2. misc-audio
  3. 1001275683

110V/50Hz equipment in a 220V/60Hz country.

Hello,

I am living in the US, where I have
bought a couple of decent pieces
of high end equipment. I am considering
buying a couple more pieces, at a higher
price level, to upgrade my system, but have
the following problem: I am from Europe,
and there is a good chance I'll be
back in Europe in the next 2-4 years.

What are the acceptable options
regarding stereo equipment if I move,
apart from selling everything except
the dynamic speakers and starting
from scratch?

Given the difference in cycles,
is simply buying transformers
for voltage conversion
an acceptable option? Other options?

The equipment in question is
pre and power amp, SACD,
DVD-V and A, tuner.

Thank you!
vas

Showing 1 response by ronslam

ronslam
8 posts
 
I am in Australia (240v/50Hz), and have had some experience with your dilemma. With most US made equipment, changing to a different voltage has been thought of in the original design. Some make it extremely easy (I have a Rowland preamp with dip switches for different voltages), some fairly easy (e.g. Pass Aleph 3 required a jumper resoldering), a few will require a new internal transformer (if you dont want to use an external one). Almost every company I have asked will respond to questions about how to reconfigure their equipment. The rare exception being Spectral. I use a Spectral power amp through an external stepdown transformer without any problem. I am unable to say if the sound is degraded, but I am happy with it. Any equipment made in a 220/240v country is more likely to be easily changed (e.g. Plinius, YBA amps)
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