What the heck is a power cord?

Jimmy -- I live in a very old, cheaply built house with wall outlets that can't hold onto a plug to save their lives. I replaced the one that the audio equipment is plugged into with a $7 Leviton outlet from Home Depot and the difference was startling. Not to mention that I no longer had to get up and shove the plug back in every time it fell out ;-).

Jim we also have an old farmhouse with old wiring (excepting that new dedicated audio AC line). We also have an old EE living there who would have never believed that signal cables affect sound, and in not-so-subtle ways either. This same guy would have never believed that changing an AC cord affects sound, not to mention changing the outlet. Hey I use to think that there should be no sonic differences between components either, but I've been in this hobby for a long time so I finally decided to experiment for myself & guess what *everything* matters. Even the type of wire carrying your AC source & even the saftey device (type of fuse or breaker) matters.
Now, just my cabling & accessories budget is more than my whole rig used to cost. I'm only relating this story because I used to not believe it either. Now when I make a change in the rig I intentionally don't tell "her" about it just to see what she'll notice, & how long it takes before she does (it's normally not very long either).

To be honest, I'm not sure that I hear enough of a difference between good $50 power cords and great $500 power cords to make the expensive ones worth the price. One thing is for sure, though, if the cord/outlet/wiring/circuit breaker can't deliver adequate current, you're going to hear serious loss of dynamics, among other things. For that reason, on a couple of components that didn't come with IEC sockets I've opened the cases and replaced the stock cords with DIY types.

I'm amused by manufacturers who tout that they use "medical grade" plugs and outlets. Read LSC 101 and related documents and you'll find that the requirements don't speak much to things that we afiles find important. One thing they do touch on, though is the force with which the contacts in the outlet "grip" the blades of the plug. This is important for current transfer.

In my own case, I use a dedicated circuit but one that preexisted and was connected to a wall switch to control two floor outlets. I checked the guage of the in-wall wiring, removed the switch and soldered the wires at that point, replaced the circuit breaker, and upgraded the outlets. Did it make a diff? Yeah, sort of. Was it worth it? Yeah, I guess cuz it didn't cost much.

I got a MUCH more dramatic improvement by installing a power conditioner. That really made a difference in clarity, upper midrange brilliance, and overall definition.

As always, YMMV. If you are of an objectivist bent, you may conclude that you don't hear much difference because there isn't much difference. To which more typical afiles will reply scathingly that you obviously have no ears.

Do want seems right and proper to you. And have fun.

Will