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
