Using UK purchased equipment in the USA

[Benmc]

We have just moved to Dallas from the UK and the shipping container has arrived!

Does anyone have experience of 240v step up transformers in the US? I would like to run the following equipement

Gyrodec

rega phono stage

rega DAC

Primaluna prologue 1

Will the frequency difference hurt?

Appears if I was going in the opposite direction I would purchase an Airlink transformer but I can't find a US supplier.

Any help would be appreciated.

regards

Ben

 

[chipman]

I lived in Chicago for a few years and shipped all my gear from Europe.

There should be no issue using a step up transformer for the electronics.

You just need to check if your Gyrodec uses an ac motor if you have one of the first generation versions or a more recent one with a dc motor. No problem with dc but you'll likely need a frequency convertor from 60Hz to 50Hz.

You can get transformers from mouser.com an electrical component supplier a bit like RS

 

[Valvebloke]

Almost all the specs for step-up (and step-down) transformers tend to be available in the manufacturers' literature if you dig deep enough. So you can eventually find out whether you really will get the voltage you want from them. The one thing which is much harder to discover is how acoustically noisy they will turn out to be i.e. will they hum or buzz. This doesn't matter to 99% of the users but it can drive hifi listeners nuts. Of course if you can arrange to put it in the next room and run a cable through somehow then it won't be a problem. But if you'll have to sit in the same room with it then it might be worth trying to get a demo or a return-if-I-don't-like-it deal if you possibly can. Voice of experience I'm afraid ...

VB

 

[AmDismal]

What about getting a mains regenerator? Do they accept 110V?

 

[chipman]

What about getting a mains regenerator? Do they accept 110V?

This will solve the 50Hz/60Hz if this is a concern - PS Audio units (recent ones) allowed a setting range of 50-120Hz. Input at 110V is not a problem as their Power Plants were designed initially for the US but you will need to check with them if they can output 240V and I suspect an export model may be needed.

However, this is rather more expensive than a step-up transformer, especially if 60Hz is not an issue.

 

[AmDismal]

I was thinking of the Power Inspired ones - £200 for the 500W one. However, it operates on reduced power if fed with such a low voltage.