Yamaha Natural Sound Set (RX-E100, CDX-E100, KX-E100)

[foofiebeast]

Hi all!

I picked up a Yamaha stereo receiver rx-e100 + cdx-e100 a few years back at a thrift store while on vacation (and have yet to clean off the red paint splatter it came with). I've loved this unit ever since and have been desperately hoping to find the two additional components: the cassette deck (KX-E100), and the mini disk player/recorder (MDX-E100). Actually the first additional component I picked up was the remote (CRX-E200 (ok so this is probably not the exact correct remote for this model, but it works perfect so far and looks far cooler than the correct one )).

A few weeks back I picked up the cassette deck from an online auction and it arrived today. The first thing I noticed is that it is shorter than the other two components (though it has the same depth and width). The second thing I noticed was that I failed to take into consideration that buying a unit from the UK would likely mean it would have a UK style power plug, ooopsies!

My (very naive) question to you all, as someone who has never used components from overseas, am I asking for any trouble with this set up? Can I presumably just get a power converter and use it as is?

Yamaha Natural Sound System

• foofiebeast
• Nov 7, 2018

3 components of the Yamaha Natural Sound System.
Top: KX-E100 Tape Deck
Middle: RX-E100 Stereo...

Back of Yamaha Natural Sound KX-E100 Cassette Deck

• foofiebeast
• Nov 7, 2018

Back of Yamaha Natural Sound KX-E100 Cassette Deck.

Also I'm still surprised this component is shorter, does that mean the minidisk player is taller? Or is it that the US and European models were different dimensions (seems silly but ok..) meaning at this point I would be best off searching for a matching UK minidisk unit

 

[Bratwurst7s]

It would help if you stated where in the world you are now. Making the guess that it's the USA then yes, you can use the deck with a step-up transformer. Amazon sells some, I thought that I had a link but can't find it at the moment. You will want to choose one that has a higher watt output than your deck needs. For instance if your deck has a power use rating of say, 30w (look on the back side, your photo is just blurry enough that I can't read it) then there is a step up transformer that I saw at Amazon rated at 100w that would work fine.

Sometimes the transformers accept multiple different European etc plugs. In a worse case scenario you would have to change the plug to a 115v etc US style.

Cheers,
James

 

[foofiebeast]

It would help if you stated where in the world you are now. Making the guess that it's the USA then yes, you can use the deck with a step-up transformer. Amazon sells some, I thought that I had a link but can't find it at the moment. You will want to choose one that has a higher watt output than your deck needs. For instance if your deck has a power use rating of say, 30w (look on the back side, your photo is just blurry enough that I can't read it) then there is a step up transformer that I saw at Amazon rated at 100w that would work fine.

Sometimes the transformers accept multiple different European etc plugs. In a worse case scenario you would have to change the plug to a 115v etc US style.

Cheers,
James

Ah yes, I suppose that would be relevant information haha. I am in fact in the US.
Sorry about the picture blurriness I didn't check it zoomed in, but I see what you mean now.

The unit reads:
230 Volts 12 Watts
50 Hz
So it sounds like I can use a simple wall plug one like: https://www.amazon.com/Norstar-Univ...s&ie=UTF8&qid=1541713550&sr=1-1&keywords=100w

When you say "change the plug to a 115v etc US style" would this just entail cutting off the plug head and attaching a new US style plug head? As someone who has replaced a lot of chewed off plug heads (thanks dogs) that sounds too easy to be true..

Thanks for the response, can't wait to get this set hooked up!

 

[brunomarcs]

Couldn’t you just run a 220 volt circuit to your equipment since you cannot change the voltage on the back of the unit? I have run plenty of those in my shop for various machine tools and simply wired the motors for high voltage!

 

[foofiebeast]

Couldn’t you just run a 220 volt circuit to your equipment since you cannot change the voltage on the back of the unit? I have run plenty of those in my shop for various machine tools and simply wired the motors for high voltage!

I want to be sure I am understanding your suggestion correctly. Are you saying I should run a new power line from my breaker box to where the unit is? If so that is both out of my skillset and difficult to do as the room is detached from the house and the power/cables were run underground before a concrete pad was laid.

Also plugging the cord into an adapter seems a smidge easier

 

[Bratwurst7s]

Ah yes, I suppose that would be relevant information haha. I am in fact in the US.
Sorry about the picture blurriness I didn't check it zoomed in, but I see what you mean now.

The unit reads:
230 Volts 12 Watts
50 Hz
So it sounds like I can use a simple wall plug one like: https://www.amazon.com/Norstar-Univ...s&ie=UTF8&qid=1541713550&sr=1-1&keywords=100w

When you say "change the plug to a 115v etc US style" would this just entail cutting off the plug head and attaching a new US style plug head? As someone who has replaced a lot of chewed off plug heads (thanks dogs) that sounds too easy to be true..

Thanks for the response, can't wait to get this set hooked up!

That would probably work OK but I was thinking of something more like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Simran-AC-10...&qid=1541966298&sr=8-1&keywords=simran+ac-100
(I like something that has fuses just in case...)

As far as the cord, with one of the above transformers you won't need to change the cord/plug.

Cheers,
James

 

[foofiebeast]

That would probably work OK but I was thinking of something more like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Simran-AC-10...&qid=1541966298&sr=8-1&keywords=simran+ac-100
(I like something that has fuses just in case...)

As far as the cord, with one of the above transformers you won't need to change the cord/plug.

Cheers,
James

That one looks heavier duty, but this concerns me, "However, this transformer does not change the Hz from 50 to 60 or vice versa. In Europe, it's only 50 Hz, so this transformer can only take down the voltage to 110V but does not increase the cycles to 60 Hz. Likewise in the US, this transformer does not reduce the cycles to 50 Hz. This mainly affects devices that rely on timing such as clocks and the speed of motors"

The tape deck is marked as 50 HZ, and apparently this will not change it to 60h Hz. Since a tape deck is motor powered does it sound like this may cause an incorrect speed for playback?

My knowledge is very limited, but replacing the plug head doesn't seem like it would accomplish changing the voltage or hz, just let me plug it into an incorrect voltage socket, no?

 

[Bratwurst7s]

No transformer that I know of can change the CPS (hz). That is also the case with the wall wart model that you linked to.

Having bought a 220v/50hz unit you are stuck with finding out if it's internal PSU can handle the difference between 50hz/60hz if it is supplied with the correct voltage/wattage that it needs. My guess is, yes. But if you are going to use that unit in the USA you have no other choice than to try a step-up transformer.

Changing the plug has nothing to do with what power/frequency is running through the cord. It only changes what you can plug it in to.

Cheers,
James

edit: Consider that the PSU of your deck is taking the AC line voltage and converting it to DC through a bridge rectifier. The input CPS shouldn't really matter if the psu is built correctly because what the motors in the unit are using is rectified DC.

 

[avionic]

The tape deck is marked as 50 HZ, and apparently this will not change it to 60h Hz. Since a tape deck is motor powered does it sound like this may cause an incorrect speed for playback?

The only time 50/60 hertz is and issue is if AC motors are used in a tape deck.

 

[avionic]

As far as I know all Yamaha decks are DC motors.So the only thing you have to get right is the proper AC mains voltage conversion. Frequency doesn't matter.

 

[foofiebeast]

No transformer that I know of can change the CPS (hz). That is also the case with the wall wart model that you linked to.

Having bought a 220v/50hz unit you are stuck with finding out if it's internal PSU can handle the difference between 50hz/60hz if it is supplied with the correct voltage/wattage that it needs. My guess is, yes. But if you are going to use that unit in the USA you have no other choice than to try a step-up transformer.

Changing the plug has nothing to do with what power/frequency is running through the cord. It only changes what you can plug it in to.

Cheers,
James

edit: Consider that the PSU of your deck is taking the AC line voltage and converting it to DC through a bridge rectifier. The input CPS shouldn't really matter if the psu is built correctly because what the motors in the unit are using is rectified DC.

Ah, that was my next question, thank you!!

The only time 50/60 hertz is and issue is if AC motors are used in a tape deck.

As far as I know all Yamaha decks are DC motors.So the only thing you have to get right is the proper AC mains voltage conversion. Frequency doesn't matter.

Welp I guess step-up transformer it is! I'll have to do a little research and report back. Far too many of the ones I've seen have scarily high failure rates/1 star reviews. I am adamant about getting this working with my setup, but one might say i'm equally adamant about not burning my place down

 

[foofiebeast]

I guess I am trying to understand the benefits of using a large transformer as opposed to a wall-wart transformer.

If the only difference is that the larger transformers allow for heavier wattage, in this case it would only be more costly, take up significantly more space, and probably be a bigger power drain(?).

This unit only requires 12 Watts, which I'm thinking even a wallwart transformer (most i'm seeing are rated for at least 50 or 100 w) could handle for long periods without heating up or being dangerous. I guess it may just be something I need to order and test for a bit.