Hi Chiara and welcome to the forum. Impressive that you have found the manuals for those products, mostly folks don't! However, getting an old 115 volt system working is, IMHO rather a waste of time, money and effort, if it was just one item, the power amplifier for instance, maybe worth buying an external transformer for it but running the whole system on 115V? Tricky, you would I think have a devil of a job to keep the transformer's hum out of the phono pickup for example.
If you are really keen to use the gear I strongly advise you get it all checked by a competent hi fi technician. All good quality kit so unlikely to be unsafe but get it checked anyway.
It is an quite an old system so you may find numerous problems ( age related deterioration ) however you may be lucky.
You just need a step down transformer to give you the 110v you require. Check on the back of all the units and they will have a power rating ( on a plate next to the power cord inlet probably ). You are looking for a watt figure e.g. 50 watts. Add all these together to work out the power rating of the step down transformer you need - then get a higher rated one to be safe.
If you are lucky some of the units may have a switch to select either 110v or 240v.
As to speakers you can probably find some suitably aged speakers second hand at least until you know everything works. I noticed that Rogers have just put out some nice recreations of their BBC monitors, this would be a great addition.
Good luck and even if the system doesn’t work it will still look great in your lounge as a work of art
Also if using a stepdown transformer check the mains frequency that it requires as if any part of it uses a synchronous motor than it will run at a different speed on 50Hz compared to American 60Hz. Though if any of it is of Japanese origin then it may be fine as they strangely have both 50 and 60Hz mains.
The Thorens TD125 has electronic speed control so will work equally well on 50Hz or 60Hz mains, it can be adapted from US to European mains voltages by moving internal fuses.
The Teac tape recorder requires an internal belt to be moved on the capstan motor to change from 60Hz to 50Hz operation as well as an internal 60Hz / 50Hz switch, it does have a mains voltage selector to allow operation on European mains supplies though.
Very nice, the turntable especially, depending on what arm and cartridge it’s got, but very nice anyway.
Also the amp is good too, Kenwood/Trio produced some great amps.
Speakers? Very personal, but I’d go for a pair of period reissues, Wharfedale make some, along with JBL and Tannoy, also the Rogers LS3/5a, depends on your taste and budget, these make more sense than originals, lots of trouble potentially.
You could just buy a pair of current speakers that you like the sound of, but I’d try and keep it all period if it were me.
It looks like the Kenwood amplifier has a mains transformer specifically made for its intended market, so you would need a step-down transformer to use this in Europe. As this is a pretty meaty amplifier (70W per channel) you'd be well advised to use a step-down transformer rated at 500VA or so.
The Pioneer tuner looks to be similar, so would need to be used with a step-down transformer.
I have to admit that this world is totally new to me so I will study and explore the possibilities. Lot's to know! Also I'll try to find a specialist in the area just to see if everything is working right. And, of course, I'll update on any progress!!
I really would love to make it work as I LOVE to listen to music the old way, instead of connecting the smartphone to a wireless speaker.
Chiarafrizz wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:38 am
Wow! Thank you all!
I have to admit that this world is totally new to me so I will study and explore the possibilities. Lot's to know! Also I'll try to find a specialist in the area just to see if everything is working right. And, of course, I'll update on any progress!!
I really would love to make it work as I LOVE to listen to music the old way, instead of connecting the smartphone to a wireless speaker.
Thank you all once again!
Might be worthwhile joining a local hi-if group, internet etc, for some one-to-one help, not sure how experienced you are, but the turntable will need carful setting up, some of us here are interested in this stuff, me included, but a dedicated hi-fi group in your area might be a good thing to join, SOS tends to be more recording orientated, but we do cross-over from time to time, and it’s a bit of a grey area sometimes.
Last edited by Arpangel on Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
Chiarafrizz wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:38 am
Wow! Thank you all!
I have to admit that this world is totally new to me so I will study and explore the possibilities. Lot's to know! Also I'll try to find a specialist in the area just to see if everything is working right. And, of course, I'll update on any progress!!
I really would love to make it work as I LOVE to listen to music the old way, instead of connecting the smartphone to a wireless speaker.
Thank you all once again!
Might be worthwhile joining a local hi-if group, internet etc, for some one-to-one help, not sure how experienced you are, but the turntable will need carful setting up, some of us here are interested in this stuff, me included, but a dedicated hi-fi group in your area might be a good thing to join, SOS tends to be more recording orientated, but we do cross-over from time to time, and it’s a bit of a grey area sometimes.
Good idea in principle Arp' but beware, some of those 'hi fi' guys can be pretty weird! They might for instance tell you you need to spend 100s, even 1000s on "interconnects", cables to us plain folk.
I am sorry to come over as less than enthusiastic but I personally have no great love for old audio equipment, been there, done that, got the fiscal scars!
Audio technology has improved greatly in the last 20 years or so. You can still buy a very good amplifier and drive it from a CD player or computer.
But! IF you want the 'retro buzz' (in actual fact if not careful!) just get the kit checked and enjoy.
ef37a wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:41 am
Good idea in principle Arp' but beware, some of those 'hi fi' guys can be pretty weird! They might for instance tell you you need to spend 100s, even 1000s on "interconnects", cables to us plain folk.
I am sorry to come over as less than enthusiastic but I personally have no great love for old audio equipment, been there, done that, got the fiscal scars!
Audio technology has improved greatly in the last 20 years or so. You can still buy a very good amplifier and drive it from a CD player or computer.
But! IF you want the 'retro buzz' (in actual fact if not careful!) just get the kit checked and enjoy.
Dave.
In these days of YouTube, you can get loads of info on how to set things up, so for the OP he should be OK, and it’s not rocket science.
I love old hi-fi, you got more for your money then, I found a pair of Mordant Short MS25’s in a secondhand shop yesterday for £10, got them home, fixed them up a bit, loose terminals, drivers, and they sound superb, connected them to my old Trio 1033 fed with a Phillips CD player circa 1990, total cost of the entire system? £40, and it sounds amazing, much better than anything you’d find today at a half decent price, and all of it with superior build quality.
Folderol wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:53 am
It all depends on where the kit came from. If it was from a much loved relative, then it's quite different from it just being some random find.
That is very true. Note, the tuner being USA will have a 75uSec de-emphasis and will need modding. If it was all 230V kit I would say go for it but it seems a lot of faff for old kit IMHO.
Folderol wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:53 am
It all depends on where the kit came from. If it was from a much loved relative, then it's quite different from it just being some random find.
Loved ones, then it would have to be kept.
I was sort of thinking about this yesterday, when I was in that shop, basically, this is all dead people’s stuff, but I’m taking it, and making it work again, giving it new life, I feel like a benevolent archaeologist.
