Do power cords make an audible difference?

Yes, power cords make a huge difference. Without them you won't have any sound at all.

Geph0007, You have to always remember that audio gear is built to a price point. The fact that a component was voiced with a given power cord, tube, output connector, op amp, wiring, or whatever only seems relevant from the standpoint of a designer doing the best they can with the available budget. Plus, if a designer knows that their product is affected by power cord choices, I doubt they'd want to gamble on inflating the price point of the product knowing the vast majority of compulsive audiophiles are just going to start experimenting with alternatives. Not to say that more expensive parts always improve performance though. Al spells it out very well in his earlier post.

I'll add my two cents to this story. I was very skeptical over the effect a power cord could have on my equipment (Ayre) but I ordered three aftermarket cords just to see. I put all in at once. The system sounded worse (one dimensional). I was astounded that it could have any effect on the sound, but it was clearly worse. I repeated the experiment the next day with my wife and we both thought we heard a difference and it was worse. So I packed up the power cords and sent them back. Then I faced the dilemma- do I go on an endless quest to see which if any of the many power cords on the market would make my stereo (pre, amp and disc player) sound better or do I just leave well enough alone and go back to listening to music. I chose the latter and am happier for it.

Not sure about that as a rule. 10 years ago $5-$600 integrateds did not have sockets for aftermarket cords Now they all do. We are talking about the same pricthe ability to accept aftermarket cords.e points but now they suddenly have What does that say??

Hi there,Iam finding the plug on the end of the powercord makes a huge difference to the sounds aswell.Silver,copper,gold plus a few others.