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Do power cords really matter?

I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum in the past, but while reading an ad for a power cord, I've had a very simplistic thought on which I would enjoy hearing other's opinions.
Case in point : The idea of dedicated lines appealed to me, but as we will be moving in the not too distant future, I just grabbed a left over roll of 14-3 Romex and strung about 60 ft. through the basement, and terminated in a box w/ a couple of audio grade duplexes. I did run the ground wire directly outside to a separate ground rod. (I realize for optimum performance I should have several runs to separate amp, digital, analog, etc.) My question is this: am I really to believe the last 6 ft. of power delivery can be that critical, when it has already traveled a much greater distance in ordinary wire. As we use outlets for convenience only, why not just terminate a 6 ft piece of Romex w/ high grade connectors? Are we just buying eye candy? Have we been duped w/ the hype?
Without having studied power conditioners, perhaps they can actually "clean" the raw power electronically?
Thank you for enduring my Sunday morning musings - all opinions cheerfully received.
Best regards,
Tom
tburn
sol322
426 posts
 
I have changed all my stock powercords and haven´t look back
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
I think power cords make a huge difference .. it's awfully quiet without them. I have tried a few different power chords, mostly from expensive RF test equipment (I borrowed them from work) and I have heard absolutely no difference.
jarthel
9 posts
 
I wouldn't buy those expensive ones. I made an "Alan Maher" DIY power cord and the bass tighten up. As long as it's cheap, I'll highly recommend it. :)

jayel
jacks0395
70 posts
 
"As long as it's cheap"? As long as it works ...
piezo
304 posts
 
I recently read an article in Scientific American about using house electrical wiring to carry computer networking (i.e. internet) signals. I don't remember the details but the engineers were using higher frequencies carrier signals to avoid the noise generated by the household appliances that apparently resides at lower frequencies. They discussed all the issues discussed here like interference from outside the house, the fridge washer etc. It is very likely that the high end power cords all act as a high pass filter that removes a lot of the crap that is carried on the power lines.
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