What cable first

first place for a better IC and power cord is on your cd player. last place is your amp.

As far as three different outlets (presumably on different circuits, or why bother)...that's asking for ground loop problems....don't do it.

Do you have personal experience that proves to YOU that changing any power cord will change what YOU hear. I am sure there are a few who can hear a difference, however I suspect that many "think" they hear a difference or are just following the "power wire gurus".

If I were your friend, I would bet you real money that in a blind test, you would not be able to tell which device has a $1000 power cord and which one has the factory power cord.

Since the amp draws the most current it would be the logical place to start. But a recent test in HIFICRITIC showed a different picture. It appears that there is no logic whatsoever to power cord substutions. They used a high quality CD player [Marantz CD-7] and a Naim NAP 300 amp. In almost every cast the cables did considerably better with one than the other. In defiance of all expectations the highest score [65] on the CD player was achieved by an elcheapo generic cord out of the junk box. The highest score on the amp was 80, by a Russ Andrews silver cable, the most expensive of those tested at over a thousand Pounds for 1M. But on the CD its score was 37, one of the lowest. These results perhaps explain the debate over where to place the cords, everyone is judging by their own experience, which is what they should do. I myself am using upgraded cable on my system, in some cases it was a noticeable improvement , in others, not so clear. When a $1k power cable was substuded for the stock one on my transport I heard a noticeable improvement, but I am not prepared to pay anything like that. If I was determined to try this I would order one that could be returned or borrow one from a dealer or friend. If you have audio friends this would be a good place to try each others cords. I would spend my money on a dedicated line first and then on interconnects and speaker wires, where the results are more predictable.

CD player or preamp first, then amp.
Have an idea of what type of sound you're looking for, even reasonable price cords can sound different from each other. The wrong cord will sound worse than stock cord.
When high-end companies started selling cords in the 90's, I thought it was a crazy idea, not until years later when I heard a cord sound good on a cd player, I was amazed.

Anthony

Power cord is one of those things that some people can hear a day and night difference and some others can't. I personally can't hear any difference between various power cords that I tried over the years. So before you jump in buying, make sure you first borrow some and try them in your own system. It may save you a lot of money.