2. amps-preamps
  3. 1153002456

Using a 220v amplification equipment in the US

I am building a strictly 2ch system for my study- I have become very interested in the current chinese offerings as several friends in Europe have recently gone in that direction and are extremely happy with the result- particularly the excellent price/performance ratio.

Some of the equipment that has been recommended to me is not available in 110v and I am not entirely sure if performance will be compromised by using 220v units with a good adapter/converter (at least 500w)...

I was looking at a couple of interesting integrated amplifiers offered by NY Sound which in fact offer the model and/or brand I was looking at with 220v power supplies....I am matching this with a Musical Fidelity X-Ray v3 and tube buffer (110v) in terms of front end and eventually with either Harbeth or Gallo Ref3 speakers...

Would be very interested in your thoughts....
pgastone
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Not worth the trouble IMHO. The extra transformer required and electrical work. It will sound just the same (as it should do). (My stuff did when moved from 220 v to 110 V)
aram
98 posts
 
that Dussun V8 is built like a V8..lol..it is well-built and heavy which is good..it weighs 90 lbs..
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Putting in 220v dedicated circuits in your house (in the US) seems like it would be expensive because of the wire and plugs you'd have to use (or is that only necessary for dryers and electric ranges?)

Now, I don't know how they do 220V in Europe or Asia, but in this country it would mean that you are automatically feeding your components balanced power, which should really improve dynamics and reduce noise to nothing.
pgastone OP
79 posts
 
Thank you all for you responses- I think I would rather not delve into a techician rewiring the units internally- my thought is just to use an external converter/transformer that will covert the 110v from the socket to 220v...I also do not want to have a dedicated 220v line to my study as this would be very expensive....theoretically there should not be any deterioration though there is some 10hz difference in the AC cycle...this though should not affect an amp (vs a cd player or turntable)....
As of now I can't seem to find a reason why the units' performance would be affected.....
The specific units I am looking at are the shengya a202 intergrated and the Fomix integrated...have also been researching the Jungson JA88d (which is avail at 110v but at what seems to be an overly aggressive distributor mark-up)....
steveaudio
331 posts
 
To me, this sounds like the proverbial Rube Goldberg solution to a problem that doesn't even yet exist (your owning 220V equipment). There's really nothing available in 110V, new or used, as good as these Chinese components?
More to discover