Does it matter what gauge power cord that you use?

I dont know how to explain this, but i think some larger cables perform better than some small ones and vice versa.My current system sounds best with heavier guage cables,but my last sounded better with thinner cables including the power cords.I know most inwall wires are 14Guage,so why would I use 10awg power cords from a 14awg wall receptical?The same reason why most heavy duty power tools use heavy guage power cords,also the same reason why many audiophiles run 10awg speaker cable to speakers who's internal wireing is between 14-16awg.The same goes for heavy guage interconnects that will plug into a component who's internal wireing is only 18-20awg.All I know is well designed heavy guage cables are excellent in the right system,no matter how thin the inwall wire is.

Heavier gauge cables typically have a greater amount of dielectric around each conductor. As such, this can change the impedance of the cable as a whole. Dielectric absorption may also become a bigger factor as you have more surface area of the larger conductor that comes into contact with a larger area of insulating material.

Other than that, heavier gauge cables keep series resistance to a minimum and thermal losses are minimized. Sean
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I don't go out of my way to buy heavier power cords, per se. I did buy an eight foot granite audio power cord a while back for the simple reason that I did not want to use an extension cord. I use it on my CD player and I do believe I can hear a differance. As I have over the years collected a surplus of power cords, I do use the heavier gauge cords and and I store the lighter ones in a box. Again, keeping in mind that your question was simply one of heaver gauge cords. You did not ask about all of the specialized high-end cords available.

One interesting thing you can do is replace the cheap two wire cords that come with many DVD and Cd players with a used computer cord that has some shielding which is available at any used computer store. It can't hurt, and it might make you feel better.