Upscale Audio and Primaluna


spoke to aggresive salesperson who pushed prima luna integrated amps and other primaluna gear.

this was after i called to buy another component.  Anyone know about primaluna stuff.

all this guy did was tear into my system saying how deficient it is and that i should buy primaluna.


jumia
Piece by piece, I’ve purchased almost my entire system from Upscale. I’ve been to their showroom for demos twice (I drove down from Oregon) and also had lengthy phone conversations with both Kevin and Kat. In all instances they were nothing but patient and helpful while I wrung my hands and was indecisive about things. My system is mid-level at best, and i don’t have tons of disposable income to throw at audio. Nonetheless, the staff at Upscale have been tremendously generous with their time. Additionally, on a few occasions their tech staff have walked me through issues I was having with my equipment. On one occasion Kevin himself sent me a fuse overnight at Upscale’s expense to remedy a problem that I myself had caused. I have nothing but good things to say about Upscale’s way of doing business and customer service.

The OP’s description of his interaction does not align with my repeated experience with Upscale audio.
Seems lots of repairs inolving fuses and dealing with issues.

Dont want any PL gear if i always need parts.

it all sales.  I remember Crazy Eddie from 20 yrs ago.  Just dont like pushy sales people who push gear with higher margins and biased.  Not healthy.
You still haven't said what gear was disparaged.PrimaLuna is excellent stuff.Doubt you can do better at that price point.
You shoulda probably taken their advice.:)

@jumia

Its ok if you don’t want to do business with Upscale, Kevin or even if you just don’t want Primaluna. There is some better gear out there and there is a whole lot more gear out there that is inferior to Primaluna. It’s very unfair though that you continue trying to paint Upscale with your one-off purportedly poor experience. There are many here who have been happy repeat, multi decade customers of Upscale so chalk it up to you and they just weren’t meant for one another. Primaluna is really good gear (I have Boulder, Audio Note amps presently) and most could live happily ever after with it and been dollars ahead. I have taken the time to compare Primaluna side by side with other high quality gear and Primaluna slots in nicely. Its pricepoint quite frequently delivers much more bang for the buck and the after sale support is exemplary, in the unlikely event it is required.

Your posts (its your thread so its your right I guess) seem to be seeking support and to rally the troops to your cause that you didnt like how you were treated. Thats fine but you are just bashing them repeatedly and the vast majority of Upscale’s customers are happy. Same goes for Primaluna. Kevin supports the magazines through ads, he never misses taking space at audio shows, he chose to sell Primaluna through a traditional dealer channel(rather than direct only, which would have been more profitable) when he didn’t really need to and he actually opened a brick and mortar store AFTER building a very successful business on line.

The Kevin/Upscale bashing is just uncalled for. I kind of miss the old days when it was just a small group of people who irrationally resented Kevin for buying up vast quantities of NOS tubes all over Europe before it was the rage. He traveled, he dug, he was like a detective and had to go far and wide to find them and he did. He then made them available to hobbyist like us rather than us trying to figure out how to access them. He was patient, stayed in his lane and made a fortune reselling them. I recall many posts back in the day slamming him for doing better than the rest of the industry at the time (he did). I have seen his warehouse which rivals a small Costco, I have seen some of his cars and motorcycles some years back and he enjoys his life. He’s earned it. I’m not his accountant nor his financial advisor and he has never said a word about his financials to me nor should he but Kevin could have retired to the French Riviera years ago and never looked back and never had to bring the balance down in his checkbook. But when you see him working with his team, the longevity and convivial relationships on full display toward those with whom he works it is admirable. He also pays better wages and hires great people. They can afford to have a good life working in the audio business. WOW, imagine that! He enjoys his business and if you get down to it, the industry needs Kevin/Upscale more financially than he needs it.

Your continued complaints have now veered firmly into the irrational and "I’ve got a bone to pick" territory. Like Kevin/Upscale or dont but consider moving on from it. Kevin likes Kevin (as do most who know him) and while he will bend over backwards for almost anyone (both business and personal) he won’t take any shyte from anyone. I kindof like that and I certainly respect it.
+1, I agree with the above post by @ghasley.   His comments are right on target.