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?
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?