Do powercords make a difference in sound?

let me add one statement which should end the discussion:

whether power cord a sounds different than power cord b in a stereo system is a function of a listener's perception. end of story.

i don't think it is necessary to justify one position or another.

oops that's two statements. sorry.

08-22-11: Zaikesman
I'll ask you your own question in modified form: If your impression of the sound of a speaker were to change with listening position (and of course it would), would you then conclude that the speaker "fails to exhibit consistent audible characteristics" and expect it not to necessarily display any similarities in another setting?

This is an interesting question, and one that had not occurred to me. My answer is of course no, I would not conclude from differences in sound from one listening position to another that a speaker fails to exhibit consistent audible characteristics. The reason is because I have some idea of WHY a speaker’s sound changes from one listening position to another, including things like the speaker’s radiation pattern, diffraction, room reflections, room modes, etc..

In the case of power cords, however, I have no idea why a power cord would sound different from one listening position to another. The whole idea is a bit of a puzzle to me. I think you mean something like this…

If you're sitting in one spot, you might react positively to a cord substitution that subjectively tightens the bass response. If you're sitting in another position, even with the same system, you might instead react more positively to a cord substitution that subjectively mellows the treble, or whatever…Remember, this is always in relation to the use of some other power cord; it's not possible to compare against no cord at all.

What puzzles me about this statement is the attribution of the differences heard TO THE POWER CORD ITSELF. I understand that, in situations where the introduction of a new component results in a change in the sound, there is a natural temptation to conclude that the change heard is attributable to the component introduced. But that is precisely the reasoning I was challenging in my initial post on 8/18, when I wrote…

…one of the most recurring flaws in the thinking of many audiophiles, namely that…

If using component X results in audible difference Y, then audible difference Y is attributable to component X.

On the face of it, this statement appears to be not only true, but self evident. But under quite common circumstances, it is false. Specifically, it’s false when the audible difference resulting from the use of a component is an EXTRINSIC characteristic of that component.

But now we're back where we started! :-o

Something tells me that we’ve come about as far as we’re going to. I appreciate your thoughtful comments, Zaikesman. This has been an interesting thread, and it’s piqued my curiosity to experiment further. It isn’t a consensus, but it’s something.

Bryon

Hi Byron, agreed that this can and should go no farther. However, just for the record (and perhaps a better understanding if I failed to make myself clear, which is probable), I never said that a power cord's sound changes with listening position. (As it clearly does with a speaker -- although of course a speaker can only make a sound at all when fed a signal that by necessity involves power cords, and more to my point, a power cord can only be heard through the lens of a speaker in a room at a listening position.) What I did say was that a listener's impression of a power cord's sound can change with their position. The word "impression" to me invokes subjective reaction, evaluation and judgement, both qualitatively and at the basic pro or con level.

I think much of this discussion focuses on power cord differences that are of low magnitudes. I have certainly experienced instances where I had to struggle to decide which I preferred. Finally, I decided to keep which ever pc I owned.

But I have also had experiences where hearing which pc was better is quite clear.

I think that if the power supply in your component is designed properly and the stock power cord has sufficient gauge to deliver the current demanded by the component there is no advantage to upgrading.