I remember Justin telling me the same thing (i.e., more cost) when I asked him about converting one to 230v when I was trying to sell my Balanced Reference (and had few folks from Europe ask me about it).
EDIT - FWIW, I remember preferring GS-X over my Balanced Reference a wee bit. My Balanced Reference didn't have quite the same spec (it was a single chassis model with BG caps, upgraded silver wiring, and 41-step SA's) as the one you're looking at, but it's pretty close. Of course, please take this with a whole pound of salt as it's been ages since I've owned either amps.