Martin Logan Script i external power supply

[dap5394]

Hi i live in Australia and am looking to buy a pair of script i speakers.The local dealer said that the speakers would not work in Australia with a new 240 volt external supply because of frequency differences 50hertz verses 60hertz U S A.I believe the power supply converts 115volts AC to 16 volts DC.If this is the case then i should be able to go down to my local electronics company and buy a suitable power supply.I sent a email to Martin Logan and got this response.

Hello
Actually the local dealer provided you with accurate information. Our speaker design
is very sensitive to 50 hz vs 60 hz. If you try to use a US version even
with a step up transformer, it will not convert the frequency and the
speakers will not function. The entire power supply circuitry must be
replaced. You will need to obtain that from our agent in your country
(if they wish to sell you one). I cannot ship direct to your country
unless it goes through them otherwise it is a conflict with our
contractual agreement.
Sorry.

Service Manager
MartinLogan LTD

I don't believe any of this to be true DC is DC the only difference i can see is that the water in our sinks spins anti clockwise and the water in U S A spins clockwise.
Can anybody else shed some light on this subject.

 

[Craig]

I'm not an expert in this area but I have seen this US/AUS issue come up more than I have bothered to count. This has always been the major issue between US and foreign specs and to refresh my memory I just flushed the toilet again and sure enough, it went down in a clockwise direction...so there is a difference.

And about your US spec ML speakers...If you use a voltage converter that also converts the frequency from 50Hz to 60 Hz you should be ok. However, I don't think they are that common. Most only change the voltage and not the freq. The electronics in the original Scripts are all internal but the Script i's transformer is external. If you can find an aftermarket external transformer for 240v/50Hz input that outputs the same spec as used for the Script i then that should work.

It may seem like a lot of trouble, expense and risk to buy Script i's from the US and have them shipped to AUS. You might want to consider alternative rear speakers. Your dealer can order a AUS spec external power supply for the Script i's from ML if he is nice enough to support you on that. But he can also mark up the price as much as he chooses.

 

[Leporello]

You guys are kidding about the water spinning right? Old wives tale. Corriolus force is negligible on the scale of a sink or toilet. Water spins the way you start it spinning. As for a power supply that draws almost no current caring if the line frequency is 50 or 60, that sounds like nonsense too.

 

[audioxcel]

I found these converters.

https://www.kccscientific.com/frequency-converters/

 

[JonFo]

I don't believe any of this to be true DC is DC

Correct, DC has no 'frequency'. So as long as voltage (16vDC) and amperage (? but around 1A) match the output of the US-Spec brick, you should be fine.

It's one of the nice touches of models with external power bricks that they decouple the insanity regarding power voltage and frequency coupling of the older models.
Even the newer self-powered modern units have an internal voltage switch to deal with international markets.