Based on the enthusiastic recommendations here of the Hijiri cables, I overcame a little bit of skepticism and quite a bit of sticker shock and decided to audition the Takumi power cord in my system. I'll hold off until I have had more time to fully process what I am hearing, but I will say this much: do NOT audition this cord unless you are seriously considering buying it. Once you hear it, you cannot "unhear" it.
Frankly, I have tried a lot of cables over the years and consider a lot of the breathless praise one often reads to be hyperbole, especially when people say a cable change is as transformative as a component upgrade. Not anymore. The Takumi has forced me to reconsider all of my previous assumptions of just how big a difference a cable can make.
In short, I am gobsmacked.