Power cords - snake oil?

Depends how you look at them. They certainly make a marked difference in many but not all systems. Both good & bad.

What you have to be careful of is buying expensive power cords that actually sound a lot worse than the stock cords!

Enter "power cord" as a search query in the Discussion Forums. Approximately 500 threads will come up and you can choose the ones that suit you.
You will see that there are a lot of opinions..............
Make your own. Feel free to stink up the place with yours.
Most of us have too.

Ditto on Snookers advice. There is plenty of info to go on and very little to add other than new products as they pop up, reviews by new owners and questions to the already existing threads. As to why you would add them to a system, I think that the answer is obvious (to improve the sound). What other reason would there be? Being skeptical is a good thing, though first hand experience is the only way to form a true opinion and this seems to be where you are headed. As far as the poll goes I would estimate that less than 1% of the members at this site believe that a good PC in the right application is a form of snake oil. Good does not need to be expensive in that I use some $50 PC's that make a hell of an improvement over stock. On the other hand I use some pricier ones that make a heavenly improvement. The trick is finding the right ones for your taste and each piece of equipment in your setup as synergy, as always, is the ruling factor.

Since there are so many different power cords to choose from, and the fact that they're system dependent, is there someplace that allows you to return a cord if you don't like it's sound in your system? Or is it all a big crapshoot?

Things can get expensive in a hurry if you have to buy and sell several cords before finding one that works. I've had friends recommend the Shunyata King Cobra, Electraglide Fatman and BMI Whale. How's a fella to know which one to gamble on?

My system consists of a Joule Electra preamp, Sony 777es SACD player, Electrocompaniet EMC-1 CDP (trying to decide which one I'll keep), EAD PM 2000 amp, Aerial 7B speakers, Harmonic Tech Pro Silway IC's and Kimber 8TC speaker cable. I primarily listen to jazz, vocals and some pop.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks,

Ken

Ken: The Cable Company offers this service on the cables/cords that they carry. I would ask Brian at BMI directly about his products as I am pretty sure that they are still sold direct. Other than a local shop or the Cable Company you will just have to check out each manufacturer. Many have a 30 day return policy. It's a lot of work, but better than buying and reselling, I agree.