imhififan,

This is so helpful. many of us on this forum have reasons to thank you. I am gonna make these changes and report back if it worked. Do you also suggest changing the fuse and amplifier power cable to meet new current requirements? I am not able to locate the fuse though.

Regards,
Abhishek

Do you also suggest changing the fuse and amplifier power cable to meet new current requirements? I am not able to locate the fuse though.

Yes, for safety reason, changing the main fuse is a must!
Usually you can find the fuse on the power switch pcb or soft-start board in a Accuphase integrated, and its clearly specified the fuse rating requirements on the board.
For power cable, you can either buy a new cable or some kind of plug adapter, I always found Accuphase cable are good enough for my use.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61KBr4YNf6L._AC_SL1500_.jpg

I am gonna make these changes and report back if it worked.

Before you swiping the wires, measure the resistance across tap 2 and tap 4, after conversion the value should be about 4 times higher.
https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/uploads/monthly_06_2014/post-116892-0-01154100-1402272457_thumb.jpg

I also strongly recommend to use a 230V 100 watts Incandescent light bulb in series to power up the amp at the first time after voltage conversion.
If anything goes wrong the light bulb will simply light up instead of dimming and save the amplifier from any damage.

I can confirm the given wiring diagram works for 100v and 230v for E-260. I changed mine to 230v. I must note that the system required some 20-30hrs of burn-in after the change.
Thank you @imhifiman

Regards,
Abhishek

Abhishek,
Glad I could help

Hello imhififan,

I got an Accuphase E-270, I also want to covert the voltage, here is the picture

 

Would you know it the same as E-260 setting and just change the new cable color? Thanks.

Is that to say if I buy luxman cl38uc directly from Japan,we can change the voltage by ourselves to 120V ?

@frankhhh

I believe E-270 basically has the similar connection, Accuphase changed the color code on E-270 primary winding wires from E-260.

Sorry I can’t see the color very clear from your picture, please confirm if the setting shown on your picture is 100V Japan voltage? and also confirm if the colors are correct as following:

Pin 1 = None

Pin 2 = Yellow

Pin 3 = Orange + Black

Pin 4 = Brown

Pin 5 = Blue

Pin 6 = Red + Gray

Pin 7 = None

BTW, below is a picture similar to E-260 primary winding color code, except the blue wire should be violet on E-260.

Once you confirmed which wire belongs to which primary winding by a DMM, voltage conversion should be quite straightforward.

 

 

Hello imhififan, 

 

Thank for your reply, It is 100v setting and right color.  Below picture is more clear. 

 

Thank a lot.

Thanks @frankhhh for posting the pictures of E-260 and E-270.

If I understand you correctly, E-260 and E-270 primary winding color as follow:

winding on E-260 / E-270

1. 120V orange / yellow

2. 100V red / orange

3. 0V gray / red

4. 120V yellow / brown

5. 100V brown / black

6. 0V white / gray

7. T. fuse violet / blue

If above color code is correct, the voltage settings of E-270 should be as below ( pin numbered from left to right according to provided picture ):

120V setting : pin1 = None, pin2 = orange, pin3 = yellow + brown, pin4 = black, pin5 = blue, pin6 = red + gray

220V setting : pin1 = black, pin2 = yellow, pin3 = orange, pin4 = red + brown, pin5 = blue, pin6 = gray

230/240V setting : pin1 = black, pin2 = orange, pin3 = yellow, pin4 = red + brown, pin5 = blue, pin6 = gray

 

 

Hello imhififan, 

Yes, I think the color mapping should be as detailed as you describe

Then I jump to 120v setting and it can work. The output voltage become about 49v(maybe my AC input is only 115v)

Thanks for your great help.😄

I'm glad everything worked out fine.

🥂

@frankhhh

As I mentioned, confirm which wire belongs to which primary winding by a DMM!

If convert 100V to 220V or 230/240V, you need to 100% sure the resistance between gray wire and blue wire is 0 ohm, use a ohm meter to measure before connect the gray wire to pin6.

 

Hello imhififan,

OK, Got it.

My current requirement is 120v, thanks for your reminder.

 

@imhififan 

@frankhhh 

i sent you a direct message. Thanks

@jgore 

The message system does not support links, why not post them to this forum?

 

Hi @imhififan 

i just have a question regarding the conversion on the e-270. 
If following the voltage conversion table to 120v from the e-260 service manual, and apply the rewiring on the e-270, it turns out that pin 2 should be black and pin 4 should be orange. 
as both cables are 100v, I’m wondering if there would be any difference from your proposed cabling scheme above?

Thanks so much. 

If following the voltage conversion table to 120v from the e-260 service manual, and apply the rewiring on the e-270, it turns out that pin 2 should be black and pin 4 should be orange.

@jgore 

Pins 2 and 4 are not connected to any part of the circuit, they are there to house unused wires. So it doesn’t matter if the black and orange wires are on pin 2 or pin 4.

Connect the yellow and brown wires to pin 3 to set the voltage to 120V.

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much @imhififan 

does it matter which wires go on top and on the bottom of pin 3 ? 
also, is it possible to use my synergistic research purple fuse on the e-270 ? 
the fuse is currently used on a 120b Hegel H190 and it’s rated at 10AT ( slow blow)

Thanks again for your support  

 

does it matter which wires go on top and on the bottom of pin 3 ? 

It doesn’t matter.

the fuse is currently used on a 120b Hegel H190 and it’s rated at 10AT ( slow blow)

IIRC, the fuse in the E-270 is 5A slow blow, your 10A SR fuse will not provide desired protection.

 

Thank you @imhififan , appreciate it.

Hello @imhififan,

Hope this message finds you well. I am a young lad from France and love vintage Hifi gear. In 15 days, I will be visiting Japan and would like to buy an Accuphase E303. Do you think that the wiring system is similar and that it would be possible to convert it to 230V AC ? Below, you can find some of the pictures that I found on Internet. 

 

Thank you very much for your answer and for sharing your knowledge with all the forum members 🙏🏽

 

Best regards,

João Ferreira

 

P.S. If you know these devices, which one do you prefer? E202 vs E303? Do you think they can marry well with a pair of Ditton 66? I have currently a Citation 16+17 and I am not happy with the result. Thank you

@joaop_ferreira

Welcome to the forum!

I will be visiting Japan and would like to buy an Accuphase E303. Do you think that the wiring system is similar and that it would be possible to convert it to 230V AC ?

Yes, you can download the service manual at https://elektrotanya.com/accuphase e-303, It shows voltage conversion.

If you know these devices, which one do you prefer? E202 vs E303?

IMO, Accuphase's newer models generally have better specs than their predecessors, and I would choose the E-303 over the E-202.

Do you think they can marry well with a pair of Ditton 66? I have currently a Citation 16+17 and I am not happy with the result.

Sorry, I have no experience with Ditton 66. Maybe other forum members will climing in to give you advises.

 

 

 

@imhififan 

 

Thank you very much for answering so promptly. I will look into it and try to find a nice unit in Japan. I will let you know. 
 

 

Hi @imhififan 

I have successfully converted my E-270 from 100v to 120v thanks to your help. However, I keep wondering how come the conversion doesn’t affect the voltage output that goes into the internal components?  Is the internal power transformer designed to provide the same voltage output to the components regardless of the input, whether it’s 100v or 240v ? Thanks again for your help. 

@jgore 

You're welcome, glad I could help.

The function of the power transformer is to convert the mains voltage into the operating voltage required by the amplifier. It all has to do with the "turns ratio" of the primary to secondary windings. For example, the amplifier requires an operating voltage of 50V, while the mains voltage in Japan is 100V. To obtain 50V voltage, the primary and secondary winding turns ratio should be 2:1. For 120V North American mains, to obtain the same 50V secondary output voltage, the turns ratio should be 2.4:1; for 240V countries, the turns ratio should be 4.8:1.

Accuphase designed the power transformer primary winding with different turns ratio taps so we can connect the mains voltage to the designated taps to get the same secondary winding voltage.

Thanks so much @imhififan 

Hi @imhififan

Sorry for bugging you again.

Since my E-270, which I converted to run on 120v, won’t receive any service support in the US, I’ve been careful to ensure it lasts as long as possible. To achieve this, I always unplug the power cord when it’s not in use. My reasoning is to prevent the primary windings of the internal power supply from being constantly energized with 120v, which could potentially shorten its lifespan by continually converting it to 50v.

Am I correct in thinking this way? If the power switch is responsible for supplying 50v to the internal components, then unplugging the power cord would indeed help preserve the transformer’s lifespan.

On the other hand, if the power switch is responsible for passing 120v directly to the primary windings, and considering there’s a fuse next to the power switch, logic suggests that leaving the power cord unplugged in when not in use might not be necessary.

Thank you

@jgore 

The power switch is responsible for switching the mains voltage, unplugging the power cord when not in use will not help.

If you want to avoid wear and tear on your power switch and minimize stress on  power supply components during the turn-on process, my suggestion is to install an outlet with a built-in switch and a simple resistor soft-start circuit.

https://sound-au.com/articles/soft-start.htm

Hi @imhififan 

Thank you again for your knowledge.

That soft-start thing seems too involved and I'm afraid to venture into it. Is it a DIY or a pre-made kit?

 

Thank you.