New catalog, some price reductions, and some changes

avahifi · « **on:** 30 Mar 2003, 02:48 am »

Hi:

Our 2003 catalog is out and available on the AVA Web site at www.avahifi.com.

We have made several changes to the product mix for 2003. Here are some of the highlights:

We took a serious look at the preamp product line and the costs associated with each product and have decided to discontinue the Transcendence Five preamp as a new product. The T5 is still available as an upgrade to the earlier Pas 3i and Pas4i, however, as it's still cost effective to do the upgrade, and it's a significant upgrade over the 3i and 4i. One of the main reasons for discontinuing the T5 was that we lowered the price of the Transcendence Six preamp to $799, a $150 reduction over the 2002 price. The T6 now sells for only $50 more than what we sold the T5 for, and the T6 is a MUCH better preamp.

A new product offering for 2003 is the T6 in a kit. The T6 kit is a lot of fun to do (I build them all the time), and is easier to build than the T5 kit was. All of our kits come with all of the parts needed and a complete set of instructions. All you need to know is how to solder and be able to follow the detailed instructions. Remember that if you elect to build a kit we offer a free checkout of your finished work. All you will need to pay for is the round trip shipping.

We have also discontinued the power amps in the small SF chassis. The OmegaStar 200 series and the Control Amp were the products in that mix. The VERY GOOD news is that we have LOWERED the prices of all of the OmegaStar power amplifiers! Here are a couple of examples: The OmegaStar 240 was reduced from $1025 to $899, the same price as the old OmegaStar 200 HTS. Another excellent value is the OmegaStar 440 that went from $1655 to $1499, a $166 reduction.

Late last year we reduced the price of our OmegaStar DAC from $1399 to $999 after we introduced the new Transcendence DAC. The new pricing for the OmegaStar DAC and the new T-DAC are now represented in the 2003 catalog.

There have been some other changes to the product mix that are simply the result of time. Over the years we have offered upgrades to old Dynaco and Hafler amps. We have seen a significant reduction in the big power amps from both Dyna and Hafler that are being upgraded to AVA systems. We have, therefore, stopped offering upgrades from "stock" Dyna ST-400, ST-410, ST-416, and Hafler DH-500 and XL-600 amplifiers. Please note that we will CONTINUE to offer AVA upgrades to those chassis models that have already been upgraded to AVA circuits. For example owners of an Omega, Omega II, or Omega III can still upgrade to the latest OmegaStar in their Dyna ST-4xx chassis. We are continuing to offer upgrade to the stock Dynaco St-120, St-150, and Hafler DH-200, DH-220 and XL-280 amplifiers. We are also offering a wonderful upgrade to the Dynaco St-70 all tube amplifier. If you have questions please feel free to call us.

Check out the changes on the Web site. We have uploaded a PDF of our 2003 catalog for those who want to download it. On the cover you will find the photos of the Transcendence 7 SL preamp, the new T-DAC, and the new cabinet styling that Biro Technology has for their L/1 speakers.

One last thing, there are some new listings in the used equipment section, with more to come if I get my butt in gear!!

Thanks for your interest in AVA products!

Larry Jenkins

David Ellis · « **Reply #1 on:** 30 Mar 2003, 05:04 am »

Don't you know anything about marketing???

The time-honed method of product changes is to constantly RAISE prices, and convey a plethora of reasons (B.S. mostly) about why the same piece of electronics is soooo much better than it was during the previous year. You guys are obvously didn't pass your marketing test, and are not worthy of consideration at the local retail outlets! Haven't you learned anything from B*&E?

Seriously, good post, and good for you! Hopefully I'll have a several hours to spend with Frank toward the end of May. I am very eager to spend some time with his electronics.

Dave

cjr888 · « **Reply #2 on:** 30 Mar 2003, 02:44 pm »

Quote

Remember that if you elect to build a kit we offer a free checkout of your finished work. All you will need to pay for is the round trip shipping.

That is a really amazing offering.

JLM · « **Reply #3 on:** 30 Jun 2003, 12:46 am »

Frank:

Why have you dropped the integrated "Control Amplifier"?

That pretty much takes your stuff out of my price range. I'd read somewhere around here about the integrated and had spent the afternoon soaking up the AVA website, just to figure out that my toehold into AVA was no longer available.

Please at least remove it from your site.

I'm bummed,

jeff

avahifi · « **Reply #4 on:** 30 Jun 2003, 12:12 pm »

The Control Amp simply cost too much to produce, requiring extensive skilled labor to fit everything into the small chassis while maintaining the sonic quality we demand. The combination of an OmegaStar SL preamp and OmegaStar 240 amplifier is only $300 more than the Control amp price, and right now you can get the phono section at no extra charge (not available in the Control Amp), and also upgrade the amp to an OmegaStar 260 at no extra charge giving you tons more power, flexibility, and future upgrade potential than possible with the Control Amp alone. Think again about affordability please. Frank Van Alstine