Should the better AC cable be used on Amp? Source?

Another factor is what kind of components you are talking about. Some are less susceptible to power cord changes. What kind of CDP and amp do you have?

When I used my Pass xa30.5 and Modwright Oppo 83, I found the Oppo to sound better when I used a better power cable on it.

For critical listening I find two approaches that work best for me:

1. Choose a well recorded song you are very familiar with and only play a short portion of the song which highlight some key area like bass, piano and vocals. Maybe for 30 sec to 1 minute worth. If it is too long then it clouds things. You can even right down how you think it sounds. Then switch cables and try it again. You are doing to have to go back and for a few times with this until you can hear the difference.

2. The other way is to leave it in there for 2-3 weeks and to just listen casually and see which one you enjoy more.

''Replies and opinions will be all over the map''

I think that this statement in itself says a lot about the lack of consensus on this question, and therefore is probably the best answer too.

It would be great to have a remote-controlled switch box to do some A-B testing right ? They could actually be loaned by dealers in making the right choice easier - or rented out !

You can make it very easy for yourself. You use about 5 numbers you know very well. You first put the better cable on the source. Later you do the opposite. Normally a cable has more influence on a source. There will be situations that the amp will do more. Wenn you use a cable with a better AWG, you will get a better result on poweramps.

My best Pcord genesise 1.1 has always Been on my cd and for over à year i was quite happy with the Sound.Last week having read the subject i dividendes to have à truc and that´s what i did so i plugged it to my power distributor to feed all what was connected,every item took the full benefit of it except my amp plugged to ac wall the Sound dramaticly changed infact it did creat Space between each instrument ...3D Sound . the power cord is still i did not change this configuration the whole system is breathing à pur oxygene.thx to you.

I think we've all been where you are at one point in time.

I always felt it was better to put the more robust cable on the device that drew the most power, which was mostly the amp.

But as has been expressed, sometimes using it on the pre amp had it's advantages also.

So, what I did was bite the bullit and traded in the lesser cable so that both cables were the same.

I ended up replacing all my power cords with the same brand and after a careful audition settled for the top of that line.

It's an expensive way out of the conundrum, but in the end it's been worth it.