ASTINtrew? Ever heard of this company?

[nightflier]

I'm currently using an Adcom GCD-600, but it's starting to show it's age (it's been repaired a few times already). So I'm again in the market for a CD player that is very analytical, airy, and detailed that would be a nice contrast to most of my "warm" gear. I ran across this article in HiFi+ that was quite positive of the ASTINtrew At-3000 CD player, with a tube output stage. Moreover the price is certainly within my range (about $1K). Provided that I can find a dealer in the states, I'm tempted to just buy it.

But I've never heard of this company and wonder if this is a bit risky. Any thoughts about this player? Should I consider something else closer to home? If so, any suggestions that will still provide the qualities I'm looking for?

[nightflier]

Well it turns out there is no US distributor, at least not until 2008. However, the company is willing to sell me a 220v (EU) unit at a discount. I would then need to purchase an external transformer.

Now with all the discussion about power conditioning and power chords, am I looking at a serious degradation in sound if I use an external transformer? Should I then still plug the transformer into my power center, or is that asking for trouble?

[Luvin Da Blues]

Well it turns out there is no US distributor, at least not until 2008. However, the company is willing to sell me a 220v (EU) unit at a discount. I would then need to purchase an external transformer.

Now with all the discussion about power conditioning and power chords, am I looking at a serious degradation in sound if I use an external transformer? Should I then still plug the transformer into my power center, or is that asking for trouble?

If I'm not mistaken they run on 50Hz also...not sure if this would affect anything tho