K&H O300D / Adam S3A - Voltage Question

[Bassole]

I’m in the market to pick-up a pair of either the K&H O300D or Adam S3A monitors. I will be purchasing these from Germany, and had a question regarding the electrical voltage requirements for these monitors. It looks like these monitors shipping from Germany are 230V standard. The K&H manual says that there are export versions available with the appropriate voltage, which tells me that the monitor doesn’t have one power supply that adapts to the existing voltage (like my AMEK DMCL does) and it’s not as simple as swapping around a fuse (like the power supply for my UM92.1S Gefell). Can someone let me know if this is correct for the K&H and the Adam, since I believe both musicians-gear.com and www.thomann.de can only provide these in the standard European 230V.

Musicians-gear.com has suggested that I pick up a couple of their 110V to 230V step-up transformers to power the Adams. I guess this would be the same solution for the O3000D monitors? Also, are there any performance issues I need to consider by using one of these step-up transformers with either the Adam or K&H monitors? I would imagine that as long as it is providing the proper voltage everything should work per the specs.

I’d appreciate the input on this issue.

Finally, apart from www.Thomann.de and musicians-gear.com, does anyone know of another decent dealer in Germany that sells either the K&H or Adam for less and ships to the US? Thomann sells the K&H O300D for around $3,200 (add shipping, credit card fee, Import Tax/Fees) and it’s around $3,645 total. Musicians-gear.com sells the Adams S3A for around $4,090 (after fees, shipping, taxes, etc.).


Thanks.

[Marlowe]

The Adams are 115/230 switchable and need no step-up transformers. I am in the US and bought mine from the UK. The only thing I needed to do was replace the AC cables.

[Bassole]

That's great. Thanks for the info.

Now, can anyone confirm whether the K&H O300D monitors also have switchable voltage mains (despite what the user manual says), or are they voltage specific?

Thanks.

[djui5]

The K&H's have switchable voltages too.

[Billster]

Originally Posted by Bassole

That's great. Thanks for the info.

Now, can anyone confirm whether the K&H O300D monitors also have switchable voltage mains (despite what the user manual says), or are they voltage specific?

Thanks.

I´m not sure, but I guess 230V is fixed. That´s what their tech specs say (http://www.kleinhummel.de/html/studi...o_index_g.htm). Maybe send´em a mail.

€ 3.200.- is about as cheap as you can get. Maybe try this shop http://www.rackrunner.de/index.php/c...sort/2a/page/2

I never dealt with them, though.

Good luck !
Bill

[Bassole]

I spoke with the K&H USA Rep who has informed me that the monitors are NOT switchable, and switching fuses around will not alter anything either. From what he’s explained, the O300D have linear amps (?) that have been specifically tuned to the voltage at which they will be operating, therefore the power supply will only accept that voltage. It is possible to use a step-up X-former, but the maximum Watt-rating needs to exceed the total peak output of the monitor (which in this case is 435 Watts). I think musicians-gear.com sells two ratings (300W and 1000W), so I may purchase the set-up x-formers through them and the monitors through www.thomann.de.

Djui5 you mentioned that your O300D K&H monitors are switchable. Are you sure about this? The US K&H rep has informed me otherwise. Please advise.

Thank You.

[djui5]

Originally Posted by Bassole

Djui5 you mentioned that your O300D K&H monitors are switchable. Are you sure about this? The US K&H rep has informed me otherwise. Please advise.

Thank You.

I asked someone who ownes them, and he said they do.

I've never used a pair myself though.

Sorry I can't be more precise.


I do own the S3A's and can verify for a fact that they do have switches. I had to switch mine as they came from the UK also, and had to get new power cables also.


OT:
That Gefell is a nice mic isn't it

[john caldwell]

Nothing to suggest our 0300D is switchable for other than 117 volt supply.

John-

[john caldwell]

Nor is the K&H 0100 switchable:

[Bassole]

Perfect! That’s in step with what the K&H rep said about the amps being specifically tuned to a given supply voltage. Now, does anyone know what to look for in a good step-up voltage transformer? Not sure if just any old converter will do the trick or not. Here’s a link I found on some step-up/step-down converters:

http://www.110220volts.com/power_con...ransformer.htm

Click on the upper right unit (black box), which looks like it has two plugs. If I can plug both speakers into one transformer then I’ll probably just need one 1000W converter (around $60). Nice!

I’d appreciate any input on this topic as well.

Thanks again.

[djui5]

Thanks John.

My appoligies for spreading mis-information.

[Bassole]

I'm wondering if this step-up converter will do the trick with the K&H O300D requiring 230V, or do I need to look at something different (i.e. voltage regulator?, better quality?):

http://www.popularelect.com/1000.html

The two monitors will have a combined peak power of 870 Watts, so I'm guessing a 1000 Watt converter would do the trick. Now, the converter will only step-up the voltage, but the cycles will still remain at 60Hz instead of 50Hz. From what I've read, this shouldn't have any kind of effect on the speakers' performance.

Any additional input on this would be appreciated.

Thanks again for everyone's input so far. thumbsup

[GYang]

Mentioned speakers with 220-230 V voltage will definitely work fine with step up transformer rated 1000 W.
I have many mixed voltage equipment in studio (incl. monitors), as well as, separate in-house 110-120 V and 220-230 V outlets to feed them.

Klein+Hummel O 300 D are actually the best monitors one can buy in Germany for mere 3000 $ /pair (export VAT deducted). IMO it's hard to find anything below 5000 k or even more to be better spent cash on monitors.
In my understanding they compete in quality range with ATC and PMC which are both significantly more expensive (but definitely not better or worse).
ADAMs, although very good and popular nowdays, in same price range IMO offer less bang for buck. But it can be matter of taste, too.

[iziphonics]

Originally Posted by GYang

Klein+Hummel O 300 D are actually the best monitors one can buy in Germany for mere 3000 $ /pair (export VAT deducted)

Where did you see o300ds for 3000$? I find they usually go for 3200E what's roughly 4000$ ...
But yes, they are the best monitors in the price range. I belive even much higher price range.
Pozdravlayu z Novym Godom. Paka!

[Bassole]

Well, the O300D are 1590 euro (with VAT) at www.Thomann.de. In the US, we can buy them without VAT, so they are 1353 Euro. Then we have to convert to dollars, which is around $1.18 per Euro, so the total dollar cost per speaker is 1596US$. Just have to remember that shipping will cost around $165, and the credit card fee for foreign currency exchange is another 3%. The duty tax is 4.9% for loudspeakers, and UPS tacks on an additional $25 for other duty fees. Add in the 1000W step-up transformer at $75, and the total actually comes out somewhere around $3,700.

I’ve heard that if you tell the vendor not to include the European power cord in the package, that the product is considered to be “Not A Finished Product”, and that might be a way to bypass the 4.9% Duty Tax. Anyone have any experience with this?

The best I can get the O300D in the US is $5,564 total, so that saves me $1,864. You just don’t get a US warranty with the German monitors, unless you ship them back to Germany. IF the monitors require major warranty service I could send them back to Germany about 4 or 5 times with the money I saved (highly unlikely it will require this much service during the warranty period). For smaller repairs I would take them to a local speaker repair shop. I’d probably just buy another pair if something went horribly wrong with them after the warranty period, and this would be the worst-case scenario. It’s a bit of a gamble, of course, but German products are typically engineered and built like tanks anyway, so I’m not too worried.

[GYang]

Originally Posted by Bassole

the credit card fee for foreign currency exchange is another 3%.

I pay by wire transfer that costs me 6 $ per transaction (3 day) + 19$ overseas bank charges, what is 22 $, compared to 100 $ you will pay. No loss on currency conversion (actually 1 Eur = 1.18 $ + 0%).

Also, in many cases Thomann will provide small discount, if you buy something else or kindly ask (at least I purchased some TF Pro, UA and other products on very best prices available) .
As I am in Europe I don't need transformer and logistic is cheaper, so 3400 is max. what I would pay to get in to my place.
In direct comparison K+H performed finer to my ears, with better final result than any of direct competitors (what is extremely well considering that 3400 $ is 2000 less than Adams S3A, 3000 less than PMC AML 1 and over 4000 less than ATC, I talk about prices from dealers here).

[D.A.S.]

Saw this thread and wanted to let share that 90% of the team at DAS is convinced of the accurateness and supperiority of these monitors against anything in this price range...not an everyday occurance within a 20 man team of audio fetishists by any means! We would be glad to supply details such as were looked for in this thread as well as arrange specific shipping and support conditions.
To anyone interestd in getting a pair of these I can only say DO IT It doesnt matter if you buy it from us (but ofcourse we would be pleased ) or wherever... these things are the bomb! IMO the most accurate and amazing monitor for its size/price and an absolute pleasure to work with . If you would like more information please feel free to contact (almost) anyone on the DAS team

Best

Erik Heirman

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by Bassole

I spoke with the K&H USA Rep who has informed me that the monitors are NOT switchable, and switching fuses around will not alter anything either.

When a device has a switchable power supply, going from lower to higher voltage would also require halving the fuse value and vice versa.

I realize that doesn't apply here.

[dave-G]

Originally Posted by djui5

The K&H's have switchable voltages too.

No, they absolutely do NOT.

K+H O300Ds are made with one power supply or the other. Not switchable.

-dave

[dave-G]

Originally Posted by dave-G

No, they absolutely do NOT.

K+H O300Ds are made with one power supply or the other. Not switchable.

-dave

Whoops ... shoulda kept scrolling.. Covered already.

-dave

[MIKEHARRIS]

wow...the hoops y'all go through to save some cash..shortchange yourself on the customer support you are entitled to.
Maybe you are a hobbyist who doesnt care if the stuff is outta commission for a month or two...but do you know how the amp and digital processor perform on this voltage converter ??(not to mention the emf it generates)
Part of ADAM's great reputation is built on the incredible support of Dave Bryce...who understands we are professionals in the middle of a session...and need to be back on line NOW !!
The US K&H distributor isnt as good as Dave...but is your first line of defense,
even if they must be shamed into professionalism.

BTW...as a pro dealer...we sell neither the ADAM's or K&H

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by MIKEHARRIS

Part of ADAM's great reputation is built on the incredible support of Dave Bryce...who understands we are professionals in the middle of a session...and need to be back on line NOW !!
The US K&H distributor isnt as good as Dave...but is your first line of defense,
even if they must be shamed into professionalism.

I agree that Dave from ADAM's customer service is A+++, no doubt about it. But the reference to the K+H distribution must be old information, as Neumann/Sennheiser has been the distributor for about a year now, and they've been nothing but a pleasure to work with, no need to shame them to see action. I have not heard very positive things about the previous K+H distributor however from 2005 and before, which is who you must be referring to.

[Bassole]

Wow! It's been a while since I've been around this site. I noticed this thread was picked up again after about a year, so I thouht I'd follow-up with a quick review.

I was able to purchase the K&H monitors from a European dealer a little after first posting my questions here, and to my surprise they were able to contact K&H and sell me the US voltage O300D (110V). This must have been while they were in transition to the Neumann/Sennheiser deal; or they just didn't want to loose the sale. I picked them up while the Euro to Dollar was still reasonable ($1.18), and they have been excellent performers in the almost two years that I've had them. They are definitely up there with the Yamaha, Adams, Events, and other upper echelon monitors on the market. Highly recommended.