Question for audiophiles, electricians, and electrical eng. 120 Vs 220

scottmandue · 09-13-2006, 07:11 AM

Disclaimer: I was bored and looking at stuff on eBay and got to wondering if I were to do this what would be the logistics. I have done a lot of residential 120 VAC wiring and no fires yet.

I have been looking at some audio Hi-Fi equipment from China on eBay and I have noticed that much of it is labeled 220 VAC. I am presuming they are taking 220 single phase, I know the advantage of running 220 to a large electrical motor but is there much advantage in an audio circuit?
Also I do have 220 run to my house would it be worth my while to pull a 220 circuit or just use a 110/220 transformer. This equipment being made in China would it be 50 Hz or 60 Hz and would that matter in an audio amplifier?

If I were going to get serious about this I would ask the seller about single/double phase and 50 or 60 Hz before buying anything.

Thanks for your support,
Scott

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

Hey man, 220, 221, whatever it takes...

kaisen · 09-13-2006, 07:28 AM

I would think 220 would have an advantage in supplying a very 'thirsty' amplifier. More current.

My system will draw enough current to dim the lights at peak outputs, especially the subwoofer amplifiers.

Wiring 220 is pretty straightforward.

Hugh R · 09-13-2006, 07:29 AM

China? I wouldn't waste my time. Transformer will probably add noise. Don't know about 1 or 3 phase or 50 or 60 hz.

scottmandue · 09-13-2006, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kaisen
I would think 220 would have an advantage in supplying a very 'thirsty' amplifier. More current.

My system will draw enough current to dim the lights at peak outputs, especially the subwoofer amplifiers.

Wiring 220 is pretty straightforward.

The amps I am looking at are retro tube stuff, just stereo and no sub.

As I understand it 220 single phase has two hots instead of 110 that has a hot and a neutral? Do the two hots have to be in any particular order.

I suppose I could go to the library and get a book and read about it.

Books! Reading! Oh no!

Moneyguy1 · 09-13-2006, 08:47 AM

220 here in the US is two 110s 180 degrees out of phase.

scottmandue · 09-13-2006, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Moneyguy1
220 here in the US is two 110s 180 degrees out of phase.

So it doesn't mater how they are run to the plug (as long as they are not sent to the ground)

nineoneone · 09-13-2006, 10:04 AM

much of the difference is in the amp load. With 110 o or 120volts your amp may say 700 watts........ which I think translates into about 7amps of power.
with 220 volts it would drop to about 3.5 amps to push it......
it doesn't matter which is hooked to which side as long as your neutral is in the right place.

Joeaksa · 09-13-2006, 12:43 PM

Still have a lot of 220v stuff from when I lived overseas. Run it off of transformers.

Find that my cell phone battery and stuff charge faster on 220v when overseas than 110 at home...

scottmandue · 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nineoneone
it doesn't matter which is hooked to which side as long as your neutral is in the right place.

By neutral do you mean ground (green)? When I run 120 I have black (hot) white (neutral) and ground (green).

Joe, is any of you 220 stuff tube?

Hugh R · 09-13-2006, 03:47 PM

Tip for you international travelers. Look at the transformer for your computer, you'll find most say they'll run 110 or 220 and 50 or 60 hz. You don't need an inverter, you need a plug adapter set which will work in almost all countries. Much cheaper and the kits from travel stores, fit about 98% of the world.

sketchers356 · 09-13-2006, 04:23 PM

As per performance increases I dont believe that you will find any vs 110V. The primary op-amps in your amp most certainly are powered by DC and hence your amp also contains an AC-DC transformer. Therefore it is the same DC at the op-amp.

rrsrsr · 09-13-2006, 04:52 PM

Does your amp go to '11'?

Zero10 · 09-13-2006, 07:17 PM

They will most likely mean 220 single phase.
You need to find out how the electrical is done in those countries.
I know for example that England does not use an Edison 3 wire setup like we use here in north america for residential electricity.
China probably uses the same as england, you get a single hot and neutral run to your house, 220V to ground/neutral.

That said, the equipment does not care whether you supply it's 220V with 2 hots or 1 hot and 1 neutral (unless there is something seriously wonky going on inside).

Willem Fick · 09-14-2006, 01:40 AM

We use 220VAC here in South Africa...

220VAC implies 220V single phase. It is derived from 380V three phase, and is the difference in potential between ground and any one phase in the latter.

The plug on the amplifier will have one neutral (negative) point, and one live (positive), requiring a 220V potential difference across these at either 50 or 60Hz. The third point (optional) will be earth ground.

the main difference between 110 and 220 is that less current is drawn from the household circuit for the same wattge, which implies that your wiring can typically be of a thinner guage.

The difference between 50Hz and 60Hz only becomes really apparant when using electric motors, as a motor designed for 60Hz, will turn 8% slower when powered by a 50Hz source.

For your audio equipment, you will probably end up having to use some sort of step-up device, either in the shape of a fairly heafty transformer, or a switch-mode power supply, rated at a wattage exceeding the rated wattage of your amplifier. If it's a class-a amplifier it needs to be rated at at least 4 times that of the amp, whereas if it is anything else, you'll probably look at 1,5 times.

Performance-wise there wil be no difference.