Buying a Luxman L505z from Japan

I have the Luxman L-509Z direct from Japan. I use a step-down transformer, and I can usure you it DOES NOT affect the sound in any way!

I have 47 years in the electronics industry as a radio technician, and I have built and modified many amps and various other stereo components.

The Japanese voltage version of the Luxman works flawlessly in the USA with a transformer.

You can listen to people who think they know or someone who actually has the setup in the USA...your choice.

I enjoy my $14K amp for the $7K I paid...

@cdhumiston thanks, I feel like I’m going to go with it- I have the opportunity to get a NAD M33 from a dealer - it was just a demo for $3,800 but in comparison to the Luxman, it fell short. Do you have a specific dealer in Japan that you go through- or was this 1 time thing. 

I’ve purchased 2 Luxman  amplifiers from Japan at significant savings vs US. One functioned flawlessly and I eventually sold it without any issues. One converter failed and it affected the amp. I had a hard time finding a repair shop that would fix it  I bought a higher quality converter and the amp functions without any issues. Even with the import fees and repair costs I still saved thousands of dollars. Keep in mind that the warranty will not be valid in the US. So if you’re ok with that risk then go for it. Buy a quality converter. Good luck. You won’t be able to tell any sonic difference.

@maholl50 thanks- what company did you buy the Luxman from and what brand converter would you recommend 

@edubbers   You can check out the AUDIO CUBES website and see the prices posted for Luxman/Accuphase/Esoteric etc.  You will pay more than buying direct from a Japan source. On some of the Accuphase models I notice they are offering to change the Voltage to USA so you wont have to worry about a converter.  

  Some people have said "DONT DO IT" because of the voided warranty issue.  For the amount of money you save on the ACCUPHASE units you could buy 2 of them for the price of 1 of the same unit here in the USA.   Pretty sure one isnt going to blow up 2 Accuphase Amps in their lifetime given their exemplary track record. Talk to an experienced Accuphase dealer and ask them how many times in their history an Amp had to be sent for repairs.