100v,115v versus 230v

cakids,

Thanks, makes sense.

"That’s why electronic technicians keep one hand behind their back when working
on circuits with high voltages."

Wouldn't they be safer by disconecting from power?

"240 Volts is no joke."

But it is undeniably memorable. I lived to wonder if I had used all my life credits just on those events.

I am puzzled by the post claiming someone died after licking 9V battery. Is there any kid who has not done that? 4.5V is softer, but 9V should have not killed anyone just because of the battery.

jea48,

Thanks for your reply and explanation. Of course, you are correct. Those 240V outlets are from the time whole electrical thing was redone and were made just in case, for dryer and similar appliances (not for stereo equipment). I do have a turntable with dual voltage and I switched it to 110V and it has been working just fine.

jea48,

"Unless a piece of equipment, like a monster power amp, consumes more than 1440 volt-amperes continuous power it’s a violation of US electrical safety code to install a 240V branch circuit and receptacle in a US residential dwelling."

How does it go in real life? In the U.S.A., I have usual 110V outlets, but I do have a few 220V (240?), too. Granted, they are used for washer, air conditioning, etc., but I have a few unused ones, too. I have nothing to plug into them (except the tuntable that would then be too far so no need anyway), but I did not fully understand your post about "legality" of them even being there.

clearthinker,

I remember a note in the newspaper in Germany, before 2000 for sure, that mentioned intention to go up from 220V to 230V. It said "nothing will change but you may need to change your light bulbs a little more often".

I may be mistaken but I think that whole European Union is 230V at this point.

Two things that two people told me over time and I present them as I heard them.

1. In the U.S.A., safety was a concern (check millercarbon’s post above). That ended up with more Amperes for the same Watt number. More Amperes is allegedly somehow more problematic if anything goes bad in houses with lots of wood in their construction. More fires. Which then, just based on observation (not any kind of statistics) seems true. Houses in the U.S.A. are probably much more wood-based than those in most of the Europe.

2. Above mentioned poster is like a broken clock. He is correct twice a day. It is that time of the day, it seems.

The only way to find out the answer to OP is to cary the same amplifier to the place with both voltages. However, once you add some step-down/up transformer in the mix, are you sure you know what is influencing what you hear? I have 110 and 220 (240?) here. My turntable has both voltages. It runs the same speed at both voltages. Ok, a little cheating. It is quartz-controlled.