Three phase electrical connection for ML No.33 (UHC version)
- Thread starter Roysen
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3 phase to an audio amplifier...not in your wildest. Perhaps a three phase service to some huge venue but then it'd be feeding 1 phase loads that are hopefully somewhat balanced.
i owned No. 33's for a year or so. mine were 120v. the No. 33's also came in a UHC (ultra high current) version that required a 220/240 volt plug, as well as some jumpers (and changes to fuses as i recall) changed inside the amp. so you could run it either way and they were the same amp. this was 12 years ago for me so my memory may be a bit foggy now.
i have no idea where the specific information might be obtained unless you can track down a 220/240 UHC user.
i loved the 365 pound each No.33's as a piece of industrial art. i know there are other large heavy amplifiers, but none have ever had the visual affect of ultimate power like the No.33's did.
easily the best sounding ML amp ever.
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Actually the UHC version (or so called export version) of the ML No.33 has a different power supply than the HC version (US version). The HC version could be re-wired internally and the power cord could be fitted with a 220V wallplug to make it operate on 220V, but that did not make it equal to the UHC version. The UHC version required a 35A 230V circuit and came with adapters so you could connect them to either a normal hot, cold and ground line or a three phase line.
Also Sovereign Audio The Sovereign can be connected to a three phase electrical line.
Also Sovereign Audio The Sovereign can be connected to a three phase electrical line.
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Do you have a 3 phase power service in the building you are using the amps in? You usually only see that in industrial buildings. If you do then you would just need to make a cord with the right wire and fittings. Look at an industrial supply website for parts. I'm not sure what else you would have to do internally to the amp though.
I live in Norway and pretty much all houses here have three phase 230V power available. I would prefer to use the original Madrigal equipment for this.
Not sure how likely it will be to find an original 3 phase cord. Does any of your other equipment run on 3 phase power? What is the benefit of using 3 phase power for audio?
So what are we talking about? What exactly do you need to make them work on 3 phase power?
From what I can see on the net Norway's 3 phase voltage is 380 volts. A 3 phase power cord will have 4 wires. 3 wires for the 3 phases and one wire for ground. If the power cords on your amps don't have 4 wires in them then they wont work. An adapter will not add a wire for you. From what I understand you can use an adapter to go from 3 phase to 1 phase but not the other way around. You may need to have the amps rewired and even then they would have to work on 380 volts.
Well, first of all there are two types of electric service lines in Norway. One is three phase 380V. The other is three phase 240V. It is the last type I have. What I need is the missing adapters for these amplifiers. I know how three phase service differs from normal one phase service. I am also not sure how these adapters work, but they will allow you to change the amplifiers back and forth between three phase and one phase connection. The amplifiers sound much better with a three phase connection.
Are you thinking of a center-tapped 240 Volt system? That would be - Hot(black), Hot(red), Neutral(white) & Safety Ground(green) .
A 3 phase system would require a very different transformer and input AC power circuit.
A lot of the pre-Harman products are serviced through independent facilities and there's a list available on the Levinson website.
http://www.marklevinson.com/Info/Story/89
You may want to contact a few of these centers to see if any of them have knowledge of what is needed. I'm fairly certain that Pyramid has a Levinson tech who has been working on the product since the mid 90s.
http://www.marklevinson.com/Info/Story/89
You may want to contact a few of these centers to see if any of them have knowledge of what is needed. I'm fairly certain that Pyramid has a Levinson tech who has been working on the product since the mid 90s.
The cufusion has been cleared out. The old Norwegian Madrigal distributor must have misunderstood something. Several fellow Norwegian audiophiles have been told what I have written in this thread but it turns out to be wrong. According to the German distributor it is not possible to connect a three phase electrical line to any Mark Levinson No.33 model (UHC or HC). The confusion was probably caused by the optional wallplug shipped with the UHC version for 32A 230V connection. Its a round blue industrial wallplug which is very similar in appearance to the three phase 32A 230V wallplug which is also similarily shaped but red.
Interesting information.
I've been doing some research into making my own turntable featuring a 20 lb brass platter. The 3-phase motors and controllers for industrial use certainly looked attractive and had me wondering if any other audio equipment had similar power requirements.
I might have to revisit this issue when I get the money together.
And what about reliability of these already older units , dried out caps what ever , i am looking for a Solid state system besides the tubes , if al goes well a ML ref series from ML s old days ML 32 , 33 or 33H and ref source maybe
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