Warning: China-Hifi-Audio.com

I have also given up on China purchases When the retailer sent me a completely different item my only recourse with  paypal was to ship it back at my expense I provided pictures of the item i ordered and the one that was shipped I now avoid using paypal 

I had the same problem with the same seller regarding a purchase of the same amp. PayPal made excuses and dragged thier feet. I got CC company involved.  The seller even stooped so low as to offer me 0.01 if I agree to take the black model instead of the chrome model. That infuriated me.  The guy from Thomas and Stereo got involved (I think they are connected) but the CC company prevailed in the end. I will not buy from them again. Yes, the shipping price is ridiculous.

You can"t avoid it but I minimize buying anything from China.  I don't care if by unanimous vote of every audiophile if they made the best amp in the world and sold it for $100. 
Its a question that the government is corrupt, it is presently committing genocide, slavery, repression of their own citizens and worse repression over those they control (think Tibet).  They spy on us in every way possible especially hacking our defense, manufacturing, etc, you name it, they do it.  Like Joseph Stalin said 1 death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic.To support their industries is to support that. for a few bucks, c'mon .  Think about what your $s do before you spend them.

I don"t know what my price is to sell my morals, my values, my humanity but it's certainly not a few hundred or a few thousand "American" dollars.
Peace and Love to you all,Mark

Exactly why I stated at the beginning of this thread...always use your CC Company and NOT Paypal to file claims. Paypal is not your friend.  On 3 separate occasions over the past few years when filing a claim with my CC company not only did I immediately get a Full Credit of my purchase BUT because the Sellers didnt respond to the Inquiries my CC Company sent to them I got to keep all 3 Items Free of Charge. PAYPAL will NEVER do that for you. They will ALWAYS make you send the product back at your own expense and then make you PROVE that the item was returned before issuing a refund.   Try sending something back to almost ANY Foreign Country and get ABSOLUTE PROOF that the person got it.  The 3 Items I was credited for and were able to keep were a pair of Harbeth SHL5+ $3500, Wilsenton R8 Amp and a Vintage Sansui Amp valued at around $1400.  In the future think very hard about who's really got your back!!

I see an article in Dec 2020 pricing that at $1295. Wow, inflation on China products seems to go up fast. Lots of markups. I’d avoid that amp it’s approaching better quality brand prices.  Already on eBay at $3k+   Look at the Vincent SV-237MK for a nice sounding integrated. Designed in Germany, made in China or go for the PrimaLuna gear used. 
That amp is no longer a steal, it’s expensive now.