How can power cords make a difference?


I am trying to understand why power cords can make a difference.

It makes sense to me that interconnects and speaker cables make a difference. They are dealing with a complex signal that contains numerous frequencies at various phases and amplitudes. Any change in these parameters should affect the sound.

A power cord is ideally dealing with only a single frequency. If the explanation is RF rejection, then an AC regeneration device like PS Audio’s should make these cords unnecessary. I suppose it could be the capacitance of these cables offering some power factor correction since the transformer is an inductive load.

The purpose of my post is not to start a war between the “I hear what I hear so it must be so” camp and the “you’re crazy and wasting your money,” advocates. I am looking for reasons. I am hoping that someone can offer some valid scientific explanations or point me toward sources of this information. Thanks.
bruce1483
Albert - There is literally no conceivable reason why your Sony DVD player should benefit from a 12 gauge line cord. If your Purist cord does improve the sound it is because of some phenomenon outside the known laws of science. It is very similar to someone claiming that their car runs better when the gas is pumped thru certain brands of pump nozzels.
Look whos telling who what. Stevemj, when you have half the knowledge not to mention the equipment of Albertporter maybe someone will listen to you. Please tell me, are you saying Albertporter is hearing something that isnt there? Were you there? Is he lying to us? Your gas pump analogy is pathetic. So are your posts.
Stevenmj, I think a more accurate analogy would be to say that my car ran better because the fuel line size was increased, and therefore provided less resistance and lag time in supplying the energy source to the engine under high demand.

Your analogy (at best) would only represents the amount of time required to fill the fuel tank. And of course, this has no affect on final performance, unless there was an engine that used energy faster than it could be pumped in.
Not to take sides here, but its worth mentioning that current is drawn, not forced as the gasoline hose analogy would imply. All that is required is a cable with sufficiently low resistance that is able to provide the current when demanded. If 18 gauge doesn't adequately fit this bill, then a larger cable will likely be a benefit. However, the amount of current demanded by a DVD player is relatively small, and a 6 foot run of either 18 or 12 gauge copper wire should have very low resistance, so its likely that any differences you hear are probably due some factor other than the ability to carry current. I know that there are many theories about producing high quality power cables, and its possible that something is coming into play other than the absolute size of the wire.

Cheers,
Ken