Do powercords make a difference in sound?

Hi guys!!!
I'm still here too (Or should I say "Hearing" too).
No one wants to kick a sleeping junkyard dog so we're not going to run with this again but you've already heard good advice: dial in your components with each other first; become very familiar with what it sounds like with stock cords and then, if you want to open up a new avenue of tweaking the sound you can start playing with aftermarket powercords.
Check out all the related threads for much more "vigorous discussion" on this...because you're playing with matches at the gas station right now.
All I will say is trust your own ears and NO ONE ELSE'S opinion via these forums (on this particular topic).
Good luck and happy Lissn'n

Danlib1 said it all..."Amen brother".

This is the answer to your question:
There are 2 widely disparate "camps" about whether power cords can make a noticeable change in the sound of your system (assuming adequate gauges/capacity for the accompanying component)
There are those who swear up and down that there is NO WAY in the world there will be any noticeable difference and you can not convince these people otherwise...no matter how much anyone tries to prove to them it IS so...
Then there is the opposite camp who are absolutely convinced, with no doubt in mind because they have purposely proven to themselves over and over by trusting their own ears, that aftermarket powercords obviously make a considerable difference and marked improvement in their systems because THEY TRUST THEIR EARS.
I suggest you listen to NO ONE but YOUR OWN EARS, but please, do yourself a favor and TRY IT.
Then decide.
PS And keep in mind, the entire aftermarket cable industry exists because people CAN hear improvements and if they COULDN'T hear the difference it would go by the way of the Tice Clock (It's a DoDo bird from years ago)
Good luck! Try it!!

Should have resisted: They do make huge improvements. Open your ears.
May I tactfully suggest that if someone can't hear a considerable improvement between a good quality aftermarket power cord in their system utilized in place of the typical stock cable... that perhaps
OK
I've got to resist suggesting you might try "an additional" hobby besides audio...
I didn't say it..it was just such an automatic response to someone saying that they "couldn't tell" that an obviously better component in the audio chain was added and yet went completely un-noticed!!! Truly mind boggling!!!
I'm afraid saying that would potentially initiate so much hostility; I had better keep it to myself...
it's just that....The improvements are SOOOOOOO noticeable in any decently resolving system (which most people reading this thread probably have...)
that I'm stupefied by those that swear it can't be when it so IS!
Oh well guys.
Nothing personal aimed at anyone here...please...
just general comments...

It is really ridiculous when the
"disbelievers" start speaking like politicians who have been asked a direct question then never actually address an applicable answer.
Here it is folks, it is undeniable, it is not opinion, it is not subject to interpretation...
A well designed aftermarket powercord when compared to a typical stock powercord [in an adequately resolving system which many/most of us already have ] can be readily distinguished from the stock cable repeatedly and consistently in blind testing over and over again. I have made this claim on previous threads about this and will re-state it again: thousands of audiophiles do this all the time...it is what helps them choose WHICH aftermarket cable they are going to spend their hard earned money ON...
This is a fact. Repeatedly choosing the correct cable 100% of the time (as I can in my system) is proof that powercords are audibly different from each other.
Period. Argument over.

Mr. Schroeder, You said it more eloquently than I ever could and a hearty "Thank you" for adding such a convincing post... I have personally answered several similar posts and always ended on a frustrated note even when exclaiming how [exactly as you said] the differences are clearly noticeable right away and both distinctive and consistent.
There is no argument here. There is no countering the fact that in every single application where, in a reasonably revealing system, differences between powercords can be "instantly and consistently determined" 100% of the time (as several visitors have done in my listening room and I'm sure thousands of other rooms as well) that this IS therefore a proven factual statement.
NO argument. Did I say 100% of the time?? Oh yes, I did...I actually meant 100% of the time... that is 100% of the time...
Got it guys Instantly and consistently. No excuses, no guesses... It is what it is. For those of you who ever doubted it I suggest you try it for yourself and enjoy investigating the amazing world of what aftermarket powercords can do to improve YOUR system's listening enjoyment.
Happy Lissn'n

Original Question: "Do powercords make a difference in sound?"
True answer (as I have repeatedly stated and already proven scientifically in 100% of my extensive listening tests)
YES they do make consistent and often very obvious differences.
If YOU can't tell then the likely cause is either a very "Low-fi" poorly resolving system or "Low-fi" poorly resolving ears.
Next question?/Thread?

Hello all, again. Paperw8, you made the following comment:
"if you read my comments more closely, you will note that i stated that AT MINIMUM, such "evaluations" need to be done in blind testing, where the listener does not know which components are being used, or even whether components have been changed at all from one test to the next. i guarantee you that you would be a lot less sure about the purported "sonic improvements" that you claim to hear if you didn't know what you were listening to from one test to the next."
I have been repeating myself that not only can I accomplish this with 100% repeatable consistent reliability under exactly the circumstances you describe : 'Not knowing when the cables are swapped...completely random...often repeatedly NOT changed, even after implying it 'may' have been...' 100% of the time I can tell and identify cable A or Cable B each and every time. Add to that I'd be confidently willing to bet that many/most people could do exactly the same thing.
So where is the question here? Why is there any doubt about whether powercords make a difference in sound? Comparing a typical stock powercord to a competent aftermarket cord, especially one of the many I have mentioned (just the tip of the iceberg of what's available)is absolutely NOT ambiguous...NOT questionable...NOT uncertain... especially in a reasonably resolving system (and even MORE ESPECIALLY in a HIGHLY resolving system). This post never needed to reach over 4 pages and 200+ responses... I'm simply stating what is so apparent to the majority of the readers of this cable section who have purchased aftermarket powercords and in so doing have significantly improved the sound quality of their systems...using their own hard earned money and without feeling intimidated by any high pressure salespeople...they simply tried it, and believed their own ears!
If anyone wants to discuss "WHY" powercords DO make a difference, then start another thread about it but THIS thread simply wanted to know IF THEY DO make a difference in sound and THAT answer has been stated over 200 responses earlier: YES,indeed, they absolutely do.
DONE.

Mrtennis writes:
"at this point in the discussion, i would think that one can sum it all up by the following:

those who believe power cords make a difference are entitled to tehir opinion, while those who don't are entitled to their s' ."
There is no one who is not entitled to their own opinion, it is not something that can be "taken away" from them per se and therefore simply exists if so stated. The value of that opinion however, when scrutinized via truth and fact in hand, will vary from legitimate to ignorant, depending on the viewer's awareness to the presented facts.
To say: "there is no way to prove the hypothesis that powercords make a difference, it may or may not be true." is NOT true, as many of us on this thread have tried to make you aware and as I have specifically claimed citing verifiable evidence, several times.
The evidence is NOT debatable when blind testing (as earlier described) proves with NO doubt, that different cables result in easily discernible and often dramatic differences in sound each and every time the swap(s) is/are made...each and every time properly identified...and are repeatable with dozens/hundreds/thousands of people...100% of the time. This now constitutes FACT. Like it or not. It also confirms that your entitled opinion conflicts with the facts yet you are of course, fully entitled to have it as long as you wish. Enjoy.
PS After first receiving my Conrad Johnson monoblocs I initially set up my system and became familiar with its sound. Shortly thereafter my first order of upgrade was to have IEC receptacles installed in them, replacing the fixed stock cables attached. Swapping in my aftermarket powercords (which had been previously used in my former pair of monos) resulted in an instantly noticeable and significant improvement to the sound. This history of replacing stock powercords with aftermarket upgrades resulting in obvious performance improvements has been consistent with virtually all the components in my system over many many years. Anyone pondering this upgrade path should do one thing: TRY IT, and let your ears make the decision. Odds are you too will find the choice [to upgrade from stock] an obvious one...do it! (then defend your decision on these threads!)