Thanks for that, it is good to enjoy your current system, especially when it does sound great afterall!
In Australia they don't want to service second hand gear if it was purchased overseas. I don't why this is, it's their attitude. They only prefer to help if you were to buy from them directly on Aussie soil.
Whiles at the cj dealer, I have witnessed and heard so many stories of people buying in from Spore and requesting service. Since my cj & quad dealer is a good mate, he's willing to assist in any way he can even though it is not his customer.
Whereas my other dealer and distributor for mcintosh wouldn't even here of it. Their policy is "not my customer, not my problem."
A bit backward I must say compared to the US...
If I am to get Lamm's, they have to be brand new, or second hand from the dealer. In most cases here, dealers of high-end audio don't even carry used items, unless it was the demo equipment.
Those who have bought from overseas and bring those items into Australia are paying a lot of money for service and tec support because the dealer/representative wants to get their monies worth. I guess this is ok since afterall this is a business and not a hobby...
I will certainly keep you posted my friend. Looks like for now it would be the Artsa in the long run regardless of pricing. I just checked with the Lamm dealer in Sydney, they're quoting around 50 grand for the ml2.2 and 70 grand for the ml3 series. According to them these are just starting prices for used/demo units, and around 80 grand upwards for new. Forget that! Perhaps in the afterlife...
Cheers mate, RJ