Do power cords make a difference?

you're comparing the replacement of a pc, in a system, to the replacement of an engine in a car. that's 'apples and oranges'. i'm not talking about replacing the amp in a system, ie the motor, ...just the pc.a $1000+ pc will probably not make a $1000 system sound audibly better...but if it is a good match for a resolving system..it will.

Stage 3 = Porsche

Calloway - sorry, but I was not attempting to equate car parts to hi-hi components, I was trying to illustrate that improvements in higher resolving components are more subtle - i.e. they might go unnoticed to the untrained ear. It doesn't make them less significant, just less noticeable to some people.

E.g. in my $300 Hitachi mini system - replacing the power cord resulted in a very noticeable improvement in the bass and dynamics that even my wife readily identified

Whereas replacing the power cord on my naim amp resulted in significant improvements in staging and details, but my wife (not being a serious listener) could not readily identify those improvements

So, I believe a $1000 pc on a $1000 system would achieve significant improvements - it just might not be a prudent investment - i.e. overkill

Also, the improvement that same cable has on a higher resolving system would be quite different from those heard on the $1000 system

The trick is to find cost effective cables that allow components to operate to their full potential without going overboard.

So putting a Porsche engine into a Yugo would not be good because the chassis/suspension/tyres/etc... could not handle it :-)

Williewonka...agreed..