if a double blind test performed correctly (10-20 participants or more, suitable long listening sessions, properly administered questions, etc.)reveals no statistical difference in sound in a comparison between, power cords, cables, etc. --- then any perceived "improvement" of one cord or cable over another by an individual is some combination of that individuals imagination, desire to justify a purchase, liking one esthetically over the other, some preconceived notion that they hold that "A" should be better than "B," and/or buying into the hype (directly from a salesman or indirectly from a review). Tell them what difference they "should" hear and they likely hear it --- tell them nothing and let them assess (again, proper double blind)... and if no statistical difference is observed... then that means no difference is there to be heard. Now... that is not to say that one will not like one over the other... but if so... it is because of other reasons.
One cautionary note... system synergy is paramount --- a given item in one system shown not to have a statistical difference relative to another item may, in fact, be statistically different in a different system.
One cautionary note... system synergy is paramount --- a given item in one system shown not to have a statistical difference relative to another item may, in fact, be statistically different in a different system.