The following is a snip from the June 3, 2005 issue of The Wall Street Journal dealing with bargains around the world:
RUSSIA
WHAT TO BUY: Hi-fi equipment
Russia, backward? Nyet. In a case of old technology trumping the new, tube amplifiers -- a stereo technology last big in the U.S. in the 1960s -- are still made in Russia. Tube amps incorporate low-tech vacuum tubes, which stereo fans say produce a warmer sound than digital equipment, and the gear is catching back on not just with Russia's super-rich, but with music buffs on a budget. The key: The country has lots of new and Soviet-era vacuum tubes, plus out-of-work electronics specialists. Made in Russia and Ukraine, the amps start at around $600, less than half the cost of most Western models.
The catch: These things can weigh 50 pounds or more and require careful packing and extra baggage fees (fragile tubes should be removed and carried on). Plus, getting to a retailer may take some code-cracking: To reach Andre Popkov's Renaissance Audio Systems in Moscow, take the subway to the next-to-last stop (it's called Skhodnenskoye -- but you have to read Cyrillic), find the yellow-brick Mendeleyev Chemistry Institute, pass under the Do-Not-Enter sign... on second thought, email Mr. Popkov beforehand. With advance notice, his manufacturers will also customize equipment for U.S. voltage.
RUSSIA
WHAT TO BUY: Hi-fi equipment
Russia, backward? Nyet. In a case of old technology trumping the new, tube amplifiers -- a stereo technology last big in the U.S. in the 1960s -- are still made in Russia. Tube amps incorporate low-tech vacuum tubes, which stereo fans say produce a warmer sound than digital equipment, and the gear is catching back on not just with Russia's super-rich, but with music buffs on a budget. The key: The country has lots of new and Soviet-era vacuum tubes, plus out-of-work electronics specialists. Made in Russia and Ukraine, the amps start at around $600, less than half the cost of most Western models.
The catch: These things can weigh 50 pounds or more and require careful packing and extra baggage fees (fragile tubes should be removed and carried on). Plus, getting to a retailer may take some code-cracking: To reach Andre Popkov's Renaissance Audio Systems in Moscow, take the subway to the next-to-last stop (it's called Skhodnenskoye -- but you have to read Cyrillic), find the yellow-brick Mendeleyev Chemistry Institute, pass under the Do-Not-Enter sign... on second thought, email Mr. Popkov beforehand. With advance notice, his manufacturers will also customize equipment for U.S. voltage.
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