"If a manufacturer felt strongly about a particular cord, they should hard-wire it. The chassis IEC inlet has got to be a meaningful sonic compromise, but somehow we are all okay with it."
I'm not ok with it and most manufacturers were not ok with it either, but the reviewers, dealers and eventually the market demanded it. The price of a power cord has nothing to do with its ability to improve the sound. Do you really think a manufacturer would provide a power cord they know is inappropriate? Aftermarket power cords are just another snake oil variable to muck up the sound in my opinion. Too much emphasis is placed on air, openess and a bunch of other things that have nothing to do with music. That is why we have people on this forum telling us how much better their system sounds than live music. What a pathetic statement!
I'm not ok with it and most manufacturers were not ok with it either, but the reviewers, dealers and eventually the market demanded it. The price of a power cord has nothing to do with its ability to improve the sound. Do you really think a manufacturer would provide a power cord they know is inappropriate? Aftermarket power cords are just another snake oil variable to muck up the sound in my opinion. Too much emphasis is placed on air, openess and a bunch of other things that have nothing to do with music. That is why we have people on this forum telling us how much better their system sounds than live music. What a pathetic statement!