FWIW, when I asked Accuphase in Japan (I live in Japan) a couple of years ago what my options were if I bought a piece in Japan and moved to the US afterwards. Their explanation was that as long as I had owned it in Japan for more than 6 months, I could get the switch done for a minimal fee in Japan by Accuphase at their head office. Otherwise, they said (years ago) that the US distributor would not honor the warranty. Personally, I thought it was nice of them. While if I were a mfr, I would do things differently, I understand their point of view. They are a small specialty company and I guess they felt they did not have the requisite skill set to be successful marketing their product in a different market, so they outsourced that part of the business. You do what you have to do...