transformer degrading

[vatulele]

I have the chance to buy a 110v US market phono stage but to run it here in the UK will obviously need a transformer to reduce the voltage. Is this in any way going to compromise performance ?

[Gregm]

OK, with one caveat

Should work OK with a 230->110 tranny. One exception is how robust is the PS: a 60 cycles PS can get away with less VA than a 50c one. So, if the phono's PS is robust there's really no problem whatsoever. If it's a cost-cutting variant of a normal PS, then you may have a slightly "weaker" phono.

[vatulele]

ok thanks, I will check on the spec. Its a Lehmann black cube that I am looking at which I would guess to be designed for both multiple voltages and HZ settings to make it saleable worldwide. I will try and find out.

[Gregm]

ok thanks, I will check on the spec. Its a Lehmann black cube that I am looking at

Vatulele -- isn't the Lehmann made in Germany? Why on earth buy it fm the US and face postage, EU import taxes, etc not to mention the cost of a tranny???

[vatulele]

It was an e-bay sale, in the end I left it alone, will wait for a UK spec version in case there are any potential problems.

I use e-bay and other used hifi sales sites as a means of trying out and upgrading. Ive got a Trichord Dino at mom and would like to try the Lehmann against it head to head. I can effectively do that for free by buying second hand and then selling whichever one I dont want to keep. I cant justify spending hundreds of pounds every time I fancy a bit of comparitive testing.