Bought a Luxman integrated from Japan. Listening to it now, sounds as wonderful as it should. I bought from Buyee Japan, my second purchase. Only paid about an extra $200 for shipping and import etc. A proper step down will not degrade the sound. The key is to buy one that has lots of head room and designed well. My step down is rated for 1600 watts and I had it pretty loud today and it never got up to pulling 200watts.
What to expect if I import an amp and preamp from a Japan seller via US eBay
I can’t afford the cost of the amp and preamp I’d like to buy. I’ve discovered I can pay just less than half what I’d pay at a dealer in the US. But I haven’ t done this before. I’m aware that I won’t have a guarantee and that I’ll need a step down transformer. I willing to take the risk of no guarantee. But I don’t know what to expect when my box hits CUSTOMS. What can I expect? What are my responsibilities? How much is it likely to cost me?, I’ll be paying $7000 for the amp and the preamp..
- ...
- 40 posts total
+1 for “you won’t hear the difference w/ a step down transformer,” assuming you have a transformer rated for the needs of the equipment at hand. If we think about it, every device plugs into the wall and converts the wall voltage to the voltages needed in the audio circuit. No mystery here on how this works. If there’s a difference, I think it’s much smaller than the difference in Accuphase vs. not Accuphase within your budget. To give you a sense of price (few hundred $) from another thread on operating Japanese gear in the US:
Here’s another suggestion: send it to George and have them convert the unit to 110v, and skip the transformer altogether. I suspect all the hardware is there and it’s merely a matter of using the appropriate taps on the power transformer, but it’s likely George would know and could answer whether this is a viable option over the phone. |
Reply to allenf11863 @echolane -- I can understand where you are coming from, and if it is an Accuphase Amp, I find it freaking ridiculous that a person can buy a brand new, in the box, unopened Accuphase E4000 Integrated Amp in Japan for $6,190...but buy it here in the U.S. and it’s $14,000! F**k that. I don’t begrudge a U.S. business owner making a living, but if you are going to deal in a product that has that big of an upcharge, good luck. I, too, find it freakin ridiculous to have a $7000 disparity in price between the product in Japan and the product in the US. I don’t really understand why it should be that extreme. It certainly opens the door for people like me to find a workaround. I simply cannot afford to buy the product at the US price so the distributor and the vendor would never profit from my sale. Why should Japan profit from it? The whole thing is just all wrong. |
- 40 posts total