Power cords at ridiculous prices?

Drubin, I have a few different cords right now in use. Synergistic AC Reference on my Classe amps, MIT Z- Cord II's on my ML Quest Z's, AQ12's on some source components (all cords bought used). I'm as guilty as the next in tweaking, I'm with George on fiddlin' with good gear, rather than swapping out perfectly good stuff. My point is, even with a generous budget, it can begin to get silly some of the "black magic" claims made, with no logical engineering principles to support the apparent claims. My observations are well supported, look how many "high end" power cords are on Audiogon on any given day. To each his own? Yep...

I use a Cinepro Line Balancer, whose creator, Eric Abraham, says that it makes power cords less important. Still, when I tried a Stealth HAC power cord, the improvement was very obvious. At well under $200, with a 30-day money-back guarantee, I think it's foolish to be guided by theory and decide one way or another about whether, and how much, power cords matter. Like so much else in high end audio, your ears are, and should be allowed to be, your primary guide.

Best not to try to categorize us.We all do this with different budgets,and while your statements represent your feelings;don't assume you know the rest of us and or prioritize our expenditures. I'm pretty sure many will agree with your thinking;no problem with that.I have some where near1,000 cds;the same count for lps.So improving what I already have is more important---to me.I have a plethrora of power cords ranging from just under 100 to 2,000.And yup,you get what you pay for.I don't figure one should put the 2k cord on a 1k piece.If your equiptment is up to it you will hear what you paid for.The advantages of powercords are twofold.You can improve your cd player,your dvd player your pre amp for lp playback on & on;and you get to keep it if you sell a piece.For my money,something to improve what I already have is better than 5grand for a sacd player as an example.--your milage may vary.

Your points are all well and good, but try a Powersnake or other highly-touted aftermarket cord, then get back to us. --Dan

At the very least, if you're to the point of spending $1K on a power cord, it makes a person wonder how much has been invested in the whole system. If I was at the point of having $1K to spend on my system, was convinced that a power cord could/would make a difference, and was furthermore convinced that the difference it made was the next most significant thing spending a grand on my system would yield, I'd still be hard-pressed to justify to myself, much less anyone else, that the enjoyment of the improvement exceeded the enjoyment I'd get from purchasing 100 CDs with the same money. Maybe that's the difference between "audiophile" and "music lover".