Upscale Audio and Primaluna

mozartfan, pick up the current issue of Stereophile , it has an article titled Hi-Fi in the Age of Covid -19 , it will give you a different perspective of the current state of the audio industry then your " These are very hard times in new audio sales". Plus, while I’m not a fan of Upscale Audio from a couple of prior interactions, it doesn’t seem like Kevin Deal and Upscale are having a hard time (" he’s having a rough time selling new."), again take a look in each of the last few months of Stereophile, he has personnel recruiting ads for his business expansion.

As is typical in many of these threads, the OP starts a rant ant then disappears, not bothering to answer a simple question.... what is your system? If you don’t like the way you were treated ,shop elsewhere. Im sure at some point being on the phone with tire kickers can be tiring and seen as a waste of time. Kevin runs a business that is successful enough that he can avoid kissing ass. He is also very knowledgeable,but if his business model offends you, shop with your feet. That simple.

I skip over a dealer here in the Bay just to deal with Upscale. That same bad experience with this dealer is what drove me to Upscale. I haven't once ever had Kevin answer the phone, which I doubt he even does. Also, all his people I've dealt with are all great. 

Evan at Upscale provided great customer service when I felt the need for a high-end streamer and amicable outboard DAC -- even tho he turned out wrong about some details. My search quickly narrowed to Lumin and Aurender, and Evan talked me through the models and their suitability for my particular needs. When he championed Musical Fidelity M6s DAC, I remembered an unused trade credit from another merchant and obtained the DAC there. Well, turned out the Lumin worked only on the micro-USB input: frankly unlistenable on coax or optical; defective. Plus the MF had no AES input as Evan had thought. Those limitations, plus the fact I found the Lumin app rather maddening, led to an exchange (though I must say the LUMIN sound was incomparably pure, best streaming audio in my experience).

No trouble at all exchanging Lumin for Aurender, which outputs ONLY USB. For this connection you obviously want the best cable you can get. Evan had the mistaken impression that AQ's top-end USB 3.0 micro terminals were backward compatible with 2.0 in the MF, but nope. Anyhow, easy return. Now in the market for a more contemporary DAC, so I asked about the PrimaLuna tube version. Needless to say, Evan was a major advocate (though I found several unrelated reasons to rule it out). 

Well, hyping your own gear is all part of the job description, so grain of salt on that. Customer service was first-rate, and the Aurender is staying indefinitely, so ++ there. Return customer discounts are available on SOME DACS sold by Upscale, but none of those ring my chimes. When time allows I'll audition Bricasti and such. Still, Upscale will stay on my "reasonable candidates" list, albeit in the "proceed with caution" section like 99% of other merchants.

Any time you find a dealer or manufacturer who talks smack about competitors and/or what you own, you can't walk away fast enough.

There was a dealer nearby to me who had all manner of bad things to say about my then magnepan speakers while diligently trying to steer me to Focal. I never went into that store again.

Oz