YOU ARE NOT SERIOUS!!!!

This is true, and hopefully there will be a 230V version for overseas distribution eventually. It is worth keeping in mind though that Outlaw is still a young company -- distributing to and providing support for the local US market alone is a big task to take on.



I'm curious about this... I had never heard of folks running 220V power in their homes for anything aside from an electric oven or a clothes dryer. Is there a benefit to having 220V audio gear in the states? (And if you use 220V state-side, it would actually be more like 208V since we're still at 60Hz, which would presumably not work well with equipment expecting 50Hz power...) Or (and this seems more likely to me) is it purely a matter of being able to take your equipment to 230V/50Hz countries and use it without a step-down transformer? For that matter, what would be the drawbacks of using a good step-down transformer to power gear in a case like that?

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited February 14, 2003).]

Many folks on Audiogon argue that their ML/ Rowland amps sound significantly more lifelike with 220vac feed.
I know lots...and lots of people in Audiogon who run 220v gear in the US and claim it gives them a larger soundspace.
I even met lots of people in CES who use 220v gear in the US.

Most high end equipment I own is 220v switchable....Classe, ARCAM, TacT etc etc
You have to try using a non-audiophile (not medical grade) step down transformer with your equipment...the buzz generated cannot be ignored, IMO...if I were to buy a medical grade transformer, It'll cost me twice as much as a Outlaw 950

Well, actually I was. This is of course based on the presumption that any video equipment would be also be compatible with U.S. standards. There is no magic in making a good step down transformer. It does not have to have "audiophile" blessings to perform it's duties without interferrence or degradation of performance. I have done this with my digital audio workstation when I have worked overseas in England and Ireland with no problems. Most equipment nominally designed for 60Hz operation can operate at 50Hz without problems, since their power transformers were designed with this option in mind. The 950 may be an exception to this, but a call to Outlaw would sort this out.

Where did you purchase the step down transformer you said buzzed so badly? I hope you didn''t use one of those cheap things they sell at RadioShack for foreign travel.

If you are planning on staying out of the country permanently, of course a dedicated 220 VAC unit makes sense.

[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited February 14, 2003).]

Using 220VAC for running equipment offers the benefit of completely balanced AC power By doing this, any common mode interferrence picked up on the power lines will be cancelled out in the power transformer of the equipment. Ground loops also are less likely to occur, since the "circuit ground and chassis ground" is referenced to balanced power, and not unbalanced as in our common 120VAC systems. Also, running power amps on 220VAC can be a benefit because the power line is less likely to sag as signficant an amount as if it were run on 120VAC.

I actually wish we did standardize on a balanced power system from the beginning (either 220 or 120VAC) as it would circumvent a whole bunch of problems we face now with buzzes, hums and interferrence. I guess this wasn't much an issue in 1900 when the only electrical thing people had was an Edison light bulb or two.



[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited February 14, 2003).]