Hello, I may have a chance to go to

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I've been there and it didn't look to me like they were selling things any cheaper but I could be wrong. Be sure to factor in the customs duties you'll have to pay as well as the fact the warranty will be void and no Accuphase dealer will service it.

from http://www.accuphase.com/support.html

Terms of Accuphase Warranty

The Accuphase warranty is not worldwide, but is limited only to the country, in which the product was purchased, and the first original purchaser. As Accuphase Warranty service is conducted by the individual authorized Accuphase distributor in each country, the warranty has no coverage outside the country where the warranty has been registered.

Warranty disclaimer information

Accuphase products are manufactured to each individual country's electrical specifications and voltages. Use or sale of Accuphase products outside of their respective country's territories, for example the use of 100 volt products in 120 or 220/230/240 volt products regions, 120 volt products in 100 or 220/230/240 volt regions and 220/230/240 volt products in 100 or 120 volt regions, automatically voids the Accuphase warranty of the affected product. Products whose voltage conversions were not authorized as well as use of transformers that step up/down the voltage will void the Accuphase warranty. Once Accuphase determines that a product has been used outside it's authorized country, that product will not be accepted for warranty or for service.

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Since we don't have zip/country in our profiles, it's hard to tell from what country you're going to Japan however I'm not sure what is the goal being persuaded by crazy 'phile couple LOL! Wouldn't you have anything MORE interesting than CD-player shopping in Japan? Unless you're saving thousands on Accuphase(or similar) equipment, or you have very limited choices of japanese CD-players next to your home it wouldn't make much of a sense.

In a nutshell, it is not worth it. Just a few precautions; shipping/return handling of the unit could be problematic, customs - what if you are hit with a charge for an expensive unit being brought into the country?, inability to conduct any kind of trial of the unit in one's system (perhaps not a big consideration for you), warranty and repair work, and cost associated with getting the unit switched over voltage-wise or buying a converter, etc.

Perhaps if you were visiting the Accuphase factory and buying a factory second it might make sense to try. Excepting that I don't see a tremendous amount of upside to the idea, especially when there are fabulous souning DACs for about $1,500 or less which might compete very well.

When I was in Hong Kong I made it a point to visit an entire High End shopping center/zone with several shops adjacent. It was a marvelous experience, but I came home empty-handed for the very reasons I explained above.

Japan with my boyfriend. He is being sent there on business and I am going to look at cd players while I am there (if I go). Japan and the US have different voltage requirements, does a voltage converter work well? Does it change the sound? If they do work, will they work permanently? My boyfriend is about as clueless as I am, so we're both wondeering if it would be worth buying a cd player over there. I am mainly interested in Accuphase, they are so expensive over here that I may be able to find one over there but what good would it do me if I can't play it? Thank you all.
Smw30yahoocom

good heavens!! what a couple you guys are!!! you are going to Japan for the 1st time & all you can think is going shopping for an Accuphase CD player?? :-0
Japan is such a different culture from rest to the world - soak in their culture, their food, their way of living, etc & simply forget about the CD player. I'm with Marakanetz in this regard.
Both Herman & Doug Schroeder make some very good points - it's not worth your effort.
Enjoy Japan & buy the electronics off Audiogon or your local dealer - a demo or scratch-and-dent unit, refurbish, trade-in, etc.

Boy you guys sure like to draw your own conclusions don't you, what a tough crowd. Of course that's not the only thing I would be doing there, it's just one of the things I thought that I could do when he's working, we would save the siteseeing when we could go together. But, it's all moot at this point anyway as I can't get the time off from work, we're really busy now, so he is going by himself. He's not going to have time to go looking for a cdp for me as he'll be very busy while he's there (electrical engineer) and I wouldn't even ask him to do that. I got on line after I heard the news that I couldn't go and saw a few places that sell Accuphase but not sure if I fully trust them. What I can't believe is the price difference between Japan and the U.S. for the same equipment (if it's legit), what a markup. But some of you are right, Accuphase won't touch them if you use a voltage transformer or if you buy overseas. I guess I'll just either purchase over here now that I won't be going, or I'll look for another player. Thanks