ML Vista rebuild to 220v 50hz

I resently bought me a Pair of Martin Logan Vista (US edition)
Happiest day of my life, until i found out that allmost all 110v - 220v converters didnt convert the frequency, and that the martin logan speakers would work on 50hz...
I contacted the importer in my country to ask for help, they told me that i had to replace the entire units on them, and that the rebuild kit would cost approximatly 1200$.

So no i got a pair of beautiful speakers that i`ve allways wanted me (was the first speakers that gave me Hi-Fi nirvana, and got me hooked)
That i can not use, neither can i afford an aditional 1200$ freaking bucks.

Is there a way around this? for example is it possible to rebuild the original amp in these? for an cheaper cost?

There should be no problem running on 110VAC 50Hz. How did you find out there might be a problem? (Of course the importer is going to say that!) What happened when you tried?

PS. There is no 'amp' in a Vista....

Tosh said:

There should be no problem running on 110VAC 50Hz. How did you find out there might be a problem? (Of course the importer is going to say that!) What happened when you tried?

PS. There is no 'amp' in a Vista....

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after askin importer, and looking around on different forums, i havent tried to use them yet, because im afraid to damage the speakers.

Its not an amplifier in them, but theres a powersupply for getting voltage to the panel.

Ive read around on different places that ML has implementet this feature to stop people from importing from USA because of the price difference there and elsewhere.

Hej!
You're not going to have a problem because of the difference between 50 and 60 Hz. As long as you use a step down transformer to get about 110-120VAC from your 240VAC mains, you will be good to go. Enjoy! (And don't talk to the importer anymore - It's not good for your sanity.)

Tosh said:

Hej!
You're not going to have a problem because of the difference between 50 and 60 Hz. As long as you use a step down transformer to get about 110-120VAC from your 240VAC mains, you will be good to go. Enjoy! (And don't talk to the importer anymore - It's not good for your sanity.)

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are you completly sure?????

After reading for several days on different site there everyone says differnt..=P
But can anyone confirm that it isnt possible to damage the speakers if i do this?

I'm sure. But I suppose you'd like to hear it from someone else also.

Why don't you point us to those other naysayers so we can shoot down their arguments for why this won't work? Otherwise it could be a long wait for you to enjoy your super-duper speakers. Aren't you dying to play them?

Tosh said:

I'm sure. But I suppose you'd like to hear it from someone else also.

Why don't you point us to those other naysayers so we can shoot down their arguments for why this won't work? Otherwise it could be a long wait for you to enjoy your super-duper speakers. Aren't you dying to play them?

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hehe of course i am=P

Will see if i can find the links again, many of them are in norwegian..

http://gator11.hostgator.com/~tdacquis/forum/showthread.php?t=5849

http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?p=81689

hmmz

both craig and jonfo that are senior members concure in the subject that ML
needs it original frequency

Sounds like there's something sensing the mains frequency and not letting them function in other countries, like M-L deliberately sabotaged them at the request of foreign dealers. I guess this is not impossible. You could still try to see what happens with yours, as it's not destructive.

IF this is the case, you could get around it by using a 12VDC supply feeding a 110VAC 60Hz inverter.

Tosh said:

Sounds like there's something sensing the mains frequency and not letting them function in other countries, like M-L deliberately sabotaged them at the request of foreign dealers. I guess this is not impossible. You could still try to see what happens with yours, as it's not destructive.

IF this is the case, you could get around it by using a 12VDC supply feeding a 110VAC 60Hz inverter.

Click to expand...

i was thinking about this, because an converter (220v-110v) that also changes the frequence cost around 1000 bucks.

Do anyone know how much power it takes to make this speakers work?

fuzzywolf said:

i was thinking about this, because an converter (220v-110v) that also changes the frequence cost around 1000 bucks.

Do anyone know how much power it takes to make this speakers work?

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Hola...I do know your nightmare. And sorry, you need 120V/60Hz to make those babies to work. Or, if they are used, give to ML a proof with the invoice dated 6 months before, and they will help you. Also you can say you bough them used, give to them the serial NO. so they can track the exact date of manufacture. Why is all this? It is called here in Costa Rica, gray market. I am a dealer, and I have 21 years working with ML. If you are in a area with voltage of 220V/50Hz, you need the boards to that specific frequency and voltage. Another way is to wait 6 months, and send the invoice to ML and they will help you out with your problem. You have to change both power supplies...regard,
Roberto.

roberto said:

Hola...I do know your nightmare. And sorry, you need 120V/60Hz to make those babies to work. Or, if they are used, give to ML a proof with the invoice dated 6 months before, and they will help you. Also you can say you bough them used, give to them the serial NO. so they can track the exact date of manufacture. Why is all this? It is called here in Costa Rica, gray market. I am a dealer, and I have 21 years working with ML. If you are in a area with voltage of 220V/50Hz, you need the boards to that specific frequency and voltage. Another way is to wait 6 months, and send the invoice to ML and they will help you out with your problem. You have to change both power supplies...regard,
Roberto.

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Only got the response that i needed to contact my local dealer from ML, and that suckz because they overprice the shit out of these kits, instead of paying around 200$ (found other treads where this was payed),
The Dealer says i have to pay freaking 1200$!

EDIT:
forgot to mention that the the speakers are about a year old, and that i posted the serialnumber etc to ML support...

fuzzywolf said:

Only got the response that i needed to contact my local dealer from ML, and that suckz because they overprice the shit out of these kits, instead of paying around 200$ (found other treads where this was payed),
The Dealer says i have to pay freaking 1200$!

Click to expand...

Call ML and explain to them your problem...might get lucky, who knows...
R.

roberto said:

Call ML and explain to them your problem...might get lucky, who knows...
R.

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Talked (mail) to that dude that everyone recommends, but it was him that gave me that answer.

The problem is that ML can not go around the importer in my country,
and thats sucks when the importer are a bunch of whiny old folks that are only ****ed because i havent bought the speakers trough them....

I think that the way ML treats its customers is way below acceptable.

Im soo close to sell my Vistas and buy a brand that cares a little more about happy customers and the fun in sound. instead of moneymoneymoney.

And this i think is a real shame,
I remember my first Hi-Fi Nirvana experience,actually the one that made me the geek i am today, it was with ML Clarity.

So when i now have the Vista i recently was in heaven, now it looks more like hell.

I really do sympathise with your predicament.

But you shouldn't blame Martin logan for your problems.
Basically you tried to save money by going around the normal import process and it has backfired on you.

Martin logan has absolutely no obligation to help you.

It's still pretty cheap to go from a 12VDC supply (like for benchtop testing car audio - about $20) to a 110VAC 60Hz inverter (like for camping - about $30). The power consumption of the ESL's high-voltage section is very low - under 5W. Try that before you give up. It'll be worth it!

Tosh said:

It's still pretty cheap to go from a 12VDC supply (like for benchtop testing car audio) to a 110VAC 60Hz inverter (like for camping). The power consumption of the ESL's high-voltage section is very low - under 5W. Try that before you give up. It'll be worth it!

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tried to search a little, do you have any links to this kind of equipment?

50/60hz

I had a similar situation with my Aeon's. I'm planning to move to Australia from the US.

I just emailed Jim, and he mailed me a replacement 220v power board for the speakers.

I think as long as the speaker is out of warranty, there's no issue with you calling the parts department and ordering the right power supply board.

One thing I haven't had time to do is compare the boards side by side to see what they did differently in the power stage circuit - I haven't had time, since my move back has been delayed by the recession/housing market situation.

Jim also told me that I'd need to do the same for my depth subwoofer - and that I couldn't use just a voltage converter.

doublepost