really inexpensive power cords

I have to say that I've found the results of this poll of a'gon opinion rather disquieting.

The consensus seems to be: stay with the stock cables, buy Volex 17604, or try Signal, VenHaus, or MAC (to which one might add Element). No substantive comments on the Audioquest, Furutech, Shunyata, Tara Labs and Wireworld products.

For the moment, two explanations for this consensus suggest themselves to me--I don't know if either is right.

1) audiophiles like to find "small", often single-person operations that challenge or surpass the "big boys".

...or...

2) the big mainstream companies establish a reputation with certain breakthrough products, then--cynically--develop their product lines to cover all the price points, regardless of the intrinsic merit of those subsequent products.

As a case in point, if you read through the "blurbs" on the MusicDirect website about the Shunyata PCs, it's almost as if the Venom and Diamondback were afterthoughts, and their "real" entry-level PC is the Copperhead.

Philjolet:

My second system has a decent cdp, amp, speakers, ICs and speaker cables. But stock, come-with-the-unit, PCs. So I was thinking of doing something about them, without spending an arm and a leg.

Along comes PS Audio's summer promotion, with most of its cables on sale, and I nearly bit. The Prelude is the second-from-the-bottom in PS's line of power cords. (The "Punch" is the entry-level...)

But, essentially, the responses have, each in their own way, answered my question. I now get to choose between staying with stock, and cords from Volex, Signal, VenHaus, MAC, Element, Virtual Dynamics, Voodoo, etc.

My second post was more a reflection on the state of the audio business. If five pretty major companies, with significant research and production resources, are making cords in the under $100/3ft bracket that virtually no one on A'gon favors, then that says something not too complimentary about those companies, who are trading on their name and not their product.

BTW, I need something that is pretty flexible, so some of the possibilities are out of contention...