Variac vs bulk transformer for Japanese gear

[rayner06]

My main concern is about how these two would affect the sound, if there's any possible degradation on the sound quality.

I've used japanse bulk transformers in the past (Nissyo and Sanyo, but they are expensive + shipping), but since I've moved to Europe it's been hard to find a 230v-100v transformer.

Now I have the chance to buy an old 8 amp variac (overkill, I know) from Philips for a very low price, I was wondering how it compares in terms of effiency and sound quality.

 

[gadget73]

A variac works, the trouble is making sure it never gets misadjusted.

 

[Jarred555]

A variac works, the trouble is making sure it never gets misadjusted.

A big peice of duct tape over the knob works as long as your wall voltage is constant , I recently moved and realized after about a week I needed to un duct tape my variac and readjust as I was now putting out 115 instead of 117

 

[Catmanboo]

Simpler yet, lock it in & remove knob from variac. End of issue.

 

[sqlsavior]

I used a variac with Luxman A3000 monoblocks, the Japanese 100-volt version of the MB-3045s, which I also had, and noticed no degradation.