Max - I watched the review you posted (most of it) and the one thing that stood out for me was that the reviewer seemed to think that he should be hearing improvements that another person had experienced.
He talked of not being able to hear an appreciable improvement in dynamics the other person believed he should be getting.
Unfortunately, his system was probably not identical to the other person's system, so how could they hear similar improvements?
One thing I have learned over the last few years is - your system will only perform as well as your worst component or cable will allow - i.e. the weakest link!
So if your interconnect does not provide a good dynamic performance, then adding a great power cable to an amp will probably not yield any significant benefits in that area either.
This is unfortunately the issue with replacing any cables in a system. For example - I recently had the opportunity to test some extremely good IC's and speaker cables - I tried the interconnects first and found they provided little in the way of improvements, but when I connected the speaker cables as well I instantly heard appreciable improvements across the board. The issue was my speaker cables were not allowing the extremely fine details being conveyed to/by the amp and IC combo, to be passed on to the speakers.
We tend to report improvements (or disappointments) on the latest cable (or component) we have just installed and don't consider that many of the changes experienced (or not) may actually due to other cables and components in our system.
Power cables are perhaps the most contentious cable related topic of all, since people have reported widely varying success and there is no hard and fast rule for the cable selection process.
Zyac39...
I do know that well designed power cables make for some considerable improvements and from that perspective if I had to recommend one of the three cables I have mentioned - I would probably go with the Shunyata, only because they "appear" to share similar design principles to my own DIY cables and other members have posted some very positive comments about them.
In addition - I have heard several Nordost power cable products and they all offered appreciable improvements - so if you want a "guarantee" - get a Nordost.
HOWEVER, the system they demo'd those PC's in probably had extremely good IC and SC's - so you should not use my comments as a gauge as to their effectiveness in YOUR system.
If you find it does not "impress", then I would urge you to take a look at the other cables in your system before selling the PC's off at a loss - it could be your IC's or SC's are not performing up to the capabilities of the rest of your system/cables!
My experiences with power cables were very positive and this led me to upgrade what I refer to as my "Power Corridor" i.e. the wiring from the mains breaker panel, the wall outlets, power distribution box and of course all power cables.
With that out of the way I then moved my attention to SC's and IC's (in that order) knowing that the power side was no longer my weakest link.
One last comment - todays components tend to perform to an extremely high level of fidelity and as such are seldom the weakest link, but they do need good cables, especially power cables in order to achieve their very best.
As an example - my DAC cost around $400, but when connected with excellent cables (costing several times its price) it performs to a very much higher higher level of fidelity.
I have also experienced similar benefits by applying "power supply improvements" to other modestly priced components over the years
If possible, audition the cables first or deal with companies that allow full refunded returns.
Sorry I could not be of more assistance, but if you have any further questions please ask.
Regards...
