If you are buying from Japan, I guess that unit is designed to operate at 100 volts. The USA electricity is around 110-120 volts. A 'real' transformer with the ample current rating for this is the better option. Any reason not to buy a USA unit, avoiding the extra transformer?

I had one of these for several years, and I sold it because my OPPO player sounded better.

I have since moved on to the Marantz SA10 player, which is absolute perfection sonically.

I don't know exactly what you want it for or what the cost would be, but I suggest that you consider other alternatives, such as the Marantz SA10
or Musical Fidelity M6 players, which are better-sounding.

kilowatt250 wrote:

I'm very anxious to purchase the above player given my prior experience with it. However, being a novice audiophile who lives in the US I'm skeptical about using a transformer to make it playable here. Moreover, will using a transformer degrade the sound? Thank for any enlightenment.

Norman Green

Commsysman uses an OPPO. It may be good to get one used, but these OPPOs do command a premium price on the used market.