Do powercords make a difference in sound?

there are many discussions on thie forum categorized by component type. people ask for advice.

however it has been shown in the psychology and sociology journals, that people vary in their suceptibility to be influenced by others.

riesmann coined the terms "inner directed" and "other directed".

i suspect that inner directed audiophiles will do what they want regardless of what others say, while other directed audiophiles arem more easily influenced by the comments they read and will buy based upon reccomendations.

some people ask a question for the sake of eliciting opinions and creating a discussion or debate, but have no intention of acting on any suggestions they read. what a waste of time to do that.

so, a question to ask is are you other directed or inner directed ? this question could be a theme and may be one soon.

Another thought strikes me; is it possible, Liguy, that you have been comparing/using power cords which are somewhat similar in characteristics? i.e. Aftermarket 14 total gauge with stranded conductors, vs. your 12 total Ga. with stranded conductors?

The reason I ask is that if the power cords you have been comparing have similar characteristics, then it is very likely that you would have a difficult time hearing differences between them. I can see a situation in which you replaced a stock power cord with a Home Depot DIY and found little difference. However, I would submit that this is not the best test of power cords, and that there are many more options available. i.e. A PC with 9 or 10 tot. Ga., or one with silver OFC conductors, etc. You would perhaps find it interesting to try a Wireworld lower end PC with silver coated prongs on the plug.

Maybe you have compared a wide variety of PCs but if not, then this is perhaps a legitimate reason why you are not hearing differences! I have conducted comparisons between PCs which sounded very similar and they were in fact similar in construction/design. That may be part of the answer to our disagreement. :)

From Wikipedia:

The high-end audio cable industry markets oxygen-free copper as having enhanced conductivity or other electrical properties that are significantly advantageous to audio signal transmission. However, conductivity specifications for common C11000 Electrolytic-Tough-Pitch (ETP) and higher-cost C10200 Oxygen-Free (OF) coppers are identical.[8] Much more expensive C10100, a highly refined copper with silver impurities removed and oxygen reduced to 0.0005%, has only a one percent increase in conductivity rating, insignificant in audio applications.[8] OFC is nevertheless valued by audiophiles for both audio and video signals in audio playback systems and home cinema.

Doug: I can't help but notice you've name-dropped Wireworld cords a couple of times. One of the cords that I tried and got rid of the quickest was their Silver Electra III+ (or some such). Didn't dig it on anything, despite its maybe having been the most expensive cord to pass through here. OTOH, a local Agonner of my acquaintance once bought one of my preferred cords based on my liking it, but didn't feel the same and wound up selling it to me! So I think IMO & YMMV are clearly the watchwords here...

Douglas_schroeder stated:

Another thought strikes me; is it possible, Liguy, that you have been comparing/using power cords which are somewhat similar in characteristics? i.e. Aftermarket 14 total gauge with stranded conductors, vs. your 12 total Ga. with stranded conductors?

Doug,

That IS an interesting thought. I am an open minded guy. My next club meeting is near the end of the month so maybe I can borrow some different cords from some members and have a listen and report back.