Upscale Audio and Primaluna

Dont take it personal

~~~~Yes, do not take it personal, Seems like a  old style stereo shop sales crew, Salesmen we've all run into over  the years as audiophiles.
Kevin might bea  bit ticked due to so many PL  on the used market and he's havinga  rough time selling new. These are very hard times in new audio sales. The fallout from this latest economic crunch has dampened the audio market. 
This is most likely the frustration comming across the phone from Upscale. 
So don't take it serious at all. 
But as i say, your current amp will not stand up to PL's line of amplifiers. 
But I just prefer Cayin, huge Cayin fan here. 

From what I've read and learned, Primaluna is good but "top shelf"? Um, can't see that


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I can 
JUst based on the fact that PL is made in Spark's lab, Same lab as Cayin, Cayin is only 2nd to Jadis, Jadis is #1. So thats saying alot  for cayin and MOST LIKELY Prima  Luna. AS Top Dawg Amplifiers

He maybe right what do you have?


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More than likely Kevin is correct, 
Most tube amplifiers are colored =  add distortion. 
Cayin made in same lab as PL, have zero coloration,  zero distortion. 
So my guess is PL are neutral amps, can't say for sure as i have not personally heard  a  PL, only a  Cayin amplifierr, The lil baby EL34

I’ve had 2 dealings with Upscale. The first I called to enquire about a CJ ET3se preamp. I talked to Kevin who then educated me on the difference between PL preamp & the CJ. Though I understand his logic, I don’t necessarily use the weight & the amount of stuff in the piece as the only criteria. Yes the CJ looks very sparse under the hood while the PL is packed full. CJ has a simplicity is better while PL packs it full. OK. I didn’t really get upset but thought his demeanor out of line. And I have no PC in my blood whatsoever. But I am aware that I can be abrasive to some & try to find workarounds to make the customer comfortable. Kevin doesn’t seem to know of his abrasive nature or doesn’t care. Not a good business practice IMO.

The 2nd time I called to get info and buy a PL Dialogue amp. I talked to Kat & she answered my questions fine. I was looking a 2 different amps and wanted time to weigh my decision. I called back the next day to purchase and she wasn’t in so I left a message to call me back. 2or 3 days later I had not heard from her. Forty + years of business has taught me that sometimes messages don’t get to their proper place so I called again and left another message for her. That was a year or so ago. Still haven’t heard from her or anyone. I bought another amp from someone else. Lesson learned

@mozartfan I've heard from a longtime experienced speaker maker that Cayin is the real deal and very similar to PL. He thinks they're a great deal.

I had a lovely conversation with John Rutan at Audio Connection. Why not work with someone with both expertise and sympathy for the customer. You want tubes? Quicksilver and/or Rogue would be great. QS is made in CA. Rogue in PA.  My two cents.