General Forum

Moving from the USA to Australia : Company responses on Voltage

lsulliva — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:58:41 GMT

I spoke to Roland Rahr ( 847-590-4920 ) at the service center in Illinois ( chicago ) who said the following :

(a) I could use a power converter but the pull of the speakers is very dynamic and the ability of the converter / conditioner to change ( condition ) the voltage may not be quick enough for the 1's or the 5's and therefore I may see a deterioration in the quality of the sound coming out of the speakers.

(b) If I were to try the power converter route then he would recommend buying a very heavy duty conditioner ( 1000 watts is what he said ) that can manage the pull if the speakers ever get cranked up really high. The conditioner that he recommended was found at site www.voltage-converter-transformers.com It is listed as a "step down converter" and he recommended at least a 1000. Also said that if I used a power conditioner after the step down converter that that would be the best method to try and make it work. Finally said that the conditioner will eliminate RF noise and that he has seen it operate very effectively in some video installations where the upgrade to the picture seen has been quite substantial.

(c) That the 1's and the 5's both require that the sound stages be replaced. There are two power amps in each speaker, one that turns the speaker on and another that runs the speaker when its in use.

(d) That I can operate the speakers at a different voltage ( ie converted from 240 to 110 and so the speakers are operating at 110 ) to the signal that they are receiving from the main equipment.

He was very clear in saying the the recommendation from the manufacturer is that the changes are made to the sound stages such that it is all original B & O equipment in the setup. He did not make any recommendations but just stated facts to the best of his knowledge.

I also received the folloewing very efficient response from the folks in Sydney that B & O outsource to. There is a discrepancy in the responses in Nth America and in Australia for the Beolab 5's. Australia said no change to sound stage amps but Nth America said that i would have to change the sound stage. The Australian response is located below :

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hi Luke,

Further to your voice message, the costs for converting your speakers are listed below..

BeoLab 5 requires minor modification on the internal chasis, total parts cost $10, labour cost would be about 1 hr ea @ $120 p/hr.

Beolab 1 requires the main amplifier stages to be replaced, total parts cost $3000 plus about 1hr ea @ $120 p/hr.

Beolab 4000 requires a swap of the transformer and standby pcb, total parts cost $400 plus about 1 hr ea @ $120 p/hr.

Labour costs given are at the upper end of how long we would generally expect to spend on these products.

Both the Lab5 + Lab1 speakers can be done in the home, however we would need the Lab4000's in to the workshop, this is due to the level to which we have to disassemble this product to achieve the conversion. We would also need the serial nos of each speaker to ensure correct variant parts are ordered

In total, including a service call out charge of $120 a total of appx $4250 with parts at todays prices.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards

Craig

ATL GROUP Pty Ltd

Phone: (02) 9519-2700
Fax: (02) 9517-3408
(Located in Southside Electronics building)
580 - 590 Princess Hwy

St Peters, NSW, 2044 Australia

Re: Moving from the USA to Australia : Question on Voltage

beoaus — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:25:51 GMT

Some of the newer and more equipment can be changed from 110 to 240. B&O Australia used to do some of this work.

Last advice I received from B&O was to contact B&O direct in your local region before leaving. You could drop an email to one of the Sydney stores as well...

I know BL1''s, BL5's and a BV5's were converted. Not sure how this is arranged in Aus as B&O Australia is now under Singapore, there is no real Australian warehouse or administration anymore to contact. Service is also outsourced though I am sure they could help ...

beoaus.

Re: Moving from the USA to Australia : Question on Voltage

SWISS_2 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:34:54 GMT

I looked into changing a pair of gold BL 4000 speakers from 100 v to 230 v, which were purchased in North America.

Not quite the same as moving a jumper inside the units. It was a rather expensive quote and quite involved.

When the newer B&O red and black speakers arrived in Europe, I decided to buy a pair, and not take a chance with someone plugging the 110 speakers in to 230 power. I've been down that road before with a Beosound 1: $ 200 in repairs and roughly $ 2600 USD in airfare.

Re: Moving from the USA to Australia : Question on Voltage

lsulliva — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:25:26 GMT

Sydney. Thanks for the phone number. Will give them a call and see what they have to say.

Re: Moving from the USA to Australia : Question on Voltage

beoaus — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:00:57 GMT

I would contact these people and mention what you are doing and where you are going... BTW Where in Australia are you locating to?

Bang & Olufsen America, Inc. 780 West Dundee Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60004
United States

Phone:
847-590-4920
Fax:
847-255-7805

Beoaus.

Moving from the USA to Australia : Question on Voltage

lsulliva — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:28:50 GMT

Am soon to return home to Australia and have the following pairs of speakers that have all been purchased in New York at the 110 Voltage rather than the 240 Voltage. Beolab 1's, 5's and 4000's.

I operate them in a 5.1 system with a Rotel processor and Rotel DVD player.

My questions are :

1. Can I get the speakers easily changed to 240 volts or is it easier to get a power converter / conditioner that will run at 240 volts. It should be noted that the Rotel equipment has a switch that can be set at 240 instead of 110.

2. If it is changed, is this an expensive process ?

Thanks