I know this is a bit old subject but I'm not quite understanding OP's remarks about the affects of power cord. If a component sounds very neutral by design out of the box, then any aftermarket "upgrade" or tweak with any noticeable impact, will by definition move the sound quality away from being neutral. Otherwise it will have no impact. For me, any tweak worth keeping is there to make a positive change.
Changed the power cord to SignalCable Magic Power cord on my CroMag II
I changed the stock power cord on my Cronus Magnum II today to the SignalCable Magic Power cord and the results left me speechless. I can’t believe the difference it makes to the sound quality. It just opened up everything...the highs and lows. The soundstage is so much better now...it's like I’m listening to a different amp. One of the CDs that I always test with, Eric Clapton unplugged sounds amazing. Every change to my system seems to be getting me closer to the sound that I want to hear. Initially, I thought it was the speakers so I upgraded from a decent set of Dynaudio speakers to very good set of Harbeth C7 speakers and the sound improved but not significantly. Changing the power cord was a night and day difference in the sound quality...wow. Can you guys suggestion some other relatively cheap changes to improve the sound? Anybody witness similar realizations?