Shorten those lengthy power cords?

I don't think that the OP was looking to improve on performance but to improve on esthetics. All of my IC, speaker cables and pc in my second living room system are custom lengths to minimize the visual impact of the wires and cords. Go the DIY route with high quality connectors. In future, if your needs change, you keep the connector and swap out a longer cable.

Schipo, You are right. It is unfortunate so many audiophiles make an insignificate change like a power cord and hear a difference and most of the time any change is perceived as an improvement. I recently read a posting from a guy that was willing to spend $800 per power cord to improve his system's dynamics.

I see once again there is a tendency for some of the posters to state their superfluous views & turn this thread into another cable bashing, personal decision deriding campaign.

The OP did mention the possibility of using better ends, so I take it that means he's interested in an improvement. Additionally, he responded to the DIY possibility wanting more information, hence the multitude of suggestions.

no bashing expecting a shorter electrical cable when it travels hundreds of miles to your house is on par with a gold plated printer cable thinking it will print in more vivid color

all Doubting Thomas's sound the same