I was skeptical of how power cables could affect the SQ of a system for the first 2 decades of being an audiophile. Everyone can hear the differences in components, and interconnects, and speaker cables. I couldn’t understand why power cords would make a difference. After reviewing the many people that commented about the effect of power cords on SQ, I tried upgraded power cords ($100-$500 MSRP), and I heard no difference. However, just last year, after speaking with a trusted dealer, I tried markedly upgraded power cords ($3,000-5,000 MSRP) that were loaned to me without purchase, and I easily heard a significant difference when plugged into my pre-amplifier. When I plugged these cords into my amplifier, the difference was not obvious. Consequently, I now will have to agree that power cords *can* make a difference in SQ, but not always for every component and not every power cord. The most prominent improvement in SQ that I heard was when used into my pre-amplifier. As for which power cords? I would have to say that it’s like interconnects: trial and error is the only way to really know!
