Buy tubes from Audio Research or not


I need to retube my ARC amp and I'm wondering if there is an advantage buying tubes from ARC vs and Independant tube dealer.
taters
Funny, I've bought from him a few times and have had nothing but great service.

The first time I called, I wasn't clear on what I wanted. Kevin was short because they were too busy at the time for the questions I had. Some may take that as rude, I didn't. He said he'd give me a call later in the day when, and if, things slowed down.

At 7:30pm that night, my phone rang - it was Kevin. We had a great conversation , he gave me great advice on tubes, 2 days later the 60's Mullard CV378 rectifiers showed up professionally boxed against damage and worked fabulously ever since.

How does he stay in business?

Simple, there are a lot of us who have had great service from Upscale and know they stand behind their products. If they say a tube is from a particular decade and manufacturer, you don't have to worry about getting a fake or fluke. And for some of us, that means a lot.

If Upscale is not to your liking, try The Tube Man, I've gotten pretty good service from him, too. And he sells 6550C's
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Check out Andy at Vintage Tube Services.He is very knowledgeable and a gentleman.His phone number is 616-454-3467.
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"In Reply to: RE: Upscale Audio no longer retubing ARC VT 100??? posted by cruzmsl on May 15, 2008 at 20:31:36"

Note the date! Then why such a bad attitude towards Taters a year later? Mr. Deal sure doesn't come across like this on the phone. My personal expierence with Mr.D is that he is very rude on the phone. Mr.Deal should send Taters an apology as well. Tater please let us know if you recieve an apology.