Voltage conversion from 220V to 110V.

Why not run them on 220 volts?

Do you mean running a seperate dedicated 220V line to my listening room?

Would there be any advantage to that aside from not having to use a converter?

Besides, im thinking whatever money spent on an electrician doing that, I could just buy the US version.

A "separate dedicated 220 volt line" is not a big deal. Your clothes dryer, stove, and maybe your air conditioner and hot water heater all run on 220.

Actually, most electronic equipment is easily changed to use 110 or 220 (sometimes as easy as a switch or plug-in jumper).

If you need to hire an electrician the US model might be best.

I believe the 220 line will be a little "cleaner" than the 110. And the cost ($300 approx) of having an electrician install a dedicated one for you, depending on the length and difficulty of the "run", will probably be a fraction (20%)of the difference of cost, between the 110 & 220 models.
Good luck and good listening!

You may want to check with the manufacture of the Amps to see if they are dual voltage via way of a switch or internal tap change.If they are not,ask them about using 220\230 volt USA power.If the Amps are 220v 50 cycle only, I would ask if 60 cycle is ok.You may have more heat because of the difference in frequency.Make sure the power transformer winding insulation is capable of the extra heat if any.cover your bases before you buy.

Jea48...Why would heat be different for 50Hz and 60Hz AC power? Both would have the same RMS value.

I think that 50 Hz would theoretically require more capacitance in the power supply filter, because the ripple would be at a lower frequency. But I bet the difference is trivial.

dont worry about the cycle with the amp. is very important for digital(home theater only) not for analogue.

As stated above 220V is cleaner(less noise) than 110V.
The 220V lines are balanced and each of the two hot lines cancel the other one noise. My system was changed(Linn) was
changed from to 110V to 220V, by means of a switch at the back of each unit, I highly recommend the voltage change.
The sound improvement was noticeable. Hector.

Heres the specs from the unit as per their website......I dont see where it mentions the cycle. These are tube mono blocks. I would end up running a seperate line just for the amps because the rest of my system is 100V.

Output: 50W x 2
Output impedance: 4 Ohms, 8 Ohms
Distortion: <= 1%
Frequency Response: 18Hz-30KHz +/- 0.5db
S/N: >=95db
Input Sensitivity: 550mv
Tube types: EL34 x2/ 6N8P (6SN7) x1/ 6N9P (6SL7) x1
Measurements: 460 x 204 x 188 mm
Weight: 16 Kg x2 (gross weight: 19 kg x2)
Power supply: 220-230V

I dont think there is something as simple as a switch or pin the change it otherwise the seller would mention how easy it is to switch since this seems to be affecting his selling price.

Jea48...The "neutral" (white) wire in our 110 volt system is connected to ground only back at the fuse/breaker box. In the electronic equipment the input power goes only to the transformer primary winding which is floating (not connected to ground).

There might be a pilot light needing replacement or a dropping resistor. A schematic would help, but I doubt that you would have much of a problem making the conversion.

Jea48,

I use two hot legs and one neutral conductor. Since the line is a dedicated one I haven't had any hum problems. About the polarity, I guest that when I change the voltage selector switch the unit does make all of the necesary adjustments.

Some of the components use a Switch Mode Power Supply (Kairn-Pro & Ikemi), the others use a regular thoroidal
transformer (Klouts, Kudos & Av-5150). The transformers have dual inputs leads, my feling is that they are each propely wired(polarity) for each woltage. In my case it was easy, just had an electrician install the 220V line,
change the voltage setting on the units and replace the fuses, from 6.3A to 3.15A. Hector

Eldartford; yes I know the neutral is bonded to ground at the service panel only, and not at the equiptment.That could prove to be quite dangerous if it was connectd to the chasis.Just think what would happen if the plug on the equipt.was pluggeg into an old non polarized recept.with a ground cheater,and the polarity was reversed. You would have, ONE HOT AMP.You missed the point I was trying to make.

Hector, thanks for your answer.Got to ask!What is the neutral for? Or did you mean equiptment ground.It gets confusing some times. The neutral,white wire, is the grounded conductor.The green ,or bare,the equiptment grounding conductor. Jim

Jea48...Polarity of the AC power should be of no concern because the rectifier makes it into DC anyway. Power transformers that I have worked with don't even identify the primary and secondary winding wires as to polarity, so, short of running a test on every transformer as the equipment was being built, it is not always the same from unit to unit.

I remember when there were cheap table radios (and some other stuff) that had no transformer, and the metal chassis would be hot if the plug was in one way. Furthermore, the 2-prong plugs were not polarized either. These devices relied on their plastic cases to protect the user, but sometimes an exposed screw would be hot. The occasional tingle kept us alert!

El...tingle? I remember working on an old ( tuber back as a teen in the mid sixties, dutifully keeping one arm behind my back to ensure not closing a loop. Two hours later I woke up 10 feet away on the floor, with a bump on my head.
Later I noticed a red scratch on my neck.
Next day I returned to my basement lair and saw a piece of 16 gauge dangling at head height from a waterpipe as my "convenient" ground. But recently I taught my daughter (17) how to replace a duplex while still "hot"; jeez, ya think I have a subconscious motivation to avoid all those tuition bills? PHEW!

A schoolmate of mine nearly killed himself (really) with a Heathkit Geiger counter. Although the construction manual warned about the high voltages he figured "four D cells...how dangerous can it be?" Well those D cells fed a chopper and voltage step up circuitry whch produced I don't know how many thousand volts, with substantial charge stored in capacitors.

As a high school science project one year I followed POPULAR ELECTRONICS' schematic to make a hand-held battery-operated "muscle stimulator" that sent unsuspecting holder's arm muscles rippling when both hands closed the circuit. Of course I had to get stupid and put a pot on its transistor-controlled transformer, allowing the thing to jangle the arms of as many as a dozen people linked in a circle! Needless to say I wasn't allowed to demo it live a second time...nor did it win a prize. Pretty damned scary for a pair of AA batteries though!

Subaruguru,

Pretty irresponsible considering that the current path from one hand and arm to another is through the heart. You could have litterally stopped someones heart.

Eldartford, I posted this question on "AA'. I thought it might be of some interest.

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/general/messages/382738.html