct or not, but rather, to see if any Gryphon owners have had good real world results when powering their amp(s) from an AQ Niagara 5000 or similar.

Another option is to have the Niagara power my source only and keep my Diablo 300 powered directly from the wall.  However, my worry is that the Niagara is not a passive device, and might consume additional current from the AC circuit that won’t be available for my amp, since I am doomed to having everything on a single AC circuit (don’t ask, not easy to change to dedicated lines in my house).

Thoughts?

 

 

 

nyev
audioguy85's avatar
audioguy85
2,018 posts
 

I use the less expensive Niagara 1200 with my Amp and it sounds just fine as is. I also receive many Thunder storms, so I feel better having some protection, albeit no guarantee, should I forget to unplug the Amp during a storm. 

fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,624 posts
 

Install a whole house.

nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

Not sure how true this is, but someone at some point (could have been Gryphon) told me my amp is highly unlikely to be damaged even from a massive surge / lighting strike.  I think they said the transformer in the amp will easily deal with it.

I also confirmed something interesting directly from AudioQuest today. Their conditioners are active, so if you have a Niagara and an amp on the same AC circuit, but you have the amp plugged directly into the wall, the Niagara will draw current that will no longer be available for your amp. In other words, this configuration will diminish performance. Maybe that’s obvious but I asked the question to confirm.

 

geof3
1,129 posts
 

Oh, I’m not buying the amp would “absorb” a full lighting hit. I’m in CO in the mountains so surge protection is a must. Full house and local. I prefer Shunyata power products, just seem to do better for me overall.

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