About Strads: every Strad has aged for a couple of hundred years and was played extensively in its lifetime. Is any new copy going to sound the same, even if made identically?
About power cords: audio electronics as a whole, including power cords, are made by ee's according to the same design principles used in all other areas of engineering. Because of the sensitivity of human hearing and the extension of the dynamic range envelope in high end design, many low level noise variables become evident that are off the screen in other applications. Audio design budgets are not big enough to do the kind of R&D, together with mathematical modeling and testing, that is routinely done for similar high resolution problems in areas like aerospace or medicine.
It's important to try to reduce issues like power and vibration control to a reasonably well understood set of principles because without it, you are simply doomed to tweak forever, chronically repeating the same mistakes from person to person. Individual choice and taste will not disappear during the gaining of understanding.
About power cords: audio electronics as a whole, including power cords, are made by ee's according to the same design principles used in all other areas of engineering. Because of the sensitivity of human hearing and the extension of the dynamic range envelope in high end design, many low level noise variables become evident that are off the screen in other applications. Audio design budgets are not big enough to do the kind of R&D, together with mathematical modeling and testing, that is routinely done for similar high resolution problems in areas like aerospace or medicine.
It's important to try to reduce issues like power and vibration control to a reasonably well understood set of principles because without it, you are simply doomed to tweak forever, chronically repeating the same mistakes from person to person. Individual choice and taste will not disappear during the gaining of understanding.