Power cord? Why?

well, in my system power cords certainle made a difference on my CD player, but none whatsoever on the power amp...i went by trusting my ears...the CD player made in France had some problems with the stock power cord (including a dim display)...after replacing the power cord, the CD layer seems to be just fine and the display is nice and bright...now, on the amp was a different story...i couldn't detect any change in the sound at all...i even tried a test with some of my friends...we took turns to replace the power cord on the fly while the music was playing...you can do that safely if your amp (has to be SS not tubes!!!!) has a good power supply...we had the stock power cord and another one that costs $500/6 ft...someone was switching back and forth between the two while the music was playing and we couldn't detect any change in sound...what was even more surprising was that the amp played just fine for 4-5 seconds even without power cord...was running from its own capacitors without a change in the sound...well, that was pretty conclusive for me that the power cord have absolutely no influence on audio gear that has a well designed power supply...
again, just a personal experience...

sean...Thanks for the design spec on the power cord. Based on your suggestion,I intend to use so called "high temperature" wire (intended for range hoods and oil burners) which has very thin insulation. It is readily available. I could use magnet wire, with super-thin enamel insulation, but that would probably be going too far. Three questions...

1. How do I keep the wires "stacked" as I twist them? Does it really matter as long as all four get twisted together?

2. How many twists per foot? (I won't pull your leg about whether the twists are clockwise or counterclockwise).

3. Would not three pairs be as good or better than 2 pairs? I might do this if I can't get #14 wire.

I disagree with audioengr about difficulty of making measurements across bridged amps. Been there, done that. Also, the greater voltage drop in a wimpy power cord does not translate into degraded sound provided that the power supply is robust. As Iasi notes, most power amps play on for several seconds even if you pull the plug completely. I shifted the focus of my investigation from the DC power to the amplifier output signal in answer to those who claim to hear things that can't be measured. The amp output is as close to the sound as we can get without subjective judgements about subtle effects (if any).

As to power cord effect on a CD player...I can try that too. Frankly a CD player draws so little current at such a uniform level that it's even harder to see how a power cord could have an effect. If the display was dim with the old cord it really must have been defective. But then again, this is French engineering. Did you ever work on a Renault?

Regarding Kenwood LO7M...I thought that the LO9M was the lower power unit. The TAS and Stereophile reviews that I recall were before those mags took advertising, and the reviews were credible. My personal review is that these amps, within their 150 watt (8 ohm) power rating, sound darned good.

"Also, the greater voltage drop in a wimpy power cord does not translate into degraded sound provided that the power supply is robust."

So, show me one amp which has a "robust" power supply. I have never run across an amp yet that did not benefit from a low-inductance power cord, except those that have inductors already in series for filtering (bad idea IMO).

Seans guidance on the power cord construction is very good. The star-quad achieves the lowest inductance. Multiples of them will be very effective.

I would be wary about using "high-temperature" wire. The copper in these is usually sub-standard for audio purposes, as is alarm, telephone and control wire. Find a good Alpha or Belden hook-up wire with pTFE insulation.

Iasi - what type of power amp do you have? Does it have an AC input filter?

Audioengr.... OK. Where do I buy #14 hookup wire?

By the way, why does the power cord have to be "audio quality"? It only has to pass 60Hz. Besides, audio is AC, and the power gets rectified, so any "audio" characteristics of the AC get lost.