Eldartford: Let's really take a hard look at what's going on here in this and all the similar threads like this that inevitably break down this way.
I'll give you credit: you took the scientific road and tested out the receptacles I sent to you and heard no difference. Just as easily as you say above: "When the dog barks the guy hears something else, because he wants to.", I can say to you that you heard no difference because you wanted to hear no difference. So what? You heard no difference in your "highly controlled" receptacle experiment, but you can send your Denon 2900 away for mods because, from an "engineering standpoint", the mods make sense to you (search your comments in the archives) and you can receive it back 2-3 weeks later and notice an improvement? The only logical conclusions I can draw are that 1) you are afflicted with the same disease you accuse those of hearing differences in receptacles and/or power cords because they "want to" or conversely "don't want to" or 2) that your hearing is not particularly great.
Now let's be "scientific" about it. Of the people that respond to these threads, those that have tried/experimented with power cords/receptacles, etc. and have heard differences probably outnumber those that have tried/experimented and heard no differences by ten to one or more in these threads. Not conclusive, but certainly a reasonable sampling by any scientific standard, as Narchy has so succinctly pointed out above.
On the other hand, the naysayers seem to exist in an inverse proportion to those with experience: that is to say, approximately 90% of them have absolutely no experience in experimenting, yet they have no qualms about doling out their definitive advice to people here seeking input. Irvrobinson is simply one example of that, extolling that there are no differences in "measurement" when there clearly are, then admitting, when pressed, that he has never done any measuring. As someone who has learned a great deal from the experience of others on this site (and Audioasylum as well) and managed to greatly improve my system and the appreciation for the music played on it as a result of that improvement, I feel compelled to respond to these threads every once in a while.
As to "wanting to hear things" to justify expenditures, as I have pointed out before, I don't belong to that camp. While certain people here may find it amusing, I have gone from a $1000 digital front end in the past 3-4 years to one which I have approximately $70 invested in (it has been cryoed, by the way) and sounds much better than the audiophile approved megabuck version which I was quite happy to sell. More money does not always equate with better sound, but ignoring power cords, receptacles, cabling, etc. is a sure way to not realize what any decent equipment is really capable of.
You and Irv are certainly welcome to respond, but I'll sign off on this thread at this time. Happy listening and enjoy the music!