Power Cord Question

Jea48 writes: Many manufactures of audio equipment are building their equipment this way. Because of potential ground loop hum problems manufactures are using double insulated AC power wiring instead of having to use the safety equipment grounding method.

With doubled insulated AC power wiring the metal case of the equipment is floating and does not need the use of the safety equipment ground. Jmho eventually all audio equipment will be built this way. ************

Based on the above explanation is there any reason to go beyond the manufacturers specs by replacing the power cord with another companies power cord in the pursuit of better sound?

By the way, for those who may be interested I have tried the Audioquest series of power cords and currently own Black Mountain Cable Silver power cords obtained through the Audiogon auction process. Two of the three Audioquest cords sound pretty horrible in my system. One of the Audioquest power cords sounded neutral/balanced. The Black Mountain Cable sounds neutral/balanced. Overall, I don't hear any advantage in using any of these power cords over the power conditioner I am using. Adding the power conditioner (Belkin-Pure AV) was a huge improvement. The only difference I hear with adding the power cords is more impact or forwardness, which does not improve the sound quality in my opinion.

Maybe the new cable needs to "break in" but for now the stock power cord sounds better, smooth with no harshness/forwardness. Is this something to do with owning components more on the budget end not allowing one to appreciate the sound of another companies power cord?

Hopefully my ears after years of listening and performing are telling me the truth about these power cords and that what I am hearing (or not hearing) is not because of a limited budget. Well, I don't consider power cords valued at around $600 bucks cheap although I paid nowhere near that amount.

I've tried some of the same powercords you have tried and yes you do have to let them breakin, at least 100 hrs.
The BMC gold powercord was a definite improvement over stock powercords in my system but to really appreciate what powercords can do, you're going to have to go to one that is considerably more than what you're currently trying($600 would be just a little past the starting point)
I've been in highend audio for over 25 yrs. and if you had told me 15 yrs. ago powercords would make the difference/improvement that they do, I would've told you that you're crazy!! But when you hear the higher tier shunyata's, purist audio, fusion cords and others, then you'll know, they can make a huge improvement in your system
and on your power conditioner.
In your system however it may not make good sense or be cost effective.
In other words, would it make sense to put $1000 powercord on a $600 amp? I don't know probably not.
Just my two cents worth.

Eee3, I know what you mean. Although I have a great sounding system there is a lot better out there if you spend the money. In my town there is not any selection in terms of high end audio so to get high end you either have to rely on reviews and travel or use mail order, which makes it difficult. I was in the Pittsburgh, PA area one day and stopped in a shop that had a system hooked up with Macintosh electronics and a pair of B & W 802D's. The sound was beautiful but this caused a problem for me. When I got home, my own system sounded dull for about a month. So I agree that you can get a lot better sound if you spend the money. I suppose that system was valued somewhere around 25k as opposed to my system valued at around 5k. The next issue for me is that I recently started reading Stereophile and this has started me down another path into another realm in audio. I have been buying audio for around 30 years myself and always kept a nice system but until reading Stereophile, etc. and trying things out, I never realized the difference made by interconnects, speaker cables and power cords. Good enough for me was the likes of NAD and Mission, not that any of this is junk. I am happy with the sound of my system but this is like starting over again. Anyway, thanks again for your help. Lots of knowledgeable people and good advise on Audiogon.

Darkeyes, for what its worth, you'll get the biggest bang for your buck with a good powercord, even more so than going to the next component upgrade.
I would recommend you trying the fusion line. Their entry level cord is the predator($550 retail)but you can get it for around $300-$350.
Go to their website www.audiosurroundings.com. The contact person is Eric Love, a very good person to deal with.
He will let you demo his cords, if you don't like you can send back and get your money. The only downside is it takes 150-200 hrs. to break-in.

i don't necessarily recommend it, but you can remove the ground prong and plug directly in without an adapter. check with manufacturer before doing this.