voltage transformer and tube gear


I have tube pre and considering buying a tube amp. I will be posted overseas to a 220v/50hz destination soon and will bring along my toys. Could anyone tell me whether using a step up transformer is all I need or is there more to it than that. I know in the case of turntable we have to be concerned about the difference in hz (50hzvs60hz)but what about amp and pre.
atony

Showing 1 response by audioquest4life

Depending on what country you are working in and "who" your sponsor is, the country that you represent overseas will usaully be able to provide transformers or offer them for sale in the stores they provide, for example, if you are in the military, are DOD or work for NATO you will be able get transformers normally rated from 75 up to 3000 watts in the onbase stores.

Basically you will need a transformer and powering a CD palyer, preamp and amplifier are generally no problem. Turntables will need an outboard speed controlled power supply to work with your current turntable, they do have an oscillator, which is the only way you can change frequency on the fly by the normal user. They are expensive, but VPI, Clearaudio and a few others sell these. There is always going back to the vendor and asking what the costs would be for a 220/50hz motor and compare that with the outboard speed controllers.

On the other hand if you are sponsored by a company and will be here living on the local economies, they also sell transformers, might be harder to find, and you will be able to do the same thing.

I used a Soundscraftsman A5001 for years, rated at 1000 watts per channel with a 2000 watt transformer without any issues. There are two advantages to running a transformer, one is that with tube gear sensitive to RFI, the transformer eliminates any from entering your tube equipment plugged into the transformer, and the other advantage, is that the rating of transformer means and this depends on the construction of the transformer, is that total wattage rating is available to supply to your equipment at any time. This also means eating more electricity, and that can be expensive if you forget to turn off your transformer and equipment. I tested a few transformers that only used 10 watts at static use and no load and with a load they fluctuate to the amount of watts required by the equipment. From my experience, normally, when you turn it on, it surges and will store the amount of rated watts and will not need to draw much more unless it is used and the equipment starts sucking the power out of it.

Good luck,
Audioquest4life