Does this translate?


In the current issue of Stereophile magazine ( June) is a write up of the new Aavik U-380. This piece of gear is a DAC, amp and phono stage. The amp is a Class D design. The reviewer is Jason Victor Serinus who concludes his review with this statement: "if I haven't convinced you of the U-380's worth by now, perhaps it's back to Fuller I should go"

Now here's the thing, this piece of gear is priced at $39,000-!!
So two questions...does this piece translate to $39,000- worth of electronics, ( i say no way) and secondly...should JVS go back to Fuller? ( I say yes...lol).
What say you?
128x128daveyf
Hi,
39k translates to a class D design with a limited open soundstage (as compared to everything on hand), the broken (or not ready unit) and the reviewer’s habbit for promoting (with some kind of cliche). Funny as i posted here on Agon that integrates are excellent value for money.
Casing is nice though and that leaves us with 2k worth of electronics.
@edcyn  Yes, the topic has diverged from my OP...now back to my OP...hopefully.
daveyf -- As thread topics often do, the topic of the thread diverged from your original post.  I was just going with the flow.  And yeah, it's terrible.  Trying to control the direction of a thread is like...as the cliche goes...trying to herd cats.
@daveyf  In fairness, they only "review" equipment that has already passed the 'audition' to get into the magazine in the first place.
does this piece translate to $39,000- worth of electronics,

$39k retail translates to $18k wholesale of which maybe $4k is electronics. So that would be a big fat no.

@edcyn  Are you claiming that the review that I referenced that JVS wrote about the Jadis 200Mk2 was based on 'genuine knowledge'...??


I'm much more forgiving when it comes to the audio rags.   Even though Atkinson himself is too dry and data-driven for me, he has collected an entertaining, erudite staff.  I just love the pictures of the hardware, whether they're in the articles or in ads.  Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed how, over the years, the once healthily divergent Stereophile and Absolute Sound have become a veritable Mike & Ike, but that doesn't stop me from getting a smile on my face when they show up in the mail.  I have to say, too, that the magazines are far more authoritative & believable than the net.  Hey, with a published magazine, chances are decent that at least somebody with genuine knowledge of the subject takes a glance at what's been written before putting index finger to the send button.
Probably my least favorite reviewer is Jason Victor Serinus...seemingly clueless when it comes to matching equipment and the requirements of each individual piece. Evidenced by his pathetic review of the Jadis JA200Mk2 amps and his brutal load Wilson Alexia 1's!! WOW!!
I sometimes wonder if they can even tell the difference between most of the components with the exceptions of speaker, vinyl setups, and tube amps vs. SS.  Given that, what does one write?
@noromance  Wouldn't it be 'refreshing' if one of these so called 'reviewers' actually called a spade a spade! Instead we get another ad with no discriminatory listening or opinions.
Stopped reading and subscribing years ago. They never audition anything that is less than groundbreaking, a pinnacle, changing the laws of physics blah, blah blah. Make one purchase and the next month it is superseded by the next greatest thing to have been in their system, laying waste to their previous “reference”. No thank you.🤥
I read that article in the mag and my first thought was that JVS was doing his best to convince himself that this was worth the price so he could give it the usual Stereophile recommendation. Nice knob, though.
@millercarbon Here’s the other thing, in the Measurements section by JA..these words only: " measurements of the Aavik U-380 integrated amplifier appear to indicate that the amp had suffered damage, perhaps during shipping- measurements will be published as a follow-up review in a future issue" Which begs the question, for a paltry $39K this piece of gear cannot even be shipped in a container that insures it will survive the ship? Or, maybe the measurements are in fact accurate, after all what does one want for $39K! Like I said in my OP, does this translate??
@noble100  So, I listen to this piece and I think it is easily worth $300K, so i guess we should count our lucky stars that it is 'ONLY' $39K...is that your point? Doesn't really work that way in my universe...
unless you make $39K in a few minutes...on a consistent basis!
This is a big rippoff class D are they joking nothing class D is worth 39k.There are much better int amps out there for a lot less money.For that money you could get amp,preamp,phono stage and dac.Stereophile loves everything anyway.
Based on slim evidence, I think he's saying he was a Fuller brush salesman, who if he hasn't sold you should go back to being a Fuller brush salesman. Seeing as this is a $39k piece of gear I would hope for a review and not a sales pitch. Seeing as this is Stereophile that's probably asking way too much. 

What it translates to is: journalism is dead. Long live the narrative.