Can upgraded power cords help my setup?

@dlcockrum 

I should've mentioned that I have tried cable "upgrades" in various forms, including power cables. I had my girlfriend swap them for me in an attempt to be objective. My conclusion was that if there is any difference, it's too insignificant to justify even a $50 outlay, let alone hundreds. I actually wanted to believe in cable magic, but even the old audiophile expectation bias didn't cause a perceived difference. 

The engineers I mentioned design and repair avionics systems for a living. EMI noise is a frequent problem in aircraft communication systems. When it comes to the wiring, other than grounding, shielding, and routing, nothing eliminates the problem.

Now if someone tells me a shielded cable can better reject EMI than a non-shielded cable, I'd agree, of course. If someone was using a cable of too small a gauge and switched to a larger gauge, I can buy into that as well. Maybe tjassoc can explain how a an aftermarket cable will outperform a shielded, well-made OEM cable. Other than EMI rejection, he is basically claiming that high-end power cables do something to filter noise that originated upstream of the outlet. Funny, I don't see any filtering components on 98% of aftermarket cables. 

It doesn't matter I suppose, no one here is going to concede to the other side. Enjoy wasting your cash on cables.

Hey guys, I apologize - never did I intend to insight the dispute that has ensued.
I won't be contributing to this discussion further.
I hope everyone enjoys their music - life is too short not enjoy music that moves our senses and stirs our souls.

@tjassoc 

You use a lot of technical terms which makes your post sound official, but you back up none of your claims with specifics on how a "audio PC" solves those issues.  There are a few types of power noise (RFI, EMF, switching PS noise feeding back into your house AC (see light dimmers and anything else that uses a switching PS), AC phase and amplitude changes).  

Unless a PC has active or passive components in it, or shielding, or twisted wires (canceling common noise), a cable does nothing to clean up the AC power.  Also, why hook up a mega bucks PC to house wiring or a mega buck outlet socket.  That is nonsense.  Its like paving 1 foot of pavement on a street in gold to solve the other 200 miles of pavement full of potholes.

Before spending any $$$ on cables, I would recommend upgrading any components that use a switching supply to ones with a linear supply.  I would also invest in a  power conditioner.  Not an "audiophile" one.  A lab grade one used in a testing lab that measures RFI and EMI on customers equipment.  Ones with big capacitors and big transformers (preferably toroidal as they tend to add less EMI).   

Then for power cable from your power conditioner to your equipment look at ones with enough gauge to carry the current (watts) you need and ones with twisted hot and neutral (unless you power conditioner puts out a balanced AC signal (google it)) and a good overall shield that is grounded on one end only to the ground prong (third pin) on your AC outlet (not to your amp) you do not want any noise left on the cable shield getting anywhere near your amp.  Ferrite chokes on either end is not going to hurt, but not really needed after the power conditioner unless you live next to high tension power wires or a radio station tower.

Also keep your PC away from your interconnects or if they must cross have the cables at 90 deg to each other.

Keep your interconnects short and go with longer speaker cables.  The signal in your speaker cables are carrying a much higher powered signal which is less susceptible to noise interference.

The aircraft guys know what they are talking about... bad or  noisy signals when you are flying are very bad.  In your pharma business, talk to your instrument techs about how to maintain high quality Analog input signals to their PLC, DCS, or data acquisition, especially in an industrial environment.  Ask one on them if they ever solved a noise problem by changing  a power cord.  Smile when you ask so they know you are joking.

Enjoy audio, but make good friends with a radio, signal, or low voltage instrumentation electrical engineer if you want to learn how to make your system better based upon scientific principles and not someone trying to make a house payment selling fat PC cables.

One last thing.  (At your own risk of course).  Pop the cover off your amp or pre-amp and look at the wires coming out of the other side of your IEC plug that you just plugged your $5K cable into.  Notice anything special?  Nope.  Looks just like some wire I could pick up at radioshack.

Have fun all.

Wow. We have three contributors with a grand combined total of 19 posts and helomech who claims to have tried an un-named $50 power cable emphatically denying the possibility that any power cable can effect the sound of a audiophile system. None have their systems posted here nor name the power cords they have tried. That's credibility at its best. ;)

Then you have another writing of $5000 power cables (who recommended that?) and the ole' "the power from the utility is so dirty that 5 feet of power cord can't make a difference" assertion.  That is akin  to claiming, "why use an in-house water filter since the water from the utility is already full of chemicals." 

Friends, there are power cables that do clean up RF/EMI noise coming from the utility (try Synergistic Research's better power cables as well as several other well-known brands) and also digital hash reversing into the line (SR's digital power cables for example). How do I know? I have them and have conducted many comparisons over the years.

Please expand on your own personal experiences with some specifics if you care to continue beating a dead horse.

BTW - add-on ferrite chokes not only kill the RF/EMI/digital hash (if they do) but also the sound. Try them and see.

Dave