Hello, I may have a chance to go to


Japan with my boyfriend. He is being sent there on business and I am going to look at cd players while I am there (if I go). Japan and the US have different voltage requirements, does a voltage converter work well? Does it change the sound? If they do work, will they work permanently? My boyfriend is about as clueless as I am, so we're both wondeering if it would be worth buying a cd player over there. I am mainly interested in Accuphase, they are so expensive over here that I may be able to find one over there but what good would it do me if I can't play it? Thank you all.
smw30yahoocom

Showing 1 response by douglas_schroeder

In a nutshell, it is not worth it. Just a few precautions; shipping/return handling of the unit could be problematic, customs - what if you are hit with a charge for an expensive unit being brought into the country?, inability to conduct any kind of trial of the unit in one's system (perhaps not a big consideration for you), warranty and repair work, and cost associated with getting the unit switched over voltage-wise or buying a converter, etc.

Perhaps if you were visiting the Accuphase factory and buying a factory second it might make sense to try. Excepting that I don't see a tremendous amount of upside to the idea, especially when there are fabulous souning DACs for about $1,500 or less which might compete very well.

When I was in Hong Kong I made it a point to visit an entire High End shopping center/zone with several shops adjacent. It was a marvelous experience, but I came home empty-handed for the very reasons I explained above.