Upscale Audio and Primaluna

I have resisted chiming in up til now. It is amusing to me that KD brought up the Ah! Tjoeb because that is exactly what I was going to bring up. My observation is that Upscale has always put forward-at center stage-bang for the buck products that might appeal to those that harangue the prices of top-shelf audio products. It is a great business model. Much more sophisticated gear than a certain Michigan-based retailer that sends out cheap paper flyers every three weeks. 
Another marketing technique that demonstrates KD's savvy is coming forward with some "special edition" of a high-profile product. We have seen that with his versions of VPI tables, the Manley Chinook, the Ah! Tjoeb (IIRC a modified Oppo), and many others. 
I do think KD's equation of weight to quality is bit askew. The more accurate answer is that it all depends. Certainly that Ah! Tjoeb cdp was not heavy compared to the competition nor the Manley Chinook. While an amp's weight, particularly if tubed, may demonstrate the amount of heavy iron incorporated (trannies), what if they are of mediocre quality? Is every single part incorporated in a piece of PL gear of the same quality and within the same spec as the higher priced competition? Common sense tells anyone with half a brain that the answer is "all depends upon which competitor you are talking about". And let's not forget that the euphonic qualities of PL pre-amps are due largely to being rather high in even order harmonic distortion. 

Yesterday I used Upscale's website to ask for a recommendation for two 6550's, one 12AX7, and two 5AR4 rectifiers for an amp I have under construction (Ampsandsound Nautilus). Sean at Upscale responded courteously that they no longer make recommendations due to some-I gather-customer complaints. I responded by asking for three or so options for each tube and Sean did (though there was only one 5AR4 on offer). Sean immediately responded with options and I selected and paid and minutes later I got notice they were being shipped. Whenever possible, I select from "Kevin's Stash". I like how UA offers tiers of testing results on some tubes-Gold, Platinum, and Kevin's. 
Five years ago I bought a brand new ARC Ref 6 from a local dealer at full MSRP and an ARC Ref 150 SE as a dealer demo model at half-price with something like 20 hours on the tube timer. The amp arrived with a dead KT150. I bought two spare KT150's from Upscale after discussing the amp and it biased within spec and has been serving me well all these years later. 
As to Audio Research, even when McIntosh Group owned it the products were built by hand and under the management of Warren Gehl. One look at the inside of the Ref 6 through the standard plexiglass top cover shows it is built with premium parts. Point to point wiring is not inherently superior to use of circuit boards. A look into the PL gear shows both PtP wiring and circuit boards btw. PtP wiring does allow for easy repairs. My Ref 6 is dual mono, does have tube rectification, but not PtP wiring. Being one of those who believes the preamp is the very heart and single most important choice of any audio system, I love my Ref 6. 
But I also love simple designs done right and that is why I have an Ampsandsound Nautilus coming my way-an 8 watt amp/headphone amp that weighs 65 pounds! Built the way amps used to be built 60 years ago.