Should power cords for power amps be shielded?

This is just my opinion but I don't think a clear answer to your question exists.
I have used both on my power amp.

Pmboyd, I have tried this far 3 deliberately shielded or filtered wires on amps: Cardas Golden Ref (slightly warm with some stray intermodulation in the treble and gentle rise in the mid-lower bass), Shunyata Anaconda VX (removes very low level detail and has some intermodulation in treble), Purist Anniversary (slight rise and unspecificity in bass and not most extended in treble). I tend to prefer moderately or no-shield PCs like the already mentioned Shunyata CX KC, the somewhat shielded Furutech Evolution II, and the equally moderately shielded Furutech Hi Performance (bulk) series wires. They tend to be more open and paradoxically exhibit less artifacts in my system. On the other hand, one man's artifacts are another man's (or woman's) grails. . . thus my general caveats. G.

I have another thread on power cord wire.

Hello, Elizabeth. I see from your many initiated and answered threads that you have loads of experience, including DIY. To answer your questions, no, I don't have a tangle of cords, and yes, I use a power conditioner -- of sorts, a PS Audio Quintet. I use (unshielded) Audience cords on my front end (transport, tube dac and pre) and shielded (currently) on my ss monoblocks. Perhaps I
have the optimal arrangement reversed. I intend to replace my Diamondbacks with DIY and am looking for the best budget combo I can put together. Right now I'm considering DH Labs (unshielded), VH Audio (shielded), and Cryomax (shielded) wire, but am open to suggestions. Maybe it's six-of-one-half-dozen-of-another and I shouldn't be fretting about a choice. Besides attempting to understand sonic characteristics of the different types of wire -- coloration, extension, transparency -- I'm trying to get max bang for the buck.

The King Cobra is a ne plus ultra cable with 600 individual oonductors, I would expect it to sound fabulous compared to most other cords, shielded or unshielded. I believe Shunyata employs a mind-bogglingly elaborate conductor braiding to achieve the effect of standard shielding. There are exceptions to frustrate every "rule." I'm looking for guidelines -- generalizations about "most systems, most of the time."

I do not believe there exists a set rule about shielding of power cords on any amps, one way or another. Personally, I have experienced the most desirable results on my SS class D Bel Canto Ref 1000M monoblocks and Rowland 312 stereo amp with the completely non-shielded Shunyata King Cobra CX power cords, which IMO yield optimum nimbleness, resolution, extension, and authority, without emphasizing any particular region of the audible spectrum. On the other hand, other audiophiles may prefer cords with slightly different audible characteristics. . . some may be shielded. . . and some may be unshielded. G.