Synopsis:
1) Kevin deal can be a POS, pushy salesman OR the nicest, technically savvy, honest and helpful guy there is. I guess it depends on his mood.
2) Upscale Audio is a reputable, class A+ outfit that sells at honest prices and provides excellent customer support OR its a sales first, customer last outfit that should be avoided. I guess it depends on personal experiences.
3) PL gear is a high end line, robustly built, sanely priced, and better at there price points than higher priced competition OR shouldn't be compared to true high end equipment (albeit more expensive). I guess it depends on your ears.
Personally, I've had good experience with PL. I wanted to buy my PL Dialogue Premium preamp direct from them but Kevin suggested I support my local dealer. I watched Kevin's video on tubes and his description of the differences I would hear between different EL34s were spot on. If you believe the videos, he only sells tubes that have a high reliability and avoids those lines that have a high failure rate. The EL34s I bought from him came matched, tested, and burned in for 72 hrs at now additional cost. I even got a 15% discount offer on future purchases.
As far as my preamp, I couldn't be happier. Lovely, heavy remote and if you dont like the appearance of PL gear, just remove the tube cage and it'll look like almost every other tubed preamp.
J.Chip
1) Kevin deal can be a POS, pushy salesman OR the nicest, technically savvy, honest and helpful guy there is. I guess it depends on his mood.
2) Upscale Audio is a reputable, class A+ outfit that sells at honest prices and provides excellent customer support OR its a sales first, customer last outfit that should be avoided. I guess it depends on personal experiences.
3) PL gear is a high end line, robustly built, sanely priced, and better at there price points than higher priced competition OR shouldn't be compared to true high end equipment (albeit more expensive). I guess it depends on your ears.
Personally, I've had good experience with PL. I wanted to buy my PL Dialogue Premium preamp direct from them but Kevin suggested I support my local dealer. I watched Kevin's video on tubes and his description of the differences I would hear between different EL34s were spot on. If you believe the videos, he only sells tubes that have a high reliability and avoids those lines that have a high failure rate. The EL34s I bought from him came matched, tested, and burned in for 72 hrs at now additional cost. I even got a 15% discount offer on future purchases.
As far as my preamp, I couldn't be happier. Lovely, heavy remote and if you dont like the appearance of PL gear, just remove the tube cage and it'll look like almost every other tubed preamp.
J.Chip