What was the first power cable that you noticed a difference in the sound?

The first power cord that really impressed me was the Synergistic Master Coupler. Before that, I always thought that all that was needed was AC and a power cable. "Afterall, with the miles of AC cabling running from the power station to my house, how can a 5-foot cable make a difference?"

Decades later, I am deep into power cords, conditioners etc. It is ironic though, even with all we now know, there are still those who claim the same as I uttered so many years ago,

ozzy

@magnuman OP is looking at $500.00 and under. Never heard these cables or of them. Interesting. 

@panzrwagn  right, I'm not saying it was apples to apples with the OP's question, but impressive a/b considering they likely weren't using zip-wire from Bestbuy  before the swap.

When my system was more basic (Parasound pushing B&W 6xx, or QSC ProAmps pushing Maggie 2.6, both pushed by a Marantz pre/pro and a Bryston pre/pro in swaps) I used Bluejeans cable (nearly 20 yrs ago I bought belden+carare setups from them) and off the shelf IEC power cables.  Amp swaps and pre/pro swaps made a difference. Cables... well, I tried swapping friends higher end cables vs. my bluejeans and I couldn't  hear a difference at the time.   Did I hear a difference moving to BJ vs. the translucent 16ga zip speaker wire and $2.00 RCAs, yup, but not between 2 "upgraded cables" since the rest of my system was what it was. 

I'm now running a BAK tube preamp and a Purifi powered amp (soon to be monoblock Purifi amps) pushing Tekton speakers and I can definitely hear the difference between 2  well regarded sub $1k DACs...  hmm, so things are getting more revealing.

Last month, I got a Puritan PSM156 and think my system sounds better with it, than without.  

As my system gets a lower noise floor, a larger SnR and more resolution, I "fear" I'll finally be able to hear differences in "real" cables... we'll see.  I run Mogami XLRs and speaker cables now... but a 'hifi brand's' black friday sale had me buy a few new ones to try, so holiday season listening should be fun.

@pureclarity  One of the other contributors to this thread has stated the exact opposite to your contention that front end equipment is where better PC's  make the biggest difference.   Got to love this forum for clarity and consensus, 🤣

Jacobsdad2000,

You've never heard of OCC single crystal where have you been? OCC single crystal was proven over 50 years ago to be the best wire for audio and the new rectangular stuff is even better than the round OCC check out Neotech rectangular wire.