Moving to Singapore. Help needed


I appreciate some help with my present situation.

I will be relocating to Singapore later this year, and was advised several times that speakers, receivers and amplifiers are SIGNIFICANTLY more affordable in the US. As shipping will be borne by my company, I wonder it'll make sense to assemble a set here and ship them over. I understand the electrical system is different in Singapore (220-240v), compared to 110-120v here.

My specific questions:
1. Is it possible to get 220-240v amplifiers/receivers in the US? Is there any specific brand that either carries models that support the 220-240v or allows one to tweak 110-120v to 220-240v easily? I am not very keen on a transformer, as they are generally bulky and will avoid them if I could.

2. Do the differences in electrical supply have any bearing on the performance of speakers?

3. I understand Iphone/Mac users can stream music to their receiver using AirPlay or adding an Airport Express; so far only Pioneer supports AirPlay (as far as I know). Is this true? Is it possible to play music through my Iphone/Ipad/laptop on these systems with no AirPlay compatibility? Appreciate if you could share some of your experience here.

4. An 804 diamond currently retails at $7500, while used 804S and 804d are selling for much less. Is the price difference really worth the sound quality? I spend time listening to vocals, jazz and instrumentals.

Many thanks for your time to ease my audiophilic dilemma.

SP
av_enthusiast
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.

Hi AV_enthusiast

I am an expat living in Singapore for the last 5 years. I brought over my Bryston gear (converted it to 240 V) and bought new B&W 804S which I am still using today.

It would be interesting to hear how you made out and your impressions of Singapore so far