Audiophile General Power Outlet (GPO)

[agent_kith]

Hey AK: 'Measurements' aside, I'd strongly recommend the thinnest/leanest AC power cable for use with hi-fi gear; respecting Amperage requirements.
Here in Canada (North America) properly insulated #18 guage (X3) copper wire is good for 10-amps, #16awg -12A and #14awg -15A.  

Unnecessarily thick, heavy, bulky, expensive #8-#12 guage (AC power) wire -with concomitant thick, crappy insulation and (almost without exception) heavy shielding -double/triple- are the WORST sounding. By far.

I don' t like thick cables because they don't flex well. Or thin cables that don't flex (e.g. the Beldens)...

Right now am using Clear Audio Diamond cables, which are resasonable gauge and have a good bending radius.

Changes to sound ? You bet ! For the better. Absolutely not. Simply listen.

Many people said that.

From my experience the reason why some after market cables actually sound worse is because it is revealing more details. Sadly, as the system gets better and better (or tuned to a specific audio signature), the pool of good music gets smaller. Something that used to sound pretty good may sound worse once the system gets better. This is more noticable in hifi gear (macro). Power cables are more in the micro realm.

As an example, there's this power cable (the brand escapes me for the moment). When used it made me very aware of human breathing (can a problem if close mic'ing). The constant breathing in/out becomes a distraction for me. And I just can't use that cable. That makes me even more aware of singers' breathing technique. If you listen to old albums, some vocal artists barely makes a noise when breathing in. Modern singers sound like a freight train at times.

Of course it depends on the genre of music too.. e.g. if you listen to a lot of jazz materials. That breathing IMO is a plus.

The second issue is timbre. Power cable changes can affect timbre. Discering timbre is a skill I am still learning so I can't really say much here..