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Moving From USA Overseas... Looking For Advice re: Electrical Service and Gear

hello all,

i'm moving from the USA to Vietnam (220V / 50 hz) and am looking for some advice on the best and safest way to hook up my system out there.  the area i'm moving to - district 2 in ho chi minh city - apparently has power outages monthly.  any advice on safely running my gear out there would be appreciated.

  • is it better to have my gear converted to 220V, or simply use a 220V - 120V step down transformer?
  • should i use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS / battery backup) or is a good surge protector sufficient?
  • is it possible to use a step down transformer in line with a UPS, ie, wall to UPS, UPS to transformer, transformer to gear?

as you can see, i have no idea what's the best and safest way to run USA spec equipment in Vietnam and would appreciate all inputs and recommendations.

thanks!
Scott 
srosenberg

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
16,678 posts
 
inna,

As far as I know, PS Audio did a lot of listening tests and modeling of power supplies. They concluded at the end that while they could make things sound different it wasn’t really better.

Their current units actually provide the equivalent of a high voltage source. They flatten the top and bottom of the sine wave, providing more current during those periods, giving power supply caps longer time at peak voltage, which would translate into better charged caps. This is a cute trick which raises the Vrms without raising the Vpk-pk.

I think they decided at the end of the day that all the additional flexibility wasn’t worth it. I would agree, but I would prefer the pure sine wave outputs.

Best,


Erik
erik_squires
16,678 posts
 
Battery’s are no cure-all. They have a lot of effective source resistance, unless you use a car battery type device! :)

Dear god, please don’t use equipment designed to be grounded in an ungrounded situation! At the very least add GFCI protected outlets. They do not require a ground to work and will keep you from dying if an internal shock develops.

However, those grounds are life-safety grounds. They protect you from shocks and middle of the night fires which kill your family and pets. They should never be circumvented.

Companies like Pangea who allow this to happen with their products are just 1 accident away from being sued out of existence. 

Best,

Erik
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