really inexpensive power cords

Philjolet:

My second system has a decent cdp, amp, speakers, ICs and speaker cables. But stock, come-with-the-unit, PCs. So I was thinking of doing something about them, without spending an arm and a leg.

Along comes PS Audio's summer promotion, with most of its cables on sale, and I nearly bit. The Prelude is the second-from-the-bottom in PS's line of power cords. (The "Punch" is the entry-level...)

But, essentially, the responses have, each in their own way, answered my question. I now get to choose between staying with stock, and cords from Volex, Signal, VenHaus, MAC, Element, Virtual Dynamics, Voodoo, etc.

My second post was more a reflection on the state of the audio business. If five pretty major companies, with significant research and production resources, are making cords in the under $100/3ft bracket that virtually no one on A'gon favors, then that says something not too complimentary about those companies, who are trading on their name and not their product.

BTW, I need something that is pretty flexible, so some of the possibilities are out of contention...

Yeah, flexibility is a real issue. I replaced a couple of Power Cords mostly in order to clean up some of the cables behind the stereo and get the interconnects and speaker cables away from touching the power cables. The cords I got however are not very flexible so it took a lot of work to position them in such a way that they're not touching any other cables. At least there are no power cables tangled up on the floor now...

Cables, like gear itself, is system dependent and more importantly, something that you need to decide upon for yourself.

As for your initial query on those specific PC's, please don't read anything into what wasn't said. Most people aren't going to comment if they haven't had those specific cords. Personally, I use mostly Cardas PC's plus some Chris VH DIY cables. I had at least 75 different cables in my system before I settled on something & since then have switched out maybe another 10 or so. Maybe you'll get it right the first time but more than likely it'll take some experimenting.

You can always try the Cable Co. to audition cables w/o buying & selling a bunch. Check them out at here

I do want to reiterate what I said before about how you're going to use this 2nd system. A good friend of mine has two systems, and although each one of them could be considered a main system, one is definitely a 2nd system. Since they evolved into analog & digital system, the 2nd system was totally tweaked out w/not only cable upgrades, but dedicated lines, upgraded outlets & room treatments. If you're going that route, then by all means explore all the possibilities. If you want to upgrade because the price is good, which is what I got from your initial post, then stick to your guns & explore the budget end of the spectrum. There are some good offerings out there-you just have to do some homework outside of this site.