I know how a lot of people are going to react to this: either it’s psychosomatic, or I’m the biggest sucker for snake oil in Outlawsville. I got a similar reaction when I posted an earlier thread on the LFM1 forum. But trust me, you can hear differences between stock and audio-grade power cords. I was a skeptic too, and in the interest of full disclosure, I am a former seller of snake oil to audio nuts. Back in the late 80s, I worked for one of the snootiest hi-fi stores in the country; so you could say I’m a little jaded after my three years in retail selling VPI magic bricks, $1,000 per meter interconnect cables and various clamps, cleaners and salves to guys with more dollars than sense. But after reading several testaments about the value of upgrading power cords and finding one such cord on sale, I thought I’d take a chance and try one in my system.

I read power amps and CD players are where the difference between power cords are most discernable. As my old Adcoms have a fixed power cord, an experiment with my mains was out of the question, so I decided to try the cord on the BASH amp in my LFM1.

After playing a couple of low bass tracks using the stock cable, I hooked up the PS Audio x-treme Prelude, then played them again. In each case the bass was tighter on the PS Audio cord. Where there was a one-note blare on the stock cable, I actually heard and felt ripples of bass playing the same tracks on the PS Audio. It simply was extracting more information or better articulating the bass notes. Another interesting observation was that I was also able to push the LFM-1 a little harder with the PS Audio cord. The last track of Kraftwerk’s Aerodynamik CD has the distinction of bottoming out my sub like no other recording I have tried on my system. I usually find myself having to lower the volume control on my sub below the halfway mark when I fire this track up or I risk audible rattle and chuffing; but with the PS Audio cord, I was able to turn the volume past the usual breaking point. Not hugely past, but more so than on the stock cable. I later tried the same experiment for my wife’s amusement (or lack thereof) and she noticed an improvement with the PS Audio cord as well. So I ordered another one.

The second cord showed up last Friday and was predestined for my CD player. With a greater frequency range at my disposal, this was the opportunity for the cord to real show what it was made of. Sure enough, the differences were quite noticeable. Center imaging was tighter and distance between instruments was greater with the PS Audio cord compared to the stock one. And the background was, in word, blacker. It was as if a thin layer of grunge was removed from the music.

On vocals (Sade, Love Deluxe), a raspiness in Sade’s voice could be heard in some passages that simply was not audible on the stock cord. Lip sounds, inhalations and other vocal inflections were also more pronounced and her head seemed sunk further back in the soundstage. Again, I grabbed my wife and performed the experiment over for her. I made a point not to tell her my observations, so as not to bias her opinion. She said she could tell a difference right away and, much to my surprise on the Sade cut, said “her voice sounds raspier.”

I can’t explain the basis of what’s behind the performance differences. Maybe the better cord is drawing power more efficiently. Maybe the connection is tighter in the wall outlet and on the equipment and I’m getting better current flow. Maybe it’s because the quality of materials is so much better than the stock cord (like the differences between good interconnects and the crap patch cords that come in the box). Who knows? All I know is… I’m ordering another one for my 970.