Possibly moving to ITALY Will my U.S. gear work?


Like probably most of you, I have accumulated a large collection of high end gear over the years and I am unsure as to whether or not these pieces will work properly running on Italian-fed power grids.

I am presuming that Italy runs in the 220V mode, as with other European nations, but I don't know that for sure. If they do run 220 over there, can I have my 110 equipment modified to 220 without suffering any ill sonic effects? Or do I just need to sell it all here and start over with 220 gear?

I appreciate whatever insights you A-goners can provide.

Thanks, Daddy-O.
daddyo

Showing 1 response by paolo_italy

Having imported many used American audio products from USA to Italy, I have some experience with this problem.
Actually most of the products have a power transformer with a double primary windings. So, the conversion should be quite easy . Unfortunately, many manufacturer (probably to discourage the grey market) has made quite difficult to understand which are the wires to move, and in which way they have to moved. There are also some few products, as some old Audio Research, that have dedicated transformers for the different markets, so tey cannot be converted.
Anyway, I would suggest to try to get all the information in USA, and maybe have the equipments converted by your local technicians, before you arrive in Italy. Here it will be very difficult (and often impossible) to get this kind of information from the italian distributors.
Also, please remember to check the value of the fuses on the power supply. Here they should have a value one half than in USA. That is, if you amp has a 5A fuse in USA, here you have to put a 2.5A fuse.