Step Up/Down Transformers - Good or Bad?

Gregadd - "tube designs can sound quite neutral." Agreed, but would they still sound neutral without signal distortion? I think that the electrical distortion which creates the illusion of natural acoustic distortion, or tends to fill in the signal loss inherent to recording & playback, is part of what we like about our systems.

"...Agreed, but would they still sound neutral without signal distortion?..."

"Without signal distortion." That is neutrality defined. Second order harmonics is a pleasant distortion. But distortion none the less.

Second order distortion is not inherent in tube designs.

Gregadd - I'm giving up at this point. Regards.

Thanks for all the responses. Unfortunately I do not have the ability to put in a dedicated 240 line. I also discovered that the transformer I was given by the manufacturer of the amp to "solve my problem" apparently is quite inexpensive...less than $50. The more I read the above responses the more I feel that I have been put in a rather untenable position by the mfg. - sending the amp back to the mfg. to "re-wire" the amp will cost hundreds of $. To clarify, it was never agreed to when I bought the amp that it would not work on 110 volt power without using a transformer. I guess this is why buying product over a long distance is so risky.

Finally, the mfg swears that the transformer makes no difference in the sound of the amplifier. I seem to hear some high end hash from the amp which may be a function of the cables, but the high frequencies are beginning to, more and more, grate on my ears.

Glrtrgi. After you've had awhile to listen with the transformer why not do a test. I assume you have a clothes dryer in your place? Run a cord from that outlet to the amp and see if that changes the sound for the better.

If not, you have the wrong amp regardless of power and should look to possibly change. If the dryer outlet (220 volt) solves the grate on your ears problem, the transformer is not suitable.

The dryer cord should not be expensive and if you need additional length you can use Romex to hook up. If you're not comfortable with such things get a pro to help with the experiment. Even if you have to pay a bit it's better than getting shocked and better than being angry over your sound and not knowing what's the right direction.