Upscale Audio is up front with customers

I did watch the video, and I’m not sure why you chose this one for a virtual high-five to Kevin. Tariffs and price increases have been the hot topic for weeks, months - this is literally the furthest thing from "insider info".

I agree it’s not that special but I have not seen that many of them. It was short and direct and I appreciated that. That’s really it.

As for it being strange without being an actual customer, I guess I don't feel I need to be a customer to appreciate someone communicating in an honest way. In fact, if I was a customer, I'd have a bias to like his posts due to cognitive dissonance.

If you find one you think is a better exemplar of what I’m talking about, I’d like to see it. By the way, I do appreciate your knowledge and point of view, so I consider this a friendly exchange.

@hilde45

Same - sorry I came off as salty! There’s no accounting for some of my mood swings :)

I'm curious as to when Kevin stopped being a Tannoy dealer. I only ask because it was known as far back as some 20 years that all of Tannoy's high end speaker cabinets were made and finished in China. That was around the time I went to TEAC headquarters out in Commerce, Ca. to pick up a TEAC CD player. The US rep for TEAC/Esoteric took me on a tour of the place and demo'd it for me. That's when he told me about Tannoy.

All the best,
Nonoise

@hilde45 , great post. I called them to get advice on retubing a prima luna integrated amp. I was also surprised, as one mentioned in this thread, that they said they don't give tube recommendations. They weren't rude at all. In fact they were very friendly. They gave me the following advice: research the tubes on your own, check out all the reviews and choose the tube that you think is best for your needs. I followed that advice. Called them back and ordered $800 worth of tubes. Couldn't be more happy. The amp sounds wonderful.

@mulveling   don't even worry about your perceived "salty mood". I have learned so much from your posts. Any discussion that includes your 2 cents of knowledge is gold in my book. You are a great presence in these threads.

I’m curious as to when Kevin stopped being a Tannoy dealer.

I don’t know the full story, probably few do, but there were rumors Tannoy was sort of "poached" from him. IIRC it was shortly after Upscale split out "Harmonia Distribution" for that side of things - so perhaps that rocked the boat just enough for this to happen. Anyways, it was some sort of drama, and not worth digging into further than that. Upscale ended up getting Fyne, which was probably the better move for them anyways.

Tannoy is now in a precarious position - it’s always been a hard sell into the hifi market, but they had a vehement and loyal fanbase (as evidenced by Kevin, me, etc). And now they’ve pissed off most of that core base by moving all manufacturing to China (thanks to Behringer). That said, I still hold out hope they can make good products this way. I’d be curious to hear the new Autograph 12, if it ever finally comes out.

I only ask because it was known as far back as some 20 years that all of Tannoy’s high end speaker cabinets were made and finished in China. That was around the time I went to TEAC headquarters out in Commerce, Ca. to pick up a TEAC CD player. The US rep for TEAC/Esoteric took me on a tour of the place and demo’d it for me. That’s when he told me about Tannoy.

That would be news to me, and many others. I’ve got several Tannoy speakers here with "MADE and designed in the UK" stickers slapped all over their cabinets and boxes. Some really nice quality cabinets, too. It’s known that they started farming out the lower-level lines to China a while ago. But higher-end lines (Prestige models, except for the Auto mini) were supposed to have drivers and assembly made in Scotland until recently (2020-ish). The cabinets themselves are another point of contention - I’ve heard it claimed these have long been made in Poland, not Scotland.

2000s is when I think they started shifting lower lines to China (well before Behringer). Look specifically at the early 2000s Eyris DC line (wonderful speakers), "Made in UK" all over them - after this line is when they likely started transitioning that level over to China.

don’t even worry about your perceived "salty mood". I have learned so much from your posts. Any discussion that includes your 2 cents of knowledge is gold in my book. You are a great presence in these threads.

@judsauce  Thank you too, very kind :)