Hi Liguy: It sounds like you've done due listening diligence in revealing systems, so if you've never heard a difference, no one can argue with that. Just count yourself lucky I guess, even if I don't quite see how power supplies for missle-guidance systems (of which I would wonder whether they need have their output modulated over as wide a frequency and dynamic spectrum as is present in music?) ought necessarily to correlate with listening impressions in high-end audio systems.
I heard an immediate difference the very first time I tried an aftermarket power cord with an amp around 12 years ago, and even though my gear is considerably better now than it was then, I continue to hear improvements, if not as drastic. (To me, power cords are more sonically consequential than interconnects, at least on a par with speaker cables. In fact, I recently ordered two more of my preferred power cord from my dealer, at a combined cost of about $1k. While hardly the most expensive model going, it still freaks me out a bit to think that I 'have' to spend even this much on power cords. But I'm just not as satisfied with the sound of my system if I don't, and since my investment in the gear they power is many times that amount, it seems justified if the ultimate goal is maximum enjoyment of recorded music.)
A couple things of note I find interesting:
It's easy to understand why an aftermarket cord might sound better than a stock cord, regardless of power supply considerations. What I've never had explained to me, and indeed suspect no one may be able to adequately explain or predict, is the fact that even among various aftermarket cords, all with better shielding and of heavier gauge than stock cords, there remain meaningful differences in sonic character. I don't think differences in resistance are significant enough to be the answer, but although I do feel that complex impedance must surely be a big part of it, I somehow doubt that is the entire story either.
Another thing is the fact that, even if we take the position that power supplies in components aren't as impervious as they perhaps could be, a thorough power conditioning regimen ought to help alleviate this factor. Yet even there, I have no trouble hearing meaningful differences when substituting power cords feeding the power conditioners themselves (in my system, of both the active waveform/voltage-correction and passive balanced/isolation-transformer types), as well as between the power conditioners and the components they feed.
But of course neither of those considerations can be cause for question if you don't hear differences among aftermarket power cords in the first place. So I also find it interesting that on this thread, the two posters who are career EEs both think and find this topic to be more spurious than legit. A small sample size, but it makes me wonder which group, audiophiles who aren't EEs or EEs who are also audiophiles, may bring the more prejudicial biases to their listening impressions.
PS - So what does Nelson Pass have to say about power cords?
I heard an immediate difference the very first time I tried an aftermarket power cord with an amp around 12 years ago, and even though my gear is considerably better now than it was then, I continue to hear improvements, if not as drastic. (To me, power cords are more sonically consequential than interconnects, at least on a par with speaker cables. In fact, I recently ordered two more of my preferred power cord from my dealer, at a combined cost of about $1k. While hardly the most expensive model going, it still freaks me out a bit to think that I 'have' to spend even this much on power cords. But I'm just not as satisfied with the sound of my system if I don't, and since my investment in the gear they power is many times that amount, it seems justified if the ultimate goal is maximum enjoyment of recorded music.)
A couple things of note I find interesting:
It's easy to understand why an aftermarket cord might sound better than a stock cord, regardless of power supply considerations. What I've never had explained to me, and indeed suspect no one may be able to adequately explain or predict, is the fact that even among various aftermarket cords, all with better shielding and of heavier gauge than stock cords, there remain meaningful differences in sonic character. I don't think differences in resistance are significant enough to be the answer, but although I do feel that complex impedance must surely be a big part of it, I somehow doubt that is the entire story either.
Another thing is the fact that, even if we take the position that power supplies in components aren't as impervious as they perhaps could be, a thorough power conditioning regimen ought to help alleviate this factor. Yet even there, I have no trouble hearing meaningful differences when substituting power cords feeding the power conditioners themselves (in my system, of both the active waveform/voltage-correction and passive balanced/isolation-transformer types), as well as between the power conditioners and the components they feed.
But of course neither of those considerations can be cause for question if you don't hear differences among aftermarket power cords in the first place. So I also find it interesting that on this thread, the two posters who are career EEs both think and find this topic to be more spurious than legit. A small sample size, but it makes me wonder which group, audiophiles who aren't EEs or EEs who are also audiophiles, may bring the more prejudicial biases to their listening impressions.
PS - So what does Nelson Pass have to say about power cords?