Parts shopping in Asia
My "day job" takes me to Asia fairly frequently. When I have spare time, I've tried to seek out decent shops that have tube audio-related parts.
Japan:
If you should ever find yourself in Japan, or would like an excellent tube audio adventure trip, you need to go to Akihabara. Akihabara - "electric town" - is Tokyo's electronic shopping district. Mostly what you'd expect - consumer electronics stuff - but has a good amount of little places that sell DIY parts. Especially in the area right around the JR Akihabara train station, there are some little stall shops that have some really nice stuff.
Definitely visit Noguchi Transformers (www.noguchi-trans.co.jp, in Japanese only). They're located in the Tokyo Radio Department (TRD) building in Akihabara, just a couple of blocks from the JR Akihabara station. Don't count on anybody there being able to speak English, but if you come knowing what you want, you won't have any problems. Check out Noguchi's website (you may need to download Japanese language support), and you can at least figure out what they have, and get the prices (in JP Yen).
I found that buying two pairs of Tango OPT's in person in Japan actually paid for my airfare from Denver (USA) to Tokyo... granted, I got a great ticket price ($450 round trip!), but still, much cheaper there!
While you're in Akihabara, there are other tube-oriented places to go. Amtrans (www.amtrans.co.jp) is one, and there are a couple of others, all within walking distance.
For general Akihabara info, including maps (you may have to do some Japanese translation, and have Japanese support language installed), see the Akihabara shopping website
Here's another nice map I found that shows the TRD building, and the area near the station that has lots of little parts vendors, with a little English on it..
Hong Kong:
You have to be a little careful in Hong Kong... there are plenty of fakes and frauds around. I generally don't buy "expensive" tubes anyway, but I definitely wouldn't go shopping for rare tubes in HK: you're as likely as not to get some cleverly relabeled Chinese tube.
But there are good places, and Hong Kong is a great place to wander around.
Brian Cherry's DIY Hi-Fi Supply is one of them. Worth a visit to have a look at his products, and he carries some parts he has custom-made that can't be found elsewhere. This is one shop in HK that you can trust. Not a bad walk from the subway station and English is not a problem.
A walk through the Apliu Street market is worthwhile. Most of the stuff in the street stalls are not very interesting, lots of cheap consumer stuff. I did find some worthwhile parts there, though, like OS-CON caps at one-tenth the price you have to pay a US distributor, and some connectors and cable There are also regular shops along the streets, several of which cater to tube audio DIY'ers. The Apliu street market is easy to get to - take the MTR (subway) to the Sham Shui Po station, and go out the Apliu street exit. You're there!
One Apliu shop I found particularly good is the Wing-Shing (Sham-Shui-Po) electronic company (174 Apliu Street). They had a good selection of parts, like Riken resistors for HK$10 (about US$1.25), black gates, Elna cerafines, ALPS pots, etc.
Taiwan:
I've been visiting Taiwan quite a bit lately, and though I still have a hard time finding my way around Taipei, I have found a few good places to shop for parts. Especially if you're looking for decent (not "designer") parts on a budget, Taiwan is a good place to buy parts. I'm convinced many of the no-brand parts like audio connectors that you can buy for a buck or two in Taiwan come from the same Chinese factories that produce the big-name (and big-$$$) parts.
One good spot is a nondescript building located near the Chungsiao bridge, at the corner of Chungsiao W. Road and Hsining S. Road (I think). This is about 5 block from the Taipei main railway station, towards the Tanshui river. There are no signs to speak of outside, and the first floor outside is mostly little food stands - but inside is an electronics market, with dozens of individual shops on two or three floors. The shops specialize in all kinds of electronic things, including used test equipment, wire, power supplies, tubes, used audio components, speakers - you name it.
I think the easiest way for a westerner to get around Taipei is by taxi. It's inexpensive - a typical ride across town might set you back US$5.00 or so, though traffic can be slow. Only some taxi drivers speak English, so you're best off getting directions in Chinese from your hotel, or bring a map. I found a map online that might help.
If you walk around the streets and alleys nearby you will find other audio and electronics ships (as well as places selling things like fresh pig intestine). There are a couple of shops who will wind you custom power transformers very inexpensively. Best bring somebody who can speak Mandarin, or be prepared for lots of drawing and hand waving.
Also worth a visit is THL Audio. They don't seem to carry a lot of inventory, but speak English and are helpful. This is where I bought James transformers until Euphonia Audio started selling them in the US.
