Dont take it personal
~~~~Yes, do not take it personal, Seems like a old style stereo shop sales crew, Salesmen we've all run into over the years as audiophiles.
Kevin might bea bit ticked due to so many PL on the used market and he's havinga rough time selling new. These are very hard times in new audio sales. The fallout from this latest economic crunch has dampened the audio market.
This is most likely the frustration comming across the phone from Upscale.
So don't take it serious at all.
But as i say, your current amp will not stand up to PL's line of amplifiers.
But I just prefer Cayin, huge Cayin fan here. |
all this guy did was tear into my system saying how deficient it is and that i should buy primaluna.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
More than likely
Your current amp will not stand up to PL,
HOWEVER
I can not claim I know PL very well,
ONly can say PL is made in the Spark Lab /China
Spark makes Cayin in same lab,
Cayin is one of the best tube amps made today, Very close to jadis at wayyyy less than 1/2 the price as Jadis, No brainer.
I had a PL older model preamp, didn't like it, shiped back to ebay seller with a $200 restock fee, my generosity.
You will see alot of PL used for sale, not sure why,
You rarely see any used Cayin for sale
I would highly recommend PL based on the fact its very well made and made in same lab as Cayin.
IMHO cayin is most likely the best amp made in china today, 2nd to none. And right there with Jadis. Which is saying alot, as Jadis makes the worlds finest amplifiers,
2nd to none.
Hope that helps. |
Id like to know who you talked to over there.
I own Primaluna and other brands that they sell.
If your looking for any thing TT related speak with Kat or Ken.
They are Aces. Cables, tubes, amps, Joel is a great guy to deal with.
Speaking of Deal..... Kevin can be about as moody as a middle aged woman during menopause.
Dont take it personal. Watch his videos, he is a bit of a..... lets say character.
If it pissed you off that much just remember that your money is good everywhere. |
All it takes is watching one of Kevin's YouTube videos to get an idea of how he approaches the products he sells. You can either love his honesty and enthusiasm or hate it; your attitude matters less to him than it does to you. That being said, would I buy stuff from Upscale? Absolutely! |
ABC - always be closing
Never ask a yes or no question when selling. No ends the conversation.
And for god sake, don’t alienate the customer. |
I agree with the OP. I'm turned off by any dealer who feels the need to badmouth someone's current gear in order to hype their own. I contacted Upscale a couple years back to get a tube recommendation for my Vincent PHO-701 phono pre. Got some long-winded response how they couldn't recommend a tube for a product they don't sell, and implied it wasn't the kind of product they carried. Problem is, they DID (and still do) sell the Vincent PHO-701. Contrast that with Music Direct who spent 20 minutes talking to me about the different levels of AudioQuest XLR interconnects, and never once tried to sell me a thing, or felt the need to criticize my modest system. |
@jbrrp1
Comparing Prima Luna to D'Agostino, is a very lop sided comparison. The most expensive Prima Luna is maybe $7500.00 compared to D'Agostino which start at well over $10,000.00. |
@hilde45 Yep. I think it offers decent value for money, but it is not "top shelf". I've had a Dialogue One driving my second system for over 10 years now, and it just hums along sounding pretty darned good. It does not compete in the same tier as my D'Agostino stuff.
If the OP can get over Kevin, he just might be getting correct advice for his particular circumstances. Kevin does come on too strong for me, though, too. |
From what I've read and learned, Primaluna is good but "top shelf"? Um, can't see that. |
It’s called qualifying the customer. it’s a time thing. Time left in life, times spent selling, time spent on the phone, etc. the minutes tick by until none are left on the clock.
Always be ballsy enough to get in the question, in some shape or form, ’are you buying today?’
I’m not sure I like it, but, it seems like Kevin’s got it worked down to a science.
Each customer is gauged by the give and take of the opening moments of the conversation, and then the knife of the question is slipped in in whatever way it is slipped in best, for that particular scenario.
Sometimes the kill is a hair sloppy, sometimes a bit off, but mostly it works out well, re the salesmen giving up their time (life clock) vs the customers in audio who invariably want nothing less than to waste ALL of a salesman’s life.
This is not a knock on this scenario and thread, it is just a open note or relvation of how sales works in a busy environment.
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Pass on Kevin Deal and Prmaluna any dealer that says your stuff is junk is NOT the dealer I would ever buy from.I once tried to buy some tubes and got a nasty rap from Kevin Deal plus he pushes Tannoy that is ancient history. |
If you want to buy a different brand of gear, just go to another dealer.
As russ69 said, Kevin Deal, owner of Upscale Audio can grate on some people. Posts like yours turn up here from time to time. Personally, I like Kevin's frankness. I may not agree with everything he says, but at least I know exactly what he thinks. |
Same experience move on. Not the type of people I want to work with. |
"...He asked me what i had and then was harsh..."
Not to be harsh..but what do you have? It sounds like you might have talked to Kevin. He doesn’t sugar coat it, just tells you the way it is. That is too much reality for some. So what were you originally looking for?
P.S. I'm a long time customer, and Kevin has really good ears, I trust him 100%, he has never steered me wrong. On the other hand, I tell him EXACTLY what I am looking for and he knows what I am talking about. |
Absolutely not! If i ask him what he thinks of my gear and then get critiqued, fine. He asked me what i had and then was harsh, all for purposes of selling me his stuff. I called about another item and was steered to his preference.
it was exceptionally rude, and some of what he said was inaccurate.
|
He maybe right what do you have?
upscale Audio is the US Distributor for Pathos and Primaluna and they may own part of the latter.
Both are top shelf gear. Never had any bad experience with Upscale and I have purchased a couple of things from them, Pathos Inpol 2 and a Felkis HP amp. |
