UK kettle lead on USA gear?

[waveterm]

US gear runs on 110 volt AC ( nominal ) and UK has 230V AC in the outlets.

Unless the MPC has a universal autoswitching power supply or it can be switched to 230V AC, you will fry it if you use a UK lead.

If it doesn´t have the options listed above you can use a stepdown transformer that will convert 230V to 110V AC. You will still need the US power cord as the transformer will have a US outlet.

WT

[Richard Crowley]

The information available on the AkaiPro website (sparse as it is) appears to indicate that they use a "wall-wart" for power. Since the model you are looking at was not revealed, and since the information from Akai is almost non-existant, you will need to examine the wall-wart that comes with the unit. If it is a switching supply, then it is likely "universal: (100-240V) and you will need only an outlet converter.

But if it is a linear supply (with an heavy iron transformer) then you have the choice of using a 240-120V converter transformer, or simply acquire a replacement wall-wart of appropriate specs in your location.

[waveterm]

Not all MPC's used a wall-wart power supply. The MPC60/3000 has built in supplies and uses a mains lead.

WT

[Audiophonica]

The model I am looking at is the MPC 2000 XL MCD. I think it might be universal because from what I've seen on other forums, there's a black sticker on the back which reads AC120V 60~ yet if you take the sticker off, underneath it reads AC100 - 240V 50/60 Hz~ 23W. They seem to think it's universal, have any posters used one here without a step down transformer?

[Richard Crowley]

The AkaiPro website (and product documents) are among the worst I have seen in a long time. There appears to be NO useful information about power requirements for any of their products. There is no mention of a model number "2000" anywhere on their website.

WARNING!: I WOULD NOT assume that removing a sticker makes anything "universal". I would assume exactly the opposite. The presence of the sticker means that they cheaped it out and it is NOT "universal".

[waveterm]

I agree !

In this case, don´t assume anything !!!

It may very well be the case that they changed the internal powersupply for a US only powersupply.

Open and check before powering up !

WT

[Audiophonica]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've shot Akai an email and I'll post the reply when I receive it incase anyone else has the same question in the future.

[Audiophonica]

Right, this is a bit weird. I messaged Akai using their website and the UK end of the company gave me this response:

Thank you for your email.

This unit has now been long discontinued, so the support on this unit is limited I'm afraid.

This unit has a differing internal transformer dependent upon the country it is sold in. For this unit to work in the UK you will need a US cable plugged into a UK transformer. Simply plugging in a kettle lead will likely blow the internal transformer which will then need to be replaced.

Alternatively you could take the unit to an electrical outlet and have the transformer replaced for a UK transformer, plug the unit in via the kettle lead and you'll be up and running.

For a second opinion, I messaged the USA end of Akai and they sent me this response:

Thank you for contacting us. I’ll be happy to help!

The MPC2000XL has a switching Power Supply of 100v - 240v || 50/60Hz.

To use the MPC 2000XL all you would need to do is purchase a standard 3 prong IEC Cable that has the prongs for a UK power socket.

Still none the wiser of what to do. I have a 3 prong IEC cable to hand but I'm not sure who to trust lol...

[Richard Crowley]

So that seems to mean that the model MPC 2000XL is not available anymore in the UK, which likely accounts for why you are acquiring it from the US.

The response from the US distributors seems pretty clear that it is a universal supply and you should need only a new power cord with a plug that matches your location. Of course, I would confirm this by examining the nameplate before plugging in anything. Hopefully examining the actual goods will be more revealing than what is available on their website or published documents (which is nonexistant that I can find).

[Radardoug]

Open it up and take a picture for us.

[Jonathan@FPA]

Originally Posted by Radardoug

Open it up and take a picture for us.

[Audiophonica]

Took two pictures of the MPC.

First picture is as it came...



...and the second is with the sticker taken off.

[Radardoug]

No, we need inside pictures. Then we can see if it is a switchmode or transformer supply.

[Arksun]

I would lean towards it NOT being a universal psu, simply because, why else would they need to add the sticker? if whats written underneath the sticker already said 100-240v 50/60, which covers everything.

In my mind there is only one reason to go to the effort of adding a sticker saying US only, and thats cause it has a US voltage only transformer.

But we'll wait and see what the inside looks like to be sure

[Audiophonica]

Ok, here's the inside!

[adrianww]

Originally Posted by Arksun

I would lean towards it NOT being a universal psu, simply because, why else would they need to add the sticker? if whats written underneath the sticker already said 100-240v 50/60, which covers everything.

In my mind there is only one reason to go to the effort of adding a sticker saying US only, and thats cause it has a US voltage only transformer.

But we'll wait and see what the inside looks like to be sure

I'd go along with this. Unless someone can confirm one way or the other from the internal pictures ('fraid I can't - it's outside my expertise) the safe option is to assume that the sticker was placed on there because a US-only power supply had been fitted. Otherwise, there would have been no need to add the sticker in the first place.

If that is the case, getting a suitable UK-US converter/transformer is the only thing that makes sense. It should work correctly with one of those regardless of the internal power supply type. Whereas, if it does have a US power supply and you don't use a converter, then the probable result is bzzzzzzt!

So the converter/transformer is the fail-safe option (in the absence of further details/confirmation about that PSU).

[Richard Crowley]

The interior photo clearly shows a switching power supply.
However if you unit has the "universal" nameplate covered with a "120V" sticker, that casts significant doubt what kind of a game they are playing. Can you examine the power supply board closely and see if there is any label on the board that indicates the input voltage range?

If you have to remove the manufacturer's sticker to see the "universal" specification, I would NOT take that as a good sign. Between that and their dismal (nonexistant) information on their website, they have a very serious problem with information about their power specifications.

[adrianww]

Originally Posted by rcrowley

The interior photo clearly shows a switching power supply.
However if you unit has the "universal" nameplate covered with a "120V" sticker, that casts significant doubt what kind of a game they are playing. Can you examine the power supply board closely and see if there is any label on the board that indicates the input voltage range?

Absolutely. The fact that it's a switching-mode power supply doesn't tell us anything about whether it is a single-voltage unit, a multi-voltage unit with a selector somewhere or a straightforward multi-voltage unit from the get-go. Although switching-mode supplies will very often be designed to cope with a range of input voltages ('cos it's easy to make them like that), they don't have to be.

Originally Posted by rcrowley

If you have to remove the manufacturer's sticker to see the "universal" specification, I would NOT take that as a good sign. Between that and their dismal (nonexistant) information on their website, they have a very serious problem with information about their power specifications.

If anything, I'd say it's safest to make the assumption that the sticker was placed there for a reason. Specifically that the power supply is a single voltage unit - whether it's switched-mode or not. A converter/transformer is, therefore, the only sensible option in this case, unless someone can categorically confirm more about that PSU one way or the other.

[Richard Crowley]

The fact that they don't sell the product in the UK (or even in Europe?) casts further doubt whether they have provided a "universal" power supply.

[Radardoug]

The switchmode supply will probably be a buy-in, and so may have manufacturer info on it. Take it out and have a look. Second, what is the voltage rating on the big filter cap? This will tell you if it is capable of operating at 230 volts. It should be 400 volts plus for 230 volt operation. Any less and its only a 115 volt supply.

[Richard Crowley]

We use 400V capacitors for 120V mains, also. I don't think that is a very reliable indicator.

[Jonathan@FPA]

Originally Posted by rcrowley

We use 400V capacitors for 120V mains, also. I don't think that is a very reliable indicator.

[Arksun]

Could the unit just quickly be shown to an electrician and get their opinion on what they think it is?.

[Richard Crowley]

If "electrician" means the same thing over there (someone who installs mains wiring and fixtures in buildings), then I would NOT expect they could give you a definitive or even knowledgeable answer. This requires rather close examination of the SMPS (switch-mode power supply) module to see what it is rated for input voltage range. it is often marked on the board, on the top (component side) typically.