Guys -- it's not uncommon for audio manufacturers to have "introductory pricing." It's a viable marketing tactic that can generate buzz for a new product. In this case, the strategy appears to be working. Besides, if the Avatar is as good as the initial reviews, then it's still reasonably priced relative to the closest competitor which is Jay's Audio.
Denafrips Avatar looks the goods
I really like what I see with this Denafrips Avatar, it’s looks to have the goods inside for the money, and no dvd rom slot drive or CD rom drive used either. Two transformers lot of separate regulators, many little caps to get lower esr than just big ones. lots of different outputs.
https://www.denafrips.com/avatar
And it uses a Philips Philips CDM4/19 swing arm laser, much better than rom drives slot or tray, just a little slower to read the TOC no biggie.
https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB14vz0QFXXXXXpXFXXq6xXFXXX1/CDM4-CDM4-19-CDM-4-19-Brand-Part-HIFI-CD-La...
Cheers George