Upscale Audio and Primaluna

@hilde45   Yep.  I think it offers decent value for money, but it is not "top shelf".  I've had a Dialogue One driving my second system for over 10 years now, and it just hums along sounding pretty darned good.  It does not compete in the same tier as my D'Agostino stuff.

If the OP can get over Kevin, he just might be getting correct advice for his particular circumstances.  Kevin does come on too strong for me, though, too.

@jbrrp1 

Comparing Prima Luna to D'Agostino, is a very lop sided comparison.  The most expensive Prima Luna is maybe $7500.00 compared to D'Agostino which start at well over $10,000.00.

I agree with the OP.  I'm turned off by any dealer who feels the need to badmouth someone's current gear in order to hype their own.  I contacted Upscale a couple years back to get a tube recommendation for my Vincent PHO-701 phono pre.  Got some long-winded response how they couldn't recommend a tube for a product they don't sell, and implied it wasn't the kind of product they carried.  Problem is, they DID (and still do) sell the Vincent PHO-701.  Contrast that with Music Direct who spent 20 minutes talking to me about the different levels of AudioQuest XLR interconnects, and never once tried to sell me a thing, or felt the need to criticize my modest system.

ABC - always be closing

Never ask a yes or no question when selling. No ends the conversation.

And for god sake, don’t alienate the customer. 

All it takes is watching one of Kevin's YouTube videos to get an idea of how he approaches the products he sells.  You can either love his honesty and enthusiasm or hate it; your attitude matters less to him than it does to you.  That being said, would I buy stuff from Upscale?  Absolutely!