I’ve been wanting to upgrade to an S300 from my Emotiva Emotiva Stealth PA-1 monoblocks for a while. Both are built on the very same IcePower boards, the 300AS1, but the S300 just sounds a lot better 
I´ve been looking to buy a used one on the American market but since my local European residential AC voltage is 220V I´m wondering how difficult it would be to convert tthe S300 from 110V to 220V. PS Audio’s UK-European dealer gave me a £250 quote for the job, which I think is a lot considering the original built in power supply on the IcePower AS boards is designed with a
Universal Mains power supply, which was meant for integrators to eliminate their need to stock both 115V and 230V versions of the amps using the AS series boards. Anybody know what the deal is here?
Welcome @hallithorst
Historically, I had less than ideal experiences with mains voltage alterations. You will pay more for shipping as individual sellers won’t have corporate rates. Then, you’ll pay import duties and VAT, then replace the power supply and take risks. I would search harder for a used unit in the EU. Some dealers have used units acquired from trade ups.
Good luck.
Thank you Serhan for this sensible piece of advice. Still curious though to know just how complex a mains adaptation could be for the S300 and M700s, considering that the IcePower boards have universal AC.
The manual of my former M700s says:
(The Stellar M700, as with all PS Audio products, is country specific to its incoming AC
voltage. This means the unit can only be operated at its preset voltage, such as 230 volts
for most of Europe and Asia, 100 volts for Japan, and 120 volts for the US and other
similar countries. Immediate damage can occur if you try and power the Stellar with a
voltage it was not designed to operate on)
Datasheets are available on https://icepower.dk . If you do know the model and version of the module installed in the unit you’re buying, then you could check its connection diagram.
It boils down to foreseen savings vs. estimated risk (likeliness, impact, and cost if risk is realised)
All the best.
Thanks again Serhan.
Yeah, I already checked the datasheet on the Danish site for the 300AS1 ICEpower board used in the S300. The universal mains switch mode power supply is integrated into the board.
But just by comparing available photos of the PS Audio S300’s innards and the unmodified 300AS1 board, it’s hard to see if and where PS Audio has modified the on-board, integrated power supply. I was maybe hoping for some specifics from PS Audio on this.
My best,
In order to protect our international distributors, we won’t be able to discuss how to convert the voltage of the unit. As Serhan mentioned, it’s likely the best option to buy direct from the local distributor. All of the things Sehan mentioned certainly add up and not to mention if something happens and the unit needs warranty work. That would involve shipping the unit back to where you originally purchased it or asking the distro to do the repair which could be very pricy.
Thanks James.
I had a hunch this might be the case. Here in Iceland, with no local dealers for a lot of brands, i.e. PS Audio, I buy my gear pretty much evenly from Europe and the US (or China). Shipping costs are pretty similar. Universal AC works great for me that way.
My best,