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The topic of audible effects of power cords has come up several times, and has just as frequently devolved into a Monty Pythonesque argument clinic of "You're imagining things!" "No, you're deaf!"
The primary proposed benefit of "audiophile" power cords is superior rejection of power line and airborne noise artifacts. So, why not devise a test that would eliminate all variables EXCEPT the (perhaps hypothetical) effect of different power cords on the noise floor of a component?
Hook a mid-priced integrated amp or receiver (with removable power cord) to a pair of efficient speakers. Place the speakers right next to each other, or turn the balance control all the way to one channel. Have NO signal source connected, and preferably cap/shield all the input jacks. Turn the volume up to max, and listen closely to the speakers. Whatever hum, hiss, or buzz you hear, however quietly, is the noise floor of the amplifier.
If you have the test gear and an extremely quiet/ sonically isolated room, you could place a very sensitive mic up to the speaker and run a spectral analysis of this noise.
Now swap power cords, without changing any other variables. Listen and measure. Does the background noise of the amplifier change in any way -- absolute dB level, frequency balance, or harmonic structure? Try this with as many cords as you have on hand, especially generic cheapos vs. fancy shielded, heavy duty types.
If there is absolutely no audible/measurable difference in the noise with different cords, then (A) different cords are unlikely to have any effect upon the sound of the system when playing music, or (B) the experiment is flawed and looking for the wrong thing.
If objective differences ARE detected (for instance, lower noise, overall or at particular frequencies, with a particular cord), then the debate remains open as to whether this difference in background noise would be audible while listening to music at normal levels. It becomes more of a princess-and-the-pea situation: how MUCH resultant difference in SN ratio can someone hear? I'm not sure I'd be able to, but my gut feeling is that there may be a few princesses out there who really CAN feel the pea through the seventeen mattresses.
The primary proposed benefit of "audiophile" power cords is superior rejection of power line and airborne noise artifacts. So, why not devise a test that would eliminate all variables EXCEPT the (perhaps hypothetical) effect of different power cords on the noise floor of a component?
Hook a mid-priced integrated amp or receiver (with removable power cord) to a pair of efficient speakers. Place the speakers right next to each other, or turn the balance control all the way to one channel. Have NO signal source connected, and preferably cap/shield all the input jacks. Turn the volume up to max, and listen closely to the speakers. Whatever hum, hiss, or buzz you hear, however quietly, is the noise floor of the amplifier.
If you have the test gear and an extremely quiet/ sonically isolated room, you could place a very sensitive mic up to the speaker and run a spectral analysis of this noise.
Now swap power cords, without changing any other variables. Listen and measure. Does the background noise of the amplifier change in any way -- absolute dB level, frequency balance, or harmonic structure? Try this with as many cords as you have on hand, especially generic cheapos vs. fancy shielded, heavy duty types.
If there is absolutely no audible/measurable difference in the noise with different cords, then (A) different cords are unlikely to have any effect upon the sound of the system when playing music, or (B) the experiment is flawed and looking for the wrong thing.
If objective differences ARE detected (for instance, lower noise, overall or at particular frequencies, with a particular cord), then the debate remains open as to whether this difference in background noise would be audible while listening to music at normal levels. It becomes more of a princess-and-the-pea situation: how MUCH resultant difference in SN ratio can someone hear? I'm not sure I'd be able to, but my gut feeling is that there may be a few princesses out there who really CAN feel the pea through the seventeen mattresses.
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