Hindi madali ang pera sa Amerika, yan lang ang akala nang mga taga 'Pinas. Hindi lahat nang nasa Amerika ay magandang buhay.
I have to agree with this misconception. It's true na hindi madali ang pera sa US and not all have good paying jobs. My nephew, for ex., needs to have 2 jobs just to make ends meet, so all is not roses in the land of opportunity.
The only difference is that the gear most of us GAS for is usually quite readily available in the US and more often than not, I even read about european citizens complaining that prices are usually cheaper in the US compared to their own countries. Aside from accessibility, there is also the fact that you can order an item over the internet quite easily, with shipping often being free when the purchase goes over a certain amount. Consider yourself blessed in the US. I don't think we still have a credible paypal option here and most US retailers don't ship outside of the US. There are options for us here, but it usually involves having relatives and very good friends in the US, plus the occasional balikbayan.
I would like for more audio equipment brands to be locally available, but it still boils down to whether the local retailer will earn anything from it. Its often a case of importing a known item vs. a very good unknown brand (locally that is), for ex., Shure mics vs. Gefell condensers, ART preamps vs. Studio Projects, or even soundblasters vs. Echo soundcards. Since the market is small, it's pretty hard to justify the expense knowing that only an informed few have any knowledge about such products.