CE Pro April 2024 - 62

CE Products
FIELD TEST
The Monsoon cable employs
the company's Perfect
Surface Copper+ (PSC+) on
the outside, and AQ notes
the connectors are all basically
PSC+ despite the cable's
core use of Long-Grain
Copper (LGC). AudioQuest
says the Monsoon combines
low DC resistance and zero
characteristic impedance,
and like the NRG-Z3, the
cable utilizes AudioQuest's
RF/ND-technologies.
Setup was simple. As I noted,
I planned to implement
the PQ-707 to protect my
Digital Projection E-Vision
4000 projector, as well as an
OSD Audio powered subwoofer,
and a Crestron TSR310
remote control. For my
purposes, I used the NRG-Z3
to power the PQ-707, so
all I needed to do was to
plug that cable into the IEC
connector on the rear panel
of the AQ surge protector/
power conditioner.
I then removed the power
cable from the projector
and inserted one of the
Monsoon cables into the
E-Vision 4000's IEC connector.
I took that cable
and plugged it into the rear
panel of the PQ-707 using
the outlet labeled input
one, which is one of the
high-current receptacles.
Following a similar procedure,
I plugged a second
Monsoon cable into the
subwoofer's IEC input, and
I connected the other end
of the cable into another
high-current receptacles
(number four).
I concluded the connections
by plugging the Crestron
remote control's base
62 | CE Pro April 2024
Archer's PQ-707connected
products
survived a fried circuit
breaker episode.
power supply into one of
the PowerQuest's linear-filtered
power outlets.
Performance &
Final Thoughts
I think reviewing power
products is very difficult
because it is easy to talk
yourself into believing
something is performing
better when actually there's
little or no difference. That
said, I do think the PQ-707
has had a positive impact
both in improved performance
and protection.
The unit and the products
plugged into the
PowerQuest withstood a
massive surge that fried my
solar system breaker box.
The surge wreaked havoc
with the unprotected electronics
in my house, but I
was glad the PQ-707 was on
the E-Vision projector.
I plugged the projector
into the PowerQuest,
because I thought the
high-current power reserves
could potentially aid the
dynamic capabilities, and I
thought its power conditioning
could help image
performance too.
I did find the images to
pop a bit more and they
were cleaner when compared
to the APC battery
backup unit the projector
was previously plugged into.
Swapping the projector's
power from the high-current
outlets to one of the PQ707's
linear-filtered outlets, I
did not think that real-world
content and some test
patterns produced the same
quality of images. I will note
the differences were slight.
Admittedly, I cannot say
for certain the differences
the cables made to the
performance of the system.
What I will say about the
cables is they are robust;
the touch and build quality
bring confidence that they
are a step up in quality over
OEM-supplied cables.
From an aesthetic value
the cables look great and
a rack full of AudioQuest
cables should look fantastic
and contribute to the quality
furnishing of a professional
rack of electronics. If
the cables' shielding was not
effective, I would have seen
and heard the impact of
poorly shielded cables with
my AV content and I did not
detect a hint of compromised
shielding.
When combining the
performance benefits and
protection capabilities of
the PQ-707, plus the build
quality of the power cables,
these products should deliver
everything consumers
want and expect from the
AudioQuest brand, including
peace of mind.
SPECS
Audio PQ-707
PQ-707 provides a total of
12 outlets
Outlets labeled 1-4 are
designed for high-current
components
Utilizes non-sacrificial
surge protection
technologies
Features Transient Power
Correction that provides
as much as 45 amps
to support amplifiers
reproducing dynamic peaks
PowerQuest Extreme
Voltage Shutdown turns
power off if it detects more
than 140 volts
2U-high unit is rack
mountable
SRP $1,299
audioquest.com
CE PRO
VERDICT
Audio PQ-707
PROS: The PQ-707 works, it's
that simple AudioQuest's
no frills design allows the
PQ-707 to blend unobtrusively
into rack installationse
Providing a total of 12 outlets,
including four high-current
outlets, allows integrators to
plug in amplifiers, preamps,
AV receivers and subwoofers
without worrying about
choking their components
during peak transient moments
CONS: The only thing I'd
like to see is some type of
recognized third-party testing
certification such as UL or ETL
to provide end users a little
more peace of mind for their
investment
cepro.com
http://www.audioquest.com http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro April 2024
