How can power cords make a difference?


I am trying to understand why power cords can make a difference.

It makes sense to me that interconnects and speaker cables make a difference. They are dealing with a complex signal that contains numerous frequencies at various phases and amplitudes. Any change in these parameters should affect the sound.

A power cord is ideally dealing with only a single frequency. If the explanation is RF rejection, then an AC regeneration device like PS Audio’s should make these cords unnecessary. I suppose it could be the capacitance of these cables offering some power factor correction since the transformer is an inductive load.

The purpose of my post is not to start a war between the “I hear what I hear so it must be so” camp and the “you’re crazy and wasting your money,” advocates. I am looking for reasons. I am hoping that someone can offer some valid scientific explanations or point me toward sources of this information. Thanks.
bruce1483
Thanks Frap, one of the points that I have continually brought up to 702, in an attempt to show that the engineering side of the business believes in the same high performance equipment that we audiophiles do.

There is absolutely nothing for Richard Vandersteen, Steve McCormack and other famous audio engineers to gain by praising these aftermarket products. In fact some customers could perceive that their products are flawed in requiring these expensive cables to perform optimally. Not a great marketing position unless they truly believe.

The only possible reason for their position is they hear the difference, they enjoy the improvements and they are willing to spend their hard earned cash to back up their convictions.

People who's value system is different, could and perhaps should avoid these upgrades. I understand too, those who share the passion but fail to commit due to budget, wife or conscience. If the latter is the real issue, this is the appropriate place to perform the infamous double blind test. Sit quietly and see if your conscience is filled with "sour grapes" convictions, severely limiting your minds eye the ability to hear the beauty of what these products offer.
Dekay- Brulee just brought the subject of a PC to my attention. I'll take a look around here. I'm sure I have a few IEC and 15A connectors here someplace. However, I hope to be moving soon, so I can't promise exactly when this little endeavor will be completed. (Most of my collection of parts are in boxes, in anticipation of the 'new' house).
JC, just make hard connections to Bruce's outlet and the component (skip the plug and IEC), I'm certain that he won't mind (unless there is a thunder storm).
I finally got bored enough to go through this thread, although I did skip around after a while (it was started getting personal.)
I must say I have gained respect for Albert's position and it's consistency (unfortunantly not for everyone who shares it.) By steadfastly rejecting blind tests and focusing on a whole experience sort of thing, *psychological effects and all*, he's arguing something totally different than the skeptics. It gets much broader and more philosophical, even more interesting perhaps.
The problem I see with this position is that it leaves people very susceptible to marketing driven products, and leaves no objective way to protect yourself, or even distinguish them. That may be all well and good for people who have this as their primary hobby (time and energy sink) and/or those for whom money is no object. Others may want to pursue musical nirvana more efficiently. Given the two methods, I can't even say if the destination would end up the same.
Anyway, with regard to cables, and in the spirit of peace, harmony and good will, here's what I think we can all agree on (with no qualifiers):
Gauge matters.
Construction matters.
RFI can be a problem.