Upscale Audio and Primaluna

I had one dealing with Upscale and it was Kevin I dealt with, I was seeking a specific tube he had in stock and asked his opinion of it in my system. He told me he did not give opinions and then proceeded to give me his opinion on everything but what I had asked him his opinion on. Bought the tube in spite of that scenario but will never deal with them again. Enjoy the music

Once I bought a rectifier Kevin advertised as a Holland-made Amperex. He was hyping these tubes at the time as the greatest ever. When I got it I checked the etched factory code on the bottle and guess what, it said it was from Barcelona. So I emailed him to ask why, if it was made in Barcelona, was he was advertising it as Holland-made? I quickly got an aggressive phone call telling me the factory code didn’t matter--he knew it was from Holland. I asked how; he said he met an old man in Holland who had worked at the Heerlen plant, and this man told him so. I asked, so I should believe the second-hand claim of an old Dutch fellow instead of the factory code? He said yes. Maybe he was right, but I have never heard another tube seller say factory codes lie.

Life is too short to have to deal with these types of attitudes. Find another dealer to give your $$$ to.

I have no idea when I bought my Primaluna Prologue One from Upscale, but I'm pretty sure Kevin was a one man shop working out of his house. As I remember it, his wife was not happy at having nerdy guys show up and having to listen to stereo being blasted all day. Kevin was/is every bit the high pressure guy, but it was obvious he had a great set of ears.

In any event, my audition with the Prologue One went great. Lovely, immersive sound quality, with a midrange to revel in. It didn't matter to me whether Primaluna was a house brand or not...and I got to tell you I never bothered to explore the issue further.  The integrated has also been surprisingly reliable. (I've posted a list in another discussion topic that tells of the sorry parade of components that has marched through my listening room.)  I've already mentioned the resister(capacitor?) problem I had, which Upscale fixed there and then when I hauled it in. I was still living nearby.

When the integrated's tubes would inevitably lose their luster I'd phone Upscale up and a salesman (hey, not Kevin anymore!) would ask me questions about my tastes and suggest a tube that might serve me better.  I'd show up at their now shiny offices and take them home. I'd put them in their sockets. They'd sound great.  No biasing required. Nowadays I gotta mail order.

To be sure, the Integrated's looks are utilitarian at best. It's hard for me to read where the input knob is positioned so I've taken to writing my input choices on bits of white adhesive tape and sticking them to the Integrated's front. What me worry?

I have bought from Upscale many times. They were always helpful and never pushy or agressive. My PL Integrated works well for me and I am satisfied.