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

I lived in Vietnam for several years in 2000's and brought my audio gear from the US with me. I bought a step-down transformer over there to use with my gear and never had any problems. I had the transformer customized a little bit and I think I paid around $100.00 for a 2 KVA. One thing you may want to be aware of is that most power outlets over there are ungrounded, so sometimes you get very light electrical shock when you touch certain part of your equipment. My suggestion is to negotiate with your landlord to have the outlets grounded. And remember to bring a few 3 to 2 prong adapters. You can find them there also. Let me know if you have other questions. 

Great advice,....thank you!

I live abroad as well and greatly appreciate the topic and al's advice. I have used a Chinese step down converter to a monster surge protector to my amp for six years without a problem. The advice on grounding is good - I'm not grounded in my current house as it's very old and we do get mild to medium shocks which are a bit scary.

My next location is grounded but has power outages so I'm thinking of adding a ubs to the mix.

I wonder why battery power hasn't taken off for the audio world as it would solve a lot of problems. I used Vinnie rossis red wine battery amp and loved it. Was great for living abroad as it didn't require voltage conversion. 

Does anyone one know if a ubs which could power a decent sized amp? 

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

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