@echolane I think that's a good call. Nice amp, but outside of someone buying it because it's their destination piece, it makes sense to not invest in it. The best move is often the one you don't make
Converting from UK power to US power
I found a used Musical Fidelity A3.2cr amplifier for sale in England that I would love to have because it’d be the perfect mate for my Musical Fidelity A3cr Preamp. But it’s wired for English power. I’m told I’d have to get the transformer rewired. Anyone know how complicated and expensive this might be to do?
The other option is to buy a step up or step down transformer and plug into that. That sounds fraught.
Opinions most welcome on either of these options.
The other option is to buy a step up or step down transformer and plug into that. That sounds fraught.
Opinions most welcome on either of these options.
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“IF” is the big word. I finally decided it’s too risky. It’s priced fairly high for a nearly 20 year old amp at $660 or so. On top of that it’s heavy, quite heavy, so postage from England will be pricey. Then paying a tech to do a conversion adds more to the cost. I’d do it IF I knew for sure, but even as a sure thing, it’s a pretty extravagant purchase. |
@georgehifi "If the power transformer of the A3.2 has multiple primary taps which is likely, then it easy to convert from 220v to 110v, should take 1/2hr for a tech at most." Well, I’ll actually second Chicken George’s preference on this one. The average tech can figure it out, and if has a set of 110V primaries, finish it all inside of a half hour |
echolane Far better and cheaper than buying a step-up transformer. If the power transformer of the A3.2 has multiple primary taps which is likely, then it easy to convert from 220v to 110v, should take 1/2hr for a tech at most. Cheers George |
Mgattmch, would love to read your article on the subject of step up transformers, but I couldn’t find it. Can you help me find it, please? I’m hoping it will not degrade audio quality. David12, The Musical Fidelity amp I’d like to buy was made around 18 years ago or so. Perhaps that was before more attention to world markets was the norm. I’ve even called Musical Fidelity about how to convert it to US power and they weren’t very helpful, other than the vague advice to get it rewired. That was too vague for me to take a chance on. |
Some pieces of kit can be converted at minimal cost. I have converted from US to UK voltage on a few occasions, without difficulty. It usually just needs an engineer to connect the transformer output to different taps on the transformer. Kit has to be made for world markets these days, so the same unit must service all markets |