hi, i dnt know alot about audio but was just curious is it worth getting alpine gear from ebay?
such as this.....http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ALPINE-SPX-17PRO ... ingPayment

In all honesty I'd look closer to home - find a local alpine specialist dealer and see if they can work out something for you - that ebay store maybe listed on the Aussie Ebay but its still located in the states - that $339.95 is closer to $500 AUD then add shipping, shipping insurance, depending on quantities import taxes and fees - thats if they even ship to australia as most dont

And then what do you do with warranty as most australian distributors or alpine australia will not except warranties for international purchases - youd have to pay to send it back....

For the slight saving if any be much better of looking at online aussie car audio forums for 2nd hand gear and do abit of research to see if they have any seller history etc or search their previous posts to see if theyve had a dodgy history....

Hit up the local audio shops and see what deals they can do - alpine gear sometimes even come up with 50% off sales if ya look hard enough - all with warranty.

also if your going to start toward the higher end of the market and purchase type x / F1 type reference gear you'd be wasting your money if you dont plan to back it up with quality signal cables, good power supply, decent amplifiers and a mid to high end source unit

Just my 2 cents

Cheers
Kev