What AC Power Cord sounds best?

The answer is that this requires testing. My answer will be absolutely correct for some readers and wrong for some others. Not every component will react the same way with a given power cord. I think if you had only one shot at it, the best choice would be Purist Audio Dominus. It is very expensive, especially in the RS version. A less expensive choice that is excellent is the Siltec. If you want cheap and good, the old discontinued Tiffany TPC-60 is amazing, usually sells for about $50.00. It certainly will beat any stock cord by a mile, and provide a welcome and inexpensive improvement to less critical components in your system.

It is difficult to recommend things to people without knowing all of their system but I have tried quite a few myself. I agree with albert regarding the Dominus being fine cable, but stay away from the Siltech. their cable sound like guaze; grainy & nasal even their top of the line G3 sound the same. The best cables that I have come across are the new monitor series from NBS. They are very dramatic in the way that they take out the hash from the AC and give you a totally noise free background from which the music just comes at you. It is very difficult to explain the sensation. Everything is velvet black & then there is music, pure signal. I have my entire system wired with their monitor 0 cables. No amount of money spent on equipment will give the same results. I am also quite familiar with the rest of their monitor line. You can contact me for more info at: damokanyc@aol.com

MUST READ the review of the Powersnakes AC cords, by Grant Samuelson, now archived on soundstage.com. Another possibility for "next generation" AC cords is Luxor's Custom Power Cords.

After auditioning many of the best power cords (PC's), including ESP, Electraglide, Cardas, Synergistic, Kimber, etc., I read the Soundstage! (on line mag) review of the Shunyata PowerSnakes by Grant Samuelsen. I followed up by contacting Grant, who is probably one of the most experienced power cord reviewers around. At his suggestion I contacted the Shunyata CEO, Caelin Gabriel, who has made power delivery his life's work. In summary, I purchased 3 PowerSnake Black Mambas (the medium priced PC), along with 2 WATTaGATE audio grade wall outlets. At Mr. Gabriel's suggestion, I removed my line conditioner and ran all 3 PC's directly into the wall. The combination was the most significant upgrade to my system since a major interconnect and speaker cable improvement a couple of years ago. I'll spare you the usual audiogeek ramblings, but just let me say that my system went from sounding like an outstanding hi fi, to as close to live music as I have ever been. The soundstaging, holographic immage, bass impact, overall dynamics, separation of instruments (there I go rambling, but I couldn't help myself) were monumental. I cannot recommend these wonderful power cords highly enough. My only regret is that for now, I couldn't afford the top of the line King Cobras, but at least I have reason to live!!!!! Read Grant's review, contact Brian Kelly at www.HelloHiFi.com and arrange to audition some PowerSnakes in your home - I know that you will be snakebitten like the rest of us who have tried them. Happy Listening