I'm waiting on a Pioneer CLD-R7G Japanese Laserdisc player. The seller claims the power supply says 120v. Years ago I had a LD-S9 from Japan that came with a 120v to 100v step down transformer. Should I get a transformer just to be safe?..

Yes

Thanks!..

No!

Still yes

Julien

Maybe!

That’s it! Every possible answer, thread complete!

Schrödinger's step-down converter: you don't need one until you plug it in.

Yes. Japan is 100v, not 110v thus use a transformer. Enjoy your R7G!

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2225.html

The QUALITY of the step down is critical. That player can handle US voltages without any issue. A crappy step down can instantly destroy it. I’ll take the enemy I know (slightly more heat) than the one I don’t (eBay electronics).

If you buy one of those massive metal units they used to sell at Kinokunia in the 90s for hundreds of dollars...no problem. I would be very picky about using low cost modern alternatives though. You don’t want to be like those people who die from poison hand sanitizer.

Yes but this player doesn't need one for the USA, its been documented.
And if OP can't or doesn't trust they can open the top and verify the power supply inside is marked for the 110, 115, 120 etc.

But this is really for this player.

A google search would have cleared this up right away.
I did when I owned one.....

Didn't know that, that's great for 100v and 110v regions. I've seen an R7G with a UK power supply not too long ago. I couldn't find any more information about it unfortunately. If it's easy enough to do I wouldn't mind switching my R7G to run on 230v 50hz.

I think I remember reading someone trying or thinking of trying to just open and replace the psu from a 220 LD player but
can't remember if I read anything else about the after effects

For the USA it is a great thing to not have to deal with that converter, I know most Japanese to American electronics will be fine but
there are some I think with ?better? psu that you need to have that converter, like an X0 or X9 or even that LDS9 but other stuff doesn't matter.

If you buy a vintage tube amp from Japan then for sure give it whatever it needs. This player doesn’t have an issue though as it was so late in the game. The story changes depending on the player, I have no doubt some players would hate 110 (usually more like 120V) and anyone with the $$$$ decks isn’t making any sense if they are taking half measures on power.

Wow! Thanks for the great replies. After I read the first reply, I bought a PS. I remember my S9 came with a transformer meant for use with a shaver. It worked fine. The seller has opened it up to clean/lube and looked at the PS. I can open it and look but I would rather just use the transformer...

PowerBright VC-500J

I'm a bit late to the party, but as a former owner of an R7G I can confirm that it uses a 120V PSU despite 100V being the standard in Japan. Just about every other Japanese high end LD player that I know of (HLD-X0, X9, S9, H9 etc) all use a 100V PSU.

So in other words running a transformer in line with this deck just wastes electricity.

BTW, while the performance of the R7G beats most players ever made I wouldn’t consider it high end at all. When it came out it was basically the new medium end. Advanced filters and such had made truly high end LD players pretty much obsolete by then.

The Pioneer cld-d925 fits the R7 like a glove. simple replacement