As usual, I am the lone voice in the wilderness on these sorts of topics. I was VERY skeptical of the upgraded power cord bit until I tried one myself. It did make an audible differnce, especially on my CD player. They are also commonly used on power amps, as they draw a lot of current. (Indeed, Steve McCormack suggests upgraded power cords for his amps -- I know that for a fact, as I have seen his posts on Audio Asylum.)

I recall aftermarket AC cords showed up on the marketplace when I was a retailer and I thought the whole idea was crock. So I waited almost 20 years before I bought one.

The same argumnet was bandied about then too... "What difference does it make when you've got miles of wiring ahead of it going to your outlet?" I don't know if I can give a solid electrical engineering explanation, but the fact is, the cords did improve things in my system. Heck, even my wife heard a difference on an A/B comparison -- especially on the CD player.

The improvements? It's as if a layer of grunge is removed from the music, background is blacker and a bit tighter imaging within the soundstage.

I plan on getting another one or two for critcal components. Evidently, Shunyata Research -- a leader in the power cord market -- has released a cord called the "Venom" which is not priced in the stratosphere. You can also order connectors and build a cord yourself. A lot of people swear by the Hubbel connectors. Blank AC cable that uses heavy gauge OFC cable is available from DH Labs.

Now I know my opinion on this is going to rankle the feathers of a few regular regulars on this board, but hey... before you rule these things out, for god's sake, give them a try! It's like people who say they hate Indian food and when you ask "have you ever tried it?" they say "no."

If it doesn't make a differnce in your system, you can always return it! Double check with the seller first. I think Audio Advisor is a pretty good retailer in that regard, but check before ordering.