Should I upgrade power cord for my preamp?

Get a STEALTH V12 upgrade asap.

Audio Advisor is a nice resource. I have bought from them indirectly via Amazon for same cost plus I get points on my Amazon credit card when I do it that way, which adds some value.

I love their catalog. Reminds me of the old Lafayette or Radio Shack catalogs except targeting good sounding audio, and no low level parts, like resistors and capacitors, though I think you will find a fuse or two maybe. :-)

Based on my limited understanding of how preamps work, it does not seem like it would make a sonic improvement.

One way in which it could make a difference is that the shielding it may provide could reduce noise that may couple into the preamp via the power cord, or (especially if the preamp includes significant digital circuitry) noise that may couple from the preamp via the power cord to other parts of the system. That would include noise components that are at frequencies above the range of audibility, but that may have audible consequences by "intermodulating" with signal frequencies.

So one thing I would look for in an upgraded cord is good shielding. As you appear to realize, particularly heavy gauge is unnecessary (assuming the preamp is not one of those having a monster power supply drawing large amounts of current), and might even be counter-productive per Lowrider's comment.

Also, I would not assume that more expensive = better results. See this thread for further discussion of that, if you are interested.

Finally, a number of members here, including me, have been pleased with modestly priced Signal Cable power cords and cables. They offer excellent value, confidence-inspiring technical characteristics, and 30 day return privileges (less two-way shipping). I would suggest contacting Frank at Signal Cable and asking if he feels that his Magic Power Digital Reference Power Cord would be a suitable match for your preamp, even though it is nominally intended for use with digital components. A reason I suggest that cord in particular is the double shielding it provides.

Regards,
-- Al

Thank you all for the insight. I should have said up front that my preamp is a c2300 by Mcintosh, which I believe has some condition device built in.

Shielding is important. Thanks again.

For pre-amp and source devices, especially digital,its all about noise control/reduction.

For power amps, its more about current delivery.

I use Pangea ac14se on both my ARC sp16 pre-amp and mhdt Constantine DAC at present. Each seemed to make things better, which I woudl attribute mainly to the shielded design of this model specifically for line level applications.