I'm sorry, but anyone who doesn't have direct and empirical experience on this subject should not be posting on this subject. I don't want to hear about your "scientific measurements" without at least some attempt at a real scientific method, which should require actually listening for yourself. Please, just try. It's easy and cheap enough to pick up some quality off the shelf shielded cable (belden 83802..) and a couple of quality connectors (really, any brand's hospital grade..) then sit back and listen.. huh.. sounds good! better then the stock cable! WHY does it sound better? I DON'T CARE. it just does. In the end, we're talking about MUSIC reproduction, and nothing else really matters.
Power cords
Is there any truth to the following which, as you can tell from the quotation marks, is not my brainchild (my brain is childless...). I picked it up from the site of a well respected amplifier manufacturer and trust I am not committing some sort of legal or moral transgression by reproducing it here:
"When you plug your power cord into the wall outlet you are in 'SERIES' with all the wire on the other side of the wall all the way back to the power source. The small length of power cord from the wall to the amp is insignificant compared to the miles of wire it is connected to. As long as the power cord can deliver the current and voltage required to drive the amplifier to full power it is as good as it can get."
"When you plug your power cord into the wall outlet you are in 'SERIES' with all the wire on the other side of the wall all the way back to the power source. The small length of power cord from the wall to the amp is insignificant compared to the miles of wire it is connected to. As long as the power cord can deliver the current and voltage required to drive the amplifier to full power it is as good as it can get."