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)
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)