Ching Cheng Power Cords

Thanks for the various "real" suggestions. And yes, I did use google... if you look at the actual results from Bill_k's helpful link, there are only 16 power cords almost all of which are used and none of which are under 18 gauge.

In any case, I ended up doing an ebay search for 14awg power cords and found some options.

Also, for your reading pleasure: http://www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/power-cables

I know that people will disagree, but it's good information to read, regardless.

I'm not saying it's impossible that power cords matter,
just that their argument makes sense, and given limited
funds, I'm happy to settle on an adequate product. The
Ching Cheng power cords are not only less expensive than
the cheapest audiophile cords, they're also good enough
that Pass is willing to ship them out with $10,000 amps.
If they made equipment sound bad, that simply wouldn't be
the case.

At this point, faced with the option of only
experimenting with the absolute cheapest audiophile cords
and 1000+ different opinions about which cords are
good/real/fake/snake oil, I'm happy to settle on a known
quantity backed by a reasonable argument (made by someone
who should be motivated to say that the cable does
matter; i.e., a cable manufacturer). That said, if I woke
up every day with another $3k in the bank, I'd happily
experiment with some top end PCs.

It's funny that people attack such an attitude.

And here, to balance out the thread (for your reading
pleasure):

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/powercords.html

That said cables IMO should be the last tweak done to a system once you've settled on the best you can afford.

~~~

Thanks, that is exactly the point, and the tact that I'm currently pursuing. Go with something sufficient until the equipment is all settled down, and then when there's extra money and you need something to play with, experiment with cables.

And yes, I knew that I'd get the above arguments... clearly amp manufactures can't afford to also include exotic cords, but they're also motivated to ensure that what you open up out of the box sounds sufficiently good so that you don't regret the purchase.

Anyway, thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. I'll come back to the thread and do some experimentation next time dropping $300-400 doesn't feel like it's taking a chunk out of the monthly income (unfortunately I have mono-blocks).

Funny this thread got resurrected.  I was using the CC cords and eventually upgraded to Furutech and DH Lab based cords once my system got to a good enough level.  They were a significant upgrade on most components.  The stock cord did actually sound better on a Pass XA25.  Switching the exact same cords on Coincident Frankenstein 300bs produced the exact opposite results.  As with all things, final results will be system dependent.