Probably moving to Europe, how do I change my system?

[Yeti]

Gryphon seem to say the amp needs 10A minimum at 230V, they also recommend a power conditioner isn’t used. Once it comes back from Denmark suitably adjusted then maybe try it with you existing wiring and without a conditioner as long as it has a earth, not all French living rooms have one depending when they were wired.
Our apartment in Montpellier (1970s build) had earth connected in the kitchen, bathroom (on a 32A socket for a washing machine) and to an outside socket on the balcony but none in the living room or bedrooms with no earth pin or contacts in those sockets. Watch out for sockets on a switched lighting circuit. The balcony socket was in chain with the socket I wanted to use for the system and the earth wire was present as an unconnected loop so no major work was involved to connect it.

 

[Tandem]

It's true that having an electrical remake not long of the appartment will be a big plus, it should show with some kind of certificate as few people have to come to check together the home.

 

[LarryK]

Oh, so you are gonna discover new parts of the country ! Well, you can raise the dead in Lyon, they'll only go to restaurants (I remember my granny going there and shipping us some sausage and food to have some taste of the gastronomy motherland while being in another part of France).

I am not sure the power conditioning unit can be up to the task if it's fed from a 16 amp, and have to deal with at least 4 amp missing. Better to make a special plug there honnestly as it's truly unsure as you stated you might have a 32 amp ready. The only issue is that workers are gonna smell money due to the rarity of such demand and might ask more money than they should.

Better to ask to Audioquest if it can cope, and I do wish for you it will but keep the special plug in mind in case Audioquest replies negatively. I remember they answer pretty fast but it was years ago and we were discussion cable, it was a very good teaching.

Otherwhise, I can ask to the distributor of Gryphon for France as they should know about it. On the distributor, I see there is also a shop in Lyon that is an authorized dealer.

Distributeur GRYPHON France, Belgique francophone, Monaco

Gryphon Audio est une marque Danoise emblématique du highend Audio fondée en 1985 par Flemming E. Rasmussen

fusion-acoustic.com

Nos marques de sonorisation et matériel d'image - Maison TEDD

Découvrez les marques avec lesquelles nous travaillons pour vos installations de son et image - Installation d'univers visuel et sonore haut de gamme sur Lyon

www.maisontedd.com

Did your granny ship you boudin from Lyon? Another Lyonnaise speciality is quenelle.

Try cervelle de canut. I think I’m still tasting it from last November.

I would appreciate it if you would ask about using the Gryphon PowerZone or the AudioQuest 5000EU with my Colosseum. Can I use the smaller one that takes a single plus?

I’ve been running my Colosseum in the states from the high current outlet on an Audioquest 5000 plugged into a single 20A outlet. I run all of my gear plugged into the AudioQuest.

I also have a Pandora, and all my sources, but none of them draw a lot of current.

I have no idea what I will in a French apartment, as far as outlets, and I’ll have little political capital to make that the deciding factor, lol.

 

[LarryK]

Gryphon seem to say the amp needs 10A minimum at 230V, they also recommend a power conditioner isn’t used. Once it comes back from Denmark suitably adjusted then maybe try it with you existing wiring and without a conditioner as long as it has a earth, not all French living rooms have one depending when they were wired.
Our apartment in Montpellier (1970s build) had earth connected in the kitchen, bathroom (on a 32A socket for a washing machine) and to an outside socket on the balcony but none in the living room or bedrooms with no earth pin or contacts in those sockets. Watch out for sockets on a switched lighting circuit. The balcony socket was in chain with the socket I wanted to use for the system and the earth wire was present as an unconnected loop so no major work was involved to connect it.

Hmmm, do you have a source for that requirement of only 10amps?

I thought the requirement would be 20amps.

The Colosseum is a monster.

I’ve had two 20 amp outlets installed, in an apartment and in a house, to accommodate it.

Thanks for all those tips regarding the wiring in French apartments.

I assume I can hire a house inspector and get a report on the wiring.

 

[Yeti]

Hmmm, do you have a source for that requirement of only 10amps?

I thought the requirement would be 20amps.

The Colosseum is a monster.

I’ve had two 20 amp outlets installed, in an apartment and in a house, to accommodate it.

Thanks for all those tips regarding the wiring in French apartments.

I assume I can hire a house inspector and get a report on the wiring.

The current draw is halved when the voltage is doubled, checkout page ten of the manual.

https://onahighernote.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/colosseum_stereo_manual_11.pdf

 

[LarryK]

The current draw is halved when the voltage is doubled, checkout page ten of the manual.

https://onahighernote.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/colosseum_stereo_manual_11.pdf

Thanks, you’re right. I really should have looked back at the manual, lol.

Well, it will be easier to run the Colosseum in Europe than to run it in the states.

Some people have said the PowerZone from Gryphon makes a lot of difference. I might go in that direction.

 

[Gunnar]

Gryphon seem to say the amp needs 10A minimum at 230V, they also recommend a power conditioner isn’t used. Once it comes back from Denmark suitably adjusted then maybe try it with you existing wiring and without a conditioner as long as it has a earth, not all French living rooms have one depending when they were wired.
Our apartment in Montpellier (1970s build) had earth connected in the kitchen, bathroom (on a 32A socket for a washing machine) and to an outside socket on the balcony but none in the living room or bedrooms with no earth pin or contacts in those sockets. Watch out for sockets on a switched lighting circuit. The balcony socket was in chain with the socket I wanted to use for the system and the earth wire was present as an unconnected loop so no major work was involved to connect it.

True. My parents in law built their house mid 70 ties. Same there. Just earth outside and in the wet areas. And still like that.
Our house, a very very old one, was also refurbished mid 70 ties had the same electrical setup. After renting it for a few years we bought it 2002. One of the first thing we did was to redo the electricity.
If Larry’s family don’t know a good electrician I am sure the agent who sold them their apartment can recommend one.
I have a dedicated 6 mm2 line from the electrical panel ending up in 3 double Furutech outlets. Good quality electricity is important.
Gunnar

 

[Yeti]

Back in the UK I had a 10^2mm cable from a dedicated breaker, though the breaker wasn’t 30A as the sockets are 13A. After moving to France I haven’t had a dedicated supply installed, mainly because of the difficulty of explaining what and why in French, it was hard enough to convince the electrician in England to do it.
. In the flat I just connected the existing earth wire to a new, DIY store quality, socket, in the house I’ve fitted a Furutech socket but it’s not a dedicated radial, I still run my UK power block with a Furutech F1-E50 NCF R on its flying lead so haven’t modified each individual cable. Naim powerlines supplied for EU use now come with a Furutech F1-E38R, the UK version has Naim’s own design decoupled plug, I’ve not made or even read of a comparison.

 

[LarryK]

True. My parents in law built their house mid 70 ties. Same there. Just earth outside and in the wet areas. And still like that.
Our house, a very very old one, was also refurbished mid 70 ties had the same electrical setup. After renting it for a few years we bought it 2002. One of the first thing we did was to redo the electricity.
If Larry’s family don’t know a good electrician I am sure the agent who sold them their apartment can recommend one.
I have a dedicated 6 mm2 line from the electrical panel ending up in 3 double Furutech outlets. Good quality electricity is important.
Gunnar

Thanks, I’ll have to take this into consideration when buying the apartment. Sigh.

I need one of those tester plugs for French sockets.

 

[Gunnar]

Back in the UK I had a 10^2mm cable from a dedicated breaker, though the breaker wasn’t 30A as the sockets are 13A. After moving to France I haven’t had a dedicated supply installed, mainly because of the difficulty of explaining what and why in French, it was hard enough to convince the electrician in England to do it.
. In the flat I just connected the existing earth wire to a new, DIY store quality, socket, in the house I’ve fitted a Furutech socket but it’s not a dedicated radial, I still run my UK power block with a Furutech F1-E50 NCF R on its flying lead so haven’t modified each individual cable. Naim powerlines supplied for EU use now come with a Furutech F1-E38R, the UK version has Naim’s own design decoupled plug, I’ve not made or even read of a comparison.

HaHa. Convincing our electrician was impossible. At the end he accepted it. 10 mm2 was impossible for me. Couldn’t fit in bigger than 6 mm2. Was a great sound upgrade for just 400 Euro including the work but excluding the Furutech outlets. In total the cable is close to 20 meter. Going mainly outside . Also using a dedicated breaker.

 

[LarryK]

Back in the UK I had a 10^2mm cable from a dedicated breaker, though the breaker wasn’t 30A as the sockets are 13A. After moving to France I haven’t had a dedicated supply installed, mainly because of the difficulty of explaining what and why in French, it was hard enough to convince the electrician in England to do it.
. In the flat I just connected the existing earth wire to a new, DIY store quality, socket, in the house I’ve fitted a Furutech socket but it’s not a dedicated radial, I still run my UK power block with a Furutech F1-E50 NCF R on its flying lead so haven’t modified each individual cable. Naim powerlines supplied for EU use now come with a Furutech F1-E38R, the UK version has Naim’s own design decoupled plug, I’ve not made or even read of a comparison.

Oh, goodness, the language barrier is going to kill me. I’ll never be able to explain anything technically to an electrician.

I plan on enrolling in daily classes but it will take me years to reach greater fluency.

I can see myself reading English novels for hours to find my way back to English.

Exile will not be easy.

At least, the food will be good.

 

[LarryK]

HaHa. Convincing our electrician was impossible. At the end he accepted it. 10 mm2 was impossible for me. Couldn’t fit in bigger than 6 mm2. Was a great sound upgrade for just 400 Euro including the work butbexcluding the Furutech outlets. In total the cable is close to 20 meter. Going mainly outside . Also using a dedicated breaker.

Are you in a house? Why is the cable mainly outside? Stone walls? No existing conduit?

I’m not going to be able to go outside in an apartment.

You would have loved to see the wiring in a rental apartment I lived in from the 1900s in NYC. They put in a new panel and didn’t run any new wire in the conduits.

After a hundred years, all the insulation was falling off.

It was like that everywhere. I remember tenants running around trying to figure out where the smoke was coming from. The elevator almost burned up.

 

[Gunnar]

Are you in a house? Why is the cable mainly outside? Stone walls? No existing conduit?

I’m not going to be able to go outside in an apartment.

You would have loved to see the wiring in a rental apartment I lived in from the 1900s in NYC. They put in a new panel and didn’t run any new wire in the conduits.

After a hundred years, all the insulation was falling off.

It was like that everywhere. I remember tenants running around trying to figure out where the smoke was coming from. The elevator almost burned up.

A house yes. The existing conduits could not incorporate a 6 mm2. Two options. Inside with 90 degrees curves would not look nice. So we decided to go outside. Easier. The cable is “hidden” under the outside part of the roof. Was a little bit complicated to get in but the electrician made it. “In” is about 8 meter up and the wall has a thickness of 70 cm.

I can imagine how it was in your old NY apartment. But at that time we didn’t expect perfections. Today is different.

Would be impossible to do what we did in an apartment.

Gunnar

 

[Gregm]

Are you in a house? Why is the cable mainly outside? Stone walls? No existing conduit?

I’m not going to be able to go outside in an apartment.

You would have loved to see the wiring in a rental apartment I lived in from the 1900s in NYC. They put in a new panel and didn’t run any new wire in the conduits.

After a hundred years, all the insulation was falling off.

It was like that everywhere. I remember tenants running around trying to figure out where the smoke was coming from. The elevator almost burned up.

If I may chime in -- and suggest you give some thought to acquiring a 20-25A DC blocker or three. You can get the tame Lyonnais electrician to instal them between the wall socket and your power strip (it's a very simple job). It is, sonically, very rewarding -- clearing up top end detail. In my case more so than the dedicated power line complete with 3.5mm2 single strand wires!

 

[Tandem]

Nope but it was more like rosette or such. Yes, I know it and you should some others delights as well, brillat-savarin or vacherin. Regarding boudin, they are quite easily foundable in others parts of France, same for quenelles but they are harder to come by now since they have a bad connotation nowadays. You'll have time to enjoy the specialties even more.

Try to find first a quiet neighborhood and good security as home safety isn't so good in big cities nowadays. For the electricity, you can try to see if the appartment have the consuel : https://particuliers.engie.fr/elect...ation-conformite-installation-electrique.html. Which could give you some ideas of the electric installation, and electricians who knows they are gonna be inspected later are more caring about their jobs usually. I think there was also a label of quality but I might be wrong.

I am gonna ask to the dealers and tell you how it goes. The best way is an inspector for electricity but if that's possible to find, for all the possible issues of the appartment (sellers tends to forget and pray some issues aren't gonna show/be seen before a decade) that might cost you money later, as well as troubles, especially with the language barrier.

Gunnar have very good ideas that could be handy for myself as well, and as he said to convince workers when it's unusual is impossible, and they gotta be pushed to it. It's quite a different mentality.

 

[LarryK]

Nope but it was more like rosette or such. Yes, I know it and you should some others delights as well, brillat-savarin or vacherin. Regarding boudin, they are quite easily foundable in others parts of France, same for quenelles but they are harder to come by now since they have a bad connotation nowadays. You'll have time to enjoy the specialties even more.

Try to find first a quiet neighborhood and good security as home safety isn't so good in big cities nowadays. For the electricity, you can try to see if the appartment have the consuel : https://particuliers.engie.fr/elect...ation-conformite-installation-electrique.html. Which could give you some ideas of the electric installation, and electricians who knows they are gonna be inspected later are more caring about their jobs usually. I think there was also a label of quality but I might be wrong.

I am gonna ask to the dealers and tell you how it goes. The best way is an inspector for electricity but if that's possible to find, for all the possible issues of the appartment (sellers tends to forget and pray some issues aren't gonna show/be seen before a decade) that might cost you money later, as well as troubles, especially with the language barrier.

Gunnar have very good ideas that could be handy for myself as well, and as he said to convince workers when it's unusual is impossible, and they gotta be pushed to it. It's quite a different mentality.

Thanks your help, it is much appreciated.

Let me know what you find out from the dealers.

I hope we can find a good building in a safe location.

We spent 20 years in Manhattan so we’re used to urban environments. It doesn’t look like the French are willing to pay for doormen. That’s something you get in New York.

Thanks for that link. I forwarded it to my wife. If I wasn’t married to a French woman, I would not attempt this move, lol.

As I get closer to the end of my life, I’m going to loosen the food restrictions but be careful not to fall into alcoholism.

 

[Gunnar]

My wife is also French.
For sure it’s good to have a pro checking up existing electricity prior signing the final documents. Not saying it’s a dealbreaker but good to know what’s needs to be done and potential limitations. Maybe good to check up everything around “water” also.
My wife wanted to change our lamp shades. We got the new ones today. I took two pictures. First one shows the CE certificate. Where the bulb sits. The second one the lamp.
Agree, with age you (or we) must loosen up food restrictions. A few glasses of a good wine is not bad neither. We live just once.

Gunnar

 

[Tandem]

You're welcome, you are making a big bold move, the least to do is to welcome and help.

Yes, be patient and check everything that might be a potential problem. We used to have doormen, some that worked good, but that time is passed and it feels safer without them now. Maybe it'll come back with serious doormen for very good building but it might take time for that.

Regarding the food, as long as you drink good water, and do still some activities weither it's for brain or exercises, it's okay. And seriously, good food is hard to resist ! As for the alcohol, yes be wary as we have many good wines where as usual, price doesn't always mean better taste that can be affordable. Though, I must admit some are real mood openers and leaves very good memories. It would be nice to be able to compare daily good french and italian food as well.

Best for health in there is to get a glass bottle water supplier, the difference with plastic bottle is noticeable but it's sadly pricier.

Gunnar, you have a stylish lamp !

 

[LarryK]

You're welcome, you are making a big bold move, the least to do is to welcome and help.

Yes, be patient and check everything that might be a potential problem. We used to have doormen, some that worked good, but that time is passed and it feels safer without them now. Maybe it'll come back with serious doormen for very good building but it might take time for that.

Regarding the food, as long as you drink good water, and do still some activities weither it's for brain or exercises, it's okay. And seriously, good food is hard to resist ! As for the alcohol, yes be wary as we have many good wines where as usual, price doesn't always mean better taste that can be affordable. Though, I must admit some are real mood openers and leaves very good memories. It would be nice to be able to compare daily good french and italian food as well.

Best for health in there is to get a glass bottle water supplier, the difference with plastic bottle is noticeable but it's sadly pricier.

Gunnar, you have a stylish lamp !

Thanks for the support.

The unions are strong in New York so doormen are still common in most buildings. Some buildings try to save money by doing without.

Labor is expensive, to say nothing of the cost to tip all of your doormen at Christmas. The old New York joke is, if you don’t tip your doorman at Christmas, they find you dead in the alley.

Is it standard for the buyer to pay for an independent inspection of a house or apartment like it is in the states?

We have reduced our wine consumption quite a bit but are looking forward to the olive oil from Provence and the cheese from everywhere.

Can I just use my ZeroWater pitcher with filter instead of subscribing to a water service?

My wife and I are working to improve my French. It’s going to be a struggle.

I feel it’s time to make the leap. Waiting ten years will make it much more difficult. We are waiting for approval from my wife’s company. They’re an international translation conpany so we hope this won’t be a big deal.

We sat at the dinner table the other night and tried to think of some place we’d like to move to in the U.S. We came up with nothing.

We want to go back to a more urban lifestyle. I’ll go back to a car-free life.

We’re tired of New York. I’d try Chicago but my wife won’t hear of it because of the cold.

San Francisco is too expensive. That applies to California as a whole.

So, that’s it. We don’t want to live anywhere in this huge country, lol.

 

[Argonaut]

My wife and I are working to improve my French. It’s going to be a struggle.

I feel it’s time to make the leap. Waiting ten years will make it much more difficult.

Whilst something of an editorialised version of Peter Mayle’s book , as is the nature of screen adaptations , and with a couple of departures from the original , this might be worth watching by way of inspiration .

A Year in Provence (TV Mini Series 1993) ⭐ 7.6 | Biography, Comedy, Drama

6h

www.imdb.com