Power Cable Suggestions.

It reminded me that room acoustics are a sine qua non for any average room, and, without it, there is  so much music we don't even realize is missing. Annoying, but that’s the reality of sound reproduction.  . . . People really need to treat room acoustics as a critical part of getting good sound,

Absolutely right.  I spent about $3K with GIK to treat some of the problems with my almost perfect cube-shaped listening room (11x11x10), and seriously, it was about a 30-40% improvement in SQ.  I still haven't treated the first reflection points yet, but have bass traps in three corners (there is a door on the fourth) diffusers behind my listening chair and panels on the ceiling).  Really significant improvement.  Cables do matter, but any small benefit is dwarfed by treating your room acoustics first.

I am looking into spending anywhere from $300-$500. I am torn between a Furutech Astoria Plus, DH Labs Power plus/cryo

What has you torn between a $400 14 AWG PC and a high current 10 AWG $1200.00 PC?

I compared the IceAge Franken to AQ Blizzard and the Franken might as well have been lamp cord. There was a very significant drop in audio quality when I switched from the AQ Blizzard to the IceAge Franken. 

The IceAgeAudio are on par with the Chinese ones you find on Amazon, but cost $250 more and yet feel much much cheaper.

This kinda reads like somebody on YELP leaving bad reviews for his competitors..

What gear did you try your cables on, how long were they in your system?

You bought the cables used any chance you got ripped off?

Have you tried contacting Rick at Ice Age about possibly receiving counterfeit cables on the used market? Maybe they are lamp cord wrapped up in the same tech-flex Ice Age uses?

Three to 500 $ is not enough snake oil you need to spend between 3K and 5K to get enough snake oil to hear a difference.

Here is one option (link). PC-OCC wire, larger than 10awg, and shielded.  It is a really good sounding cable for both pre/power amps and for digital gear.  Finish with Furutech FI-11M (Cu or G) or FI-15ME (Cu) plug, and Furutech FI-11M (Cu or G) or FI-15E (Cu) iec, and you are under $500 for something that is probably better than the finished cords you are looking at.  A blade knife, wire stripper, and screw driver are all you would need.  The cable even looks good as-is without techflex.  IMO a huge bang for the buck with the only downside being that it is a little stiff.  There are other pretty good bulk options, especially for digital gear where something smaller, like around 14awg would work fine but, for amplification, this Oyaide would be hard to beat.

Cullen Cables are quite good.  I own lots of them.  However, time is of the essence seems counterintuitive to Patrick’s timeline.  He is a one man show and my last round was quite delayed.  Great product, no hurry.  Good hunting.