My DAC AC voltage rating is 110v. Is this going to problem with...

Dracule1 · « **on:** 9 Jul 2011, 05:57 am »

standard 120v here in the US?

srb · « **Reply #1 on:** 9 Jul 2011, 06:49 am »

The U.S. national average tolerance for 120V household service is +/- 5%, or 114V to 126V, but may be held to a narrower tolerance in some areas.

Many appliances and electronics will have a slightly wider operating voltage tolerance to account for additional voltage drop on branch circuits in the home.

What is your DAC model and what is it's country of origin? Does the rear panel or external power supply spec a frequency of 50Hz, 60Hz or 50Hz/60Hz?

Steve

Dracule1 · « **Reply #2 on:** 9 Jul 2011, 07:05 am »

DAC is Danish, so it was originally a 220v design. Asked the designer to convert to US standard, and he put 110v for some reason. I don't know the frequency as he has not told me yet.

srb · « **Reply #3 on:** 9 Jul 2011, 08:03 am »

Denmark uses 230V/50Hz power. Some transformers have dual 115V primary windings that can be wired in series for 230V use or a single primary used for 115V use, and also have the necessary capacity to operate at 50Hz or 60Hz.

So the unit may have used a similar transformer whose primaries only needed to be rewired for U.S. use, or the transformer could have been replaced with a different U.S. spec one.

In either case, I would assume the designer is well aware of the U.S. standard. People sometimes erroneously refer to U.S. power as 110V or 115V even though the nominal standard is actually 120V, and that is likely what has happened here.

I can't make any guarantees, but if the designer did the conversion correctly, you probably don't have anything to be concerned about.

Steve

Dracule1 · « **Reply #4 on:** 9 Jul 2011, 02:53 pm »

Thanks Steve. Got in contact with designer. He told me the transformer inside is rated at 120v and can operate at both 50/60 cycles. I have no idea why he the labeled outside the chassis 110v.

Just out of my own curiosity, if the transformer was actually 110v, would it cause any harm or malfunction hooked up 120v?

srb · « **Reply #5 on:** 9 Jul 2011, 03:31 pm »

Operating a 110V transformer with a 120V input (9% higher voltage) will result in a corresponding 9% higher secondary output voltage, which may or may not have an effect on other power supply components or main circuit components depending on power supply regulation.

If the power supply does not have good regulation or the electronic component parts are operated very close to or even slightly above their maximum voltage specs, it could have an effect on their longevity.

Steve