Stock Power Cords?

In my experience stock power cords arn't enough for power amps. With limited wire gauge to 16 there isn't enough AC power fed onto the amp. In comparison to home brew design that I use, the stock power cord is more quiet(not because the bad mastered shielding but because more power is delivered I guess). The sound becomes more defined and more dynamic. I've used the hospital grade 12AWG OFC AC cable from wireworld.

I replaced all my stock power cords with Absolute Power Cords but didn't notice much difference. Then I changed them for Virtual Dynamics Power 2s, and have been completely stunned by the improvement. Quieter and blacker background, increased musical dynamics, much better imaging. Rick with Virtual Dynamics sells the Power 2s for $125 each with a 14 day trial period.

I have Syn. Res. Master Couplers on all my components and highly recommend them. But what you really need to do is listen to several diferent pcs and see what YOU think. I once auditioned 7 power cords (in a week) from $100 to $1000.-- some I liked, some did nothing in my system, and a couple made music worse.

I also agree with KP above, good hospital grade outlets are important, and I'd suggest Pass & Seymour-- about $10. These should be available at any good electrical supply store. Good Luck. Craig.

Get new power cords, stock ones usually stink. The power cord that came with my 20k+ pre is sort of insulting. Some members find that power cables make more improvements then any other cable upgrade, start with all of your digital gear and then do the amps-its what most every cable company recomends.
Tim

I bought new power cords for all of my gear, which has been an investment of over 35 grand (for the gear). I have to tell you, I'm not sure if it did anything. I can't hear any significant improvements, nor any change that would be considered consistent. I can assure you that I didn't shell out quite a few hundred bucks in the hope of being disappointed. I feel better knowing they are there, and that I'm doing what so many say you have to do to maximize performance, but there is a lot of snake oil with this stuff, so be careful. Also, take this analogy into consideration. If you are like 99% of the folks on this web-site who have 89 cents a foot Romex running from each 99 cent outlet to a 99 cent junction box and from there to a standard breaker box from good old Home Depot, what the hell kind of improvement do you expect to get with a $500.00 cord? The AC is running at 60 hertz, so am I to believe that a stock power cord is choking off my amp? If you stick 22 gauge wire into an active AC receptacle and you hold the other end, do you think you won't get electrocuted because the gauge is so thin? Is the radio interference so great where you live that your power cords have to be shielded so that no interference will penetrate them? And if it is, what are you doing to shield the rest of the electrical path? I liken it to putting a titanium link on an aluminum chain. Sure, the titanium link is great, but is it strenghtening the chain as a whole? Does the rest of the link magically become titanium too? Of course not! And no offense to Tireguy above. I do understand his wanting of an upscale power cord for his 20K+ preamp, but don't you think the folks who build 20K+ preamps know what they're doing? Is it possible that the omission of such a cord is that company's statement about this subject matter?
Upping your service to 220, running dedicated lines of high gauge shielded electrical wiring from the breaker box to your equipment and installing a very beefy, very expensive AC regenerating device............now that's making the difference. Then, I believe it may be possible to hear the differences between cords. If you can't do that, spend your money on improving the components you're using.
Just an opinion..........................................