buying amps from abroad

graystoke4

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2011
19
0
906
uk nottingham
hi, ive seen a pair of SPECTRAL AUDIO dma 360 mk2 mono amps for sale, at a fare price, but they are in Switzerland, and im in England, after checking both country's, they seem to run the same 230 volt 50hz electric system, as i have a dma 250 at the moment, it would be a fantastic upgrade, so WILL I encounter any problems running them in England, also as we have no importer in the UK ,if anything went wrong i would have to send them back to the USA for repair,ive had spectral audio for the past six years problem free,, all comments welcome thanks andy,,,
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Amps are not picky with supply as long as you are in the neighbourhood which you say you are. Personally I would hate to have to ship a heavy unit like an amp back and forth to another country.

Then again, looking inside of it, seems like a pretty simple design to work on so perhaps you could get is serviced by an independent shop in UK.
 

zztop7

Member Sponsor
Dec 12, 2012
750
3
0
Edmonds, WA
I drove ~1500 miles to pick up my last amps. No way I was going to have them shipped.
England to Switzerland - not a bad trip.
I rode a Norton 750 from North Germany to England - straight through - stopping only for gas [& oil = it was a Norton] - except for the ferry.

zz.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Those amps get shipped all over the world, so its just about your factoring in cost on top of the purchase price. If the unit price is low enough, then I say go for it. I have bought 2 amps shipped from afar...and it still cost me much, much less 2nd hand incl shipping than retail. So far well worth it, even with a few repairs on the first one which was a 14-year hold amp.
 

Barry2013

VIP/Donor
Oct 12, 2013
2,305
487
418
Essex UK
I have bought used equipment from Europe a number of times including a Naim 500 from Germany and my YG Carmels came from Zagreb. Had no problems. If they have the original factory packing and insured and tracked delivery it should be straightforward, Obviously you need to do due diligence on the seller as there are some rogues around but most sellers are genuine in my experience. Not sure whether you have to pay VAT on imports from Switzerland or whether it is treated as an EU country.
 

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