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For our European friends

I was born in Poland but immigrated to the US as a teen with my family.... now in my late 40's I am actually thinking of going back to Poland.
Along the way I picked up this funny hobby....like the rest of us here and would like to know a few things:
- Seems with Audiogon being 90% US based and doing a quick google search there is fraction of the stuff / many less audiophiles in EU than in the USA...If you live in Germany, Italy, Poland....or any other country in Europe...do you feel there is a lot of opportunities to buy and trade high end equipment ?
 - There are some great EU companies but how about companies from the US? Are you able to pick up some of the gear made in the US but with proper Voltage or do you have to do the conversion yourself / at a local shop ?
- Anyone here actually brought their equipment from the US to Europe? 

Any feedback about the EU audiophile market and the hobby in general would be appreciated.

thanks !
ether
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Contrary to popular opinion in the USA , Poland is a country with a strong
intellectual past and present .  Intellectuals are far more respected  in Poland than in USA and Poland ,in general, is a more refined and cultured
nation .
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Stanislaw Ulam, a Polish citizen who became a US citizen in 1941, while at Los Alamos found that Edward Teller’s concept of the thermonuclear bomb, I.e., Hydrogen bomb, then under development, was unworkable. Ulam and Teller developed the workable solution that included Ulam’s lens idea, for which Ulam had done the math. So, in my opinion, Teller was not the Father of the Hydrogen bomb, as he is usually called, it’s Ulam.
ether OP
64 posts
 
thank you guys - Appreciate the kind words about Poland and the people....  

my main concern was due to the fact that in Poland...as it is for the rest of EU in fact, things are taxed like crazy...and often there are some additional taxes on items that are perceived as luxury....be it higher end cars (not talking Ferrari... just better class Lexus or MB) , expensive watches  etc...etc.... it's like a penalty for people who can afford more expensive goods...regular tax is not enough..... Ridiculous. 
gsm18439
895 posts
 
Some of the greatest contemporary classical composers are Polish; Górecki and Penderecki, for example. And the Polish National Radio Symphony is based in Katowice, not far from Krakow.

I cannot speak to the cost of the gear and the tax structure; but the interest is high, the quality is good, and the products are unique and easy to audition and worth exploring. I love my AncientAudio CDP (with its own built-in pre-amp); and Jarek resurrected and customized a 300b SET to match. 
schubert
7,386 posts
 
The EU in general looks to help ALL the people and high Taxes are the price of that and civillization in general.I lived in Germany a long time and the taxes bothered me at first but I came to realize even my life was better when universities charged no fees, there were no homeless, all had medical and dental care etc etc . Much better as stress level affects even the richest of the rich in the every man for himself lands . Not that they realize it .A kid that can get his orthodonic needs met is a lot more important than my stereo .
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