Wow this is getting really esoteric...PCs to Indian food!While we are at it we could also reckon on the probable sonic impact of garlic fumes on the ICs...just kidding folks!!
Njoy
Sunnyboy |
thanks for all the help guys, you've given me a lot of good things to think about. I also appreciate the food advice! I love indian food, so I should be in good shape.....thanks again. |
The food in the UK is more variable than in the US. Somehow bad restaurants stay in business longer in the UK. That said if you eat out based on personal recommendations I would say that the UK restaurants are slightly better than the US, if somewhat more expensive.
London is a bad city in which to "take a chance" with a restaurant, as many restaurants cater to tourists, not to repeat business.
And it always amazes me that people say that HiFi is more expensive in the UK than in the US. This is only true if you buy american or japanese made equipment. Why you would be buying US or asian stuff while living in Europe, though, is quite beyond me as European hifi is excellent. |
Nothing like a hot and spicy curry to get you fired up. The Indian food in the UK is a lot better than here. I've never had a bad Indian meal in London. On the other hand 8 out of 10 Indian restaurants I've been to here in the US are mediocre or crap. |
Food will not be a problem as far I had travel (several countries so far) America have the worst food :) (I'm talking only about taste, not about toxicity which is 10-20 time higher them in Europe, hundreds them in Asia).
And it is true about British equipment, I used to have ProAc Studio 100 speakers with Electrocompaniet (Norway), and my today's Thiel 3.6 with Clayton's does not sound that good to me (only bass is lower). They are lacking speed, harmonics and the most: enjoinment I had from British monitors. I thought that bigger, more expensive will be better. My old British CD player Arcam ALPHA 6 beats in spades SONY SACD 9000ES. So it is true a lot o money have to be spent to beat affordable British audio.
Not to mention London, I have felt in love with this town (I have seen a lot). I'm still looking for something I could compare it too. To no avail unfortunately. So enjoy. |
Moving to the UK?
I hope you like to eat breakfast and Indian food...otherwise, I hope you are a real good cook....... |
I second the PS Audio power plant but go for the P-500 or the older P-600, There is a switch inside the unit and that's it! no new power cords needed, and why your at it bring along a few good receptables like PS Audio power ports and you'll be dialed in. Make sure when you ship your equipment you pack all gear in double boxes with 3 inches of foam between first box and second box to avoid any hassels with insurance, also take pictures of items packed so if there is a claim you got the proof that items were packed properly. Good Luck! |
The PS P300 can be internally reconfigured (quite easily, I was told by PS Audio) to accept 240V and still output 120v. In fact the factory rep said this was actually preferable since the unit would be getting balanced power at the input. That way, for components running off the P300, you only need to get a single power cable with a UK male end and an IEC female end. |
or if possible, if you are there for a limited period of time, store your greatest possessions, and get a set up like the brits do, an affordable integrated, digital front end, speaker etc....and jam away, without worrying about conversion issues. If you are the type of audiophile I suspect, I am sure you would not mind plunging $1,000 in equipment, which you can enjoy and sell off through classified there. The brits seems to be all into that sort of affordable set up, maybe because they are cheap, or because most cannot afford anything more expensive, because, how it was well said, hi end is taxed to death there. I am sure that if you are a regular guy, you will be spending hundreds of USD just in shipping and let us not even talk about damage and hassle potential. So, I would take that course. Leave your gear safe, maybe in your relative's place. Go to GB, enjoy the sounds and sights, and do as the brits do. That is the best way perhaps solve this issue. Check HIFI choice etc...and you will know What I am talking about.
Recommend: Those used A21 Sudgen class A integrateds. They will sound smashing eventhough you might get a decades old unit. Pair it up with an Epos or another minimonitor and you WILL be in heaven. Doubt you will miss your behemoths. If I were you, I might even looking into esoteric European gear that is overpriced in the States as an interesting option. For this sort of gear, I would check HIFI plus, if I am not wrong, that has the same size as a Stereophile magazine, but it has a harder cover and it is not as shiny. They have GREAT reviews of excellent sounding and looking gear there.
Paul |
Very interesting posts I will face similar problem in some foreseeable future.
Seems it would be not worth for me to send my power amp to manufacturer in the future to change them form 110V to 220V for $400 if I can buy 2kW step down transformer for $200. (On the second web page I have even found 2kW for $89!
I have question though:
Is it the some to replace transformer inside amp, and to connect amp through one more step-down transformer, for the sake of sound quality?
Now using your step-down transformer power is traveling through 2 transformers, can you here any difference? |
I moved from the States to Paris 2.5 years ago, and was faced with the same problem (110V gear running on 220V). Fortunately some of my equipment (Quad and Revox) is multi-voltage, no problem there. The rest is 110V equipment, Including two 200W/channel power amps. I simply purchased a 2kW 220V/110V line stabilizer transformer (~$200). You can purchase the equipment from www.eastwestintl.com or www.220voltappliances.com. The other thing to remember is, HiFi equipment in Europe, especially high end gear, is a lot more expensive then in the USA. Bottom line, bring your equipment with you and use a voltage stabilizer step down transformer to run it.
However, one thing to consider, and I learned the hard way. Certain US high end manufacturers (Krell for certain in the last ~10 years, and, I believe Martin Logan and others) put a frequency sensing chip on the power input circuit. This senses if you are running 60Hz (US) or 50 Hz (Europe) mains voltage (irrespective if it is transformed down from 240/220V to 110V and will not work if the power source is 50Hz. Krell in France charged me $180 to have my Krell HTS converted when I experienced this problem. Check before you leave! |
What is good in the PSaudiP300 that you can adjust the hertz, while all other converters give you 50herz |
Step down transformers are cheap and easily available. In the UK you can try www.maplin.co.uk. You can buy a kilowatt step down transformer for less than 100 dollars.
The turntable might be the only tricky part, but check with all equipment manufacturers as some equipment detects the mains frequency and will not work if it is incorrect (e.g. Mark Levinson)
Overall I would not panic. I moved from the UK to the US a few years ago and changing country is a tricky business ... adapting the voltage on your hifi is the easy bit. |
Sell everything and buy Linn and Tannoy replacements. Just kidding. Thought I'd stir the pot a bit this morning. |
Depends on how long you will be there? Is this a short assignment or are you moving permanently.
If you're moving permanently I would recommend getting the transformer taps on your amplifier reconfigured for 220/240 VAC (assuming its a multi-voltage transformer). I say this because the performance of your amplifier will probably suffer if you use a step-down transformer instead of re-configuring, especially if its a high current unit. If you're using a step-down, pick a good one that weighs approximately the same as your amp and is rated 0.5KVA above your amp's rating. Your digital front-end and preamp don't suck too much power so you can plug these safely into the step down. |
Pack.... You can get a voltage converter for most items. But, motorized equipment such as turntables with AC motors will run at the wrong speed because of the 50HZ frequency. If you can get a frequency control device such as the one VPI makes for their TT you could use it on any AC device. DC motors aren't affected by frequency. |
Look at the PSAudio P300 model. It takes in anyting and has 120v output. |
