Moving to Singapore. Help needed

Sorry, one more point I wanted to mention but somehow missed just now...

You probably do not know what kind of place you will be moving into at this stage. If you plan on buying a completely new set of gear, you are gonna want to take your new room under consideration... which you are unlikely to be able to do in the US. If you are just bringing our old stuff and the company is covering shipping, I guess there is not too much harm in it, but something to think about seriously if you do plan to buy new stuff. Would be a shame to buy a bunch of new gear in the US and then find you can't effectively position or use it in your new home (not to mention put a serious damper on any cost savings)

When I lived in Singapore (20 years ago), US gear was more expensive than in the US, mass market Japanese gear (Sony, Pioneer, etc) was roughly the same, European and higher end Japanese gear (Luxman, etc) was cheaper. The latter was because, unlike in the US, you could get discounts from MSRP on pretty much anything. You'll get a better discount if you bring a local with you, since Americans won't get as much of a discount as a Singaporean will.

I don't think this has changed too much today. I was there two years ago, and bought a Linn Lingo and a Benz Ace (both European) at the Adelphi for noticeably less than they would have cost me in the US.

With regard to brining gear over from the US, speakers are fine - no major issues with them. However, due to the climate Singapore rooms tend to have more hard surfaces than typical US rooms (e.g., marble floors rather than carpet), so speakers tending towards bright might become overbearing there.

Amps and CD players just need to have the right voltage - as noted, if they have dual primary transformers they should be able to just be rewired internally, but unless they have an external switch or you know what you're doing you should get a pro to check and do the switch. You'll also need to get the right kind of power plug for the wall - Singapore uses the UK style, and those are readily available there.

Turntables and tuners are more problematic. If a turntable uses a syncronous AC motor which uses the power frequency to control the speed (many belt drives are this way), it'll run at the wrong speed because Singapore uses 50Hz AC power while the US uses 60Hz AC. If the speed is electronically regulated (like, say, most Linn LP-12s), you need to make sure the regulator has switchable power (Linn Lingos and Valhalls do).

Tuners have the 230V or 120V issue like amps do, but also need to have adjustable deempahsis (Singapore uses 50uS, the US 75uS). Without that, a US tuner will have depressed highs if used in Singapore. Digital tuners also need to be able to tune on even decimal frequencies (say, 91.2) as well as the odd ones used in the US (such as 91.3)

One more thing, since this is the Home Theatre forum. When I was living there, the TV standard was completely different than the US standard, so a US TV or VHS deck wouldn't work there at all. Expats used to buy "multi system" TVs, which would work on either the US NSTC system or the UK PAL system Singapore used.

This may have changed with HDTV - you should check before bringing over any TVs, DVD players, etc.

They have/used to have a digest sized mag that had a listing for every audio store in the city. There's a used store in a shopping center in Sambawang that's pretty good.

P.S. Don't chew gum or spit. Beware of the Triad and don't walk in tall grass at night(King Cobra's). Enjoy the warm rain and get used to the expression "Lah" used after every few words.

Just got back from a work trip and boy, you guys are awesome!!!

Insomniac928, my place will come with a hall about 10 x 12 feet, not sure about the ceiling.

Richardyc, the website is exactly what I had tried to look for, it seems very active!

Seems like the best way is to bring along my speakers (since it doesn't depend on power supply) and get a receiver in Singapore.

I know this may be strange to some regarding the trouble getting an audio system over, but it is really one of the few things I truly enjoy.

Thanks for all your advice.