Hi,
Caveat: I have my Avatar up for sale now, but intend to stick w/ VAC gear. The only problem I have heard from was in connection with the Stereophile review. But, I believe that review was done at high altitude (when they were still in N.M.). Plus, there is one way that you might damage the Avatar if not careful: unlike some other tube integrateds, the Avatar is not switchable from triode to UL or back when powered up. In fact, this was the first thing my dealer warned me of when I purchased, and also mentioned in the instructions. If you switched it while powered up, it is possible you might damage it. (I have read that there is supposedly some sonic advantage to designing it this way.) Don't know if that is what happened w/ Stereophile, but I've discussed the Avatar w/ other owners on the audio boards for several years and not heard of another one failing.
TLH
Caveat: I have my Avatar up for sale now, but intend to stick w/ VAC gear. The only problem I have heard from was in connection with the Stereophile review. But, I believe that review was done at high altitude (when they were still in N.M.). Plus, there is one way that you might damage the Avatar if not careful: unlike some other tube integrateds, the Avatar is not switchable from triode to UL or back when powered up. In fact, this was the first thing my dealer warned me of when I purchased, and also mentioned in the instructions. If you switched it while powered up, it is possible you might damage it. (I have read that there is supposedly some sonic advantage to designing it this way.) Don't know if that is what happened w/ Stereophile, but I've discussed the Avatar w/ other owners on the audio boards for several years and not heard of another one failing.
TLH