i would not take that as a point to not hear/test and if you like the amp to buy a riviera aic-10. i buyed my pathos 2nd hand because i like hybrid desing, best of both worlds. i thrust these few people that reviewed the aic-10 over longer times, so i often asked myself to buy one.
at the end some technical points as a diyer i'm not to happy with the riviera aic-10. one is connectors instead of solder joint in the small signal part, trafo not so good shielded, alps potentiometer, cheap hardware store plastic screw terminal for the trafo. these things are better in the pathos, solder joint in the small signal part, own compartment for the psu, ti pga2310 for volume control. at the same time that the riviera has resistors which are raised from the pcb that is remarkable, you don't see that often in commercial products, very nice.
but it's a bit unfair this comparison because i have the whole circuit diagram from the pathos vs some open pictures in the net from the riviera.
at the end the riviera can perform better then the pathos, one side is the build, the other the design. case work from the riviera is impressive but for me at the end the pathos for 1/2 of the price is the better deal. i simply miss the last perfection with the riviera that should be here for the price even these little things aren't a game changer for the sound of the amp. imo i'm certain changing the tubes on either amps change them a lot more then these small details.