Isolation transformers output voltage higher than wall


I have two iso trannies that both show 125 volts output when the input from the wall is 121 volts.  Is 125 volts potentially damaging to audio equipment or is this in the normal acceptable range? 

jc4659

Hi @cleeds - I think the difference between your numbers and mine is service (what the power company provides) vs. voltage at the outlets, no? The minimum acceptable voltage at the outlets I believe is therefore lower, as I interpret the data on the link site. Still, we are not in disagreement that the max is 126 VAC.

The difference is that the NEC allows for a certain amount of sag in the household.

 

@jc4659 Depends how fancy you want to get. Ideally the two are combined, so the isolation transformer and the AVR are the same transformer. Makes for less power loss and higher efficiency. The best place for a voltage regulator otherwise is after any isolation transformers.

I think it’s most important to isolate cheap wall warts and digital supplies. So put any Ethernet, Roku, gaming appliances outside your clean zone.

What are you measuring with? There could be as much as a five to six volt difference between true rms multimeters and averaging multimeters when measuring wall voltage. All multimeters are accurate with a clean sinewave power but not with wall voltage.

It's a small compact plug-in meter with a display. My wall voltage does not drift much. It typically is 121-122 volts.

I've seen those cheep plugins that were accurate and those that were not.  

Anyway, you've got nothing to worry about.  Other than your transformer may be doing more harm that good.  

Jerry

@carlsbad I always listen to music with which I am very familiar and if I sense the sound quality is compromised in any way then I won't use them.