Stores or dealers in Sao Paulo?

Aside from buying something from Audiopax, which is based in Rio, Brazil is probably the last place I would buy electronics. My recollection is that the tax on imported electronics is north of 90%, and there is also a significant distributor mark-up and dealer mark-up for the better brands. As an example, Maxx II's in the U.S. retailed for $40,000, while they sold for $100,000 in Brazil. My wife is Brazilian and we lived in Sao Paulo from 2002 to 2005. Before leaving, I sold my Revel Salons for twice what I paid for them in the U.S.

Putting aside price, the market is fairly primitive and most high-end brands available in the U.S. are not sold there - an Audio Research + Wilson or B&W system is considered an elite system in Brazil.

I'm going to alert my audiophile buddies in Brazil about this thread - they have long suffered and will get quite a kick out of it.

One more thing further to what Tubegroover wrote - Brazil used to be super-cheap for Americans, but now the exchange rate is in their favor and the economy is hot, so generally speaking, Brazil has become really expensive for Americans. I was in Sao Paulo in August for business, but had forgotten to bring some basic toiletries. I bought a pack of four Gillette razor blades, a tube of toothpaste, and a toothbrush: $30.

In short, don't bother going to hi-fi shops, as they don't sell the elite brands (again, they think Wilson, B&W and Audio Research are state-of-the-art, and they charge a fortune for it), and don't forget your toothbrush.