Upscale Audio is up front with customers

I've made a few major purchases from them, and have always been very pleased with their service...

I too have purchased from them, and I consider them to be on my short list when looing to make changes to my audio system.

I've purchased from uncle Kevy and so have a few friends of my own. He's been in it for the long game for a long time and knows you're not going to pull the wool over on anyone and they simply want to sell people good products.  Whether you like them or not, he knows his business and how to work with customers if you are serious about buying something for a new system, or upgrading your system. 

It's worth doing a little research online about something before you call, and if you start telling him about this person said "this or that", he's the type of person who will tell you to go buy from them instead if that's better for you. Simply put, you either take his recommendations or you don't. He's been around a good long time.    

I've only had good purchase experiences and interactions with them. Recently purchased Western Electric 300B at a great price, one failed in early hours, they were very helpful and prompt in securing replacement.

I've never purchased from them (yet - I would like to try my hand at rolling tubes for my preamp) but I've had the opportunity to meet Kevin and he seems genuine and very easy to talk to. The industry needs more like him.

I bought a used Primaluna in 2007, had questions, needed some help. Kevin was great.  Bought a number of tubes from him later on.

I've purchased several items from them. I have to say, though, getting them to take a VPI TT purchased from them in trade for a new Rega was anything but straight forward. First they flat out refused (!) then eventually I got them to take it. 

They have some good incentives such as discounts for repeat customers. I also found discussions with reps helpful, and certainly not pushy. 

I think Upscale is fine, and I appreciate their tube burn-in services. I’ve bought several dozens of power tubes from them over 15 years, and never had a dud.

But as far as Kevin being a "friend in the business" and "upfront"? Hah! Only as far as it doesn’t impede profits. Which is fine - he’s running a business. It’s neutral; neither good nor bad.

With the whole Tannoy kerfuffle - I feel like he was only forthcoming after the fact, when it was well & clear he had to move on from being their dealer. There’s no way he took those shipments and didn’t see they were NOT being manufactured in Scotland, well ahead of when this was actually disclosed. Then all of a sudden "hey we have these crappy B-stock models at a discount" (not even much of a discount).

Again, its his perogative to run the business as he likes, and he’s clearly very successful at it. But being praiseworthy, beyond business acumen and salesmanship? Nah.

Here is a customer service story from me about Upscale Audio. A true story. I recently bought a turntable from them. They had to order it from the company. I told them I had a used cartridge that I wanted to send to them as they offered free setup on the tonearm/cartridge. No problem as stated by the salesman. I sent the cartridge in and waited. About a week had passed since the cartridge had arrived and I didn’t hear from them so I called Upscale. Long story short, they lost the cartridge. Yes this is true. They even looked at security cameras and was able to see the carrier bring in the package. After I got a call from the manager of the analog department, he asked me how I would see this come out as a fixed situation after I had canceled the purchase of the turntable. I told him you would have to gift me a NEW cartridge of the same brand and model, mount it and send the turntable and cartridge. I re-purchased the table. They did as I asked and they bent over backwards to correct the situation. I left out prices but the cartridge was not a budget model. Good work Upscale Audio.

I've made a couple of purchases from Uncle Kevin. Both times the items were at a huge discount, cheapest I could find at the time, and the shipment and support were first rate. Nothing to complain about.

But as far as Kevin being a "friend in the business" and "upfront"? Hah! Only as far as it doesn’t impede profits. 

My comment related to the video in the OP -- I assume you watched it. It is him directly telling customers about tariffs and their impact. He handled it in an upfront way and I think that's plain. Your comments about Upscale overall is not something I can verify but others here are pretty happy with him and the company. You all can fight it out, now.

I bought the upgraded AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD player way back when. Kevin usually answered the phone. And was great at answering newbie dfq’s.

There is a reason he has a long standing successful business.

They are as good as it gets. Knowledgeable, polite, responsive, accommodating -  huge selection, competitive prices.

@hilde45 - thanks for starting this thread.  It's refreshing to positively support audio experts and their body of service vs taking a magnifying glass on a oops then blowing it out of proportion.  

For sure, great thread ... I have not purchased from Upscale but will based on input.  

Thanks, OP!

@mulveling  ... always appreciate your posts; one of the few that I read every word ... thanks

In equipment maybe  tubes no way I bought a mstch quad it was never even match ped maxed out my meter glowed red  bad fro the get go and I have used tube amps over 40: years , Vacuum tube service, Brent Jesse, or vacuum tubes .net are quality go to tubes only, for equipment upscale is decent but not much discounts.

All I can say is Uncle Kevin's nervous twitch gives my nervous twitch a nervous twitch. Enjoy the music

I have bought tubes from them and they are fantastic to work with.  Their videos are also helpful and straightforward 

I have also bought a number of pieces, very happy with the guidance and customer service.

Bought my Focals from them!

Kevin has helped me on more than one occasion with improving my system with the products he sells and offering great advice. Plus hes the guy with all the tubes!!! 

He has a good reputation and does a lot of business. However, now that he's very successful, he doesn't need your business and that's exactly how he treats you. I was ready to make my first purchase from him and had him on the phone. Any time I buy something from a new place, I always ask a couple of difficult questions. He's 3000 miles away and I like to get an idea as to how I'm going to be treated after I give him money. They're always great before you buy something. Nothing I said was insulting or out of line, and he just hung up on me. I understand that for him, an $8000 preamp is a nothing sale given how much business he does, but I still expect to be treated like a customer. My main reason for buying from him is I know he saves some of his better tubes for customers that buy components, and not just tubes. Cable Company is a dealer for the same preamp I wanted, so I bought it from them the next day. And I'm glad I did because they're customer service is among the best in the industry.

Have bought from upscale and great experiience.would buy again due to thier sale prixes.enjoy the search.

I know a lot of people in the industry who will vouch for his organization and him as being a good guy. They have a pretty good reputation. 

Of course there are going to be customers that they just didn't get along with or customers who didn't like them. 

I can see where he could be a guy who has a bit of a short fuse with people and sometimes maybe a bit of an attitude. I can also see where his personality may not mix with a lot of people. 

Just like any business, sometimes you're going to get personality conflicts and you end up shopping elsewhere. Let's face it Audio dealers are just like any other business you're going to find some that are shady and some that are very trustworthy. 

I feel like he probably runs a good business and he's close to where I live and enough people have vouched for his business that I know I would feel comfortable doing business with him. Could I have a bad experience with him? Yes, just like any other business out there.

About 10 years ago I called and talked with him. I was considering 2 Tubed pre amps -A Cary Audio and a Prima Luna- and he talked me into the Prima Luna. I hated it, called him back, and although he sounded mighty annoyed agreed to exchange it for the Cary. I still use the Cary and except for having to change a few tubes from usage it’s been great.
Glad to see that he is still around

@oberoniaomnia ,

I take it you're a fan of orchids...

i enjoy the showmanship. 

My only experience with them was, I asked about a tube recommendation (figuring Kevin was a tube guru) for a specific power amp they sold.  The rep refused, said it was against their policy.  I get that tubes can be a personal preference, but isn’t everything in audio?  That was rather disappointing after watching so many of Kevin’s tube videos and hearing all of his superlatives of each of his tubes.  

I’ve bought tubes from them and have no complaints.

they were always quite helpful with me about selecting tubes...

I have bought quite a few items from them and never been disappointed.  They are my go to dealer if I need tubes or just about anything audio.  Kevin and his crew simply know what they are doing, and how to treat people.

@thecarpathian 

It takes one to recognize one! I currently write the global monograph on the genus, should be out in 2027 through AOS.. See you Annapolis in a couple of weeks?

Virtually my whole system was purchased from Upscale. Speakers(Spendor Classic) , pre/Power( PrimaLuna) , Phono preamp ( Sutherland)  turntable and cartridge. Sean Smollen and Richard were incredibly forthright on pricing, returns and especially tube purchases. I could not be happier with their service over the past 6 years. I also made s true friend in Sean. That is truly difficult in these days of online purchasing. Just one man’s experience with a dealer 3000 miles from my listening space. 

@mulveling ... always appreciate your posts; one of the few that I read every word ... thanks

Thank you @blackbag20 , your kind words are much appreciated :)

My comment related to the video in the OP -- I assume you watched it. It is him directly telling customers about tariffs and their impact. He handled it in an upfront way and I think that’s plain.

@hilde45 I did watch the video, and I’m not sure why you chose this one for a virtual high-five to Kevin. Tariffs and price increases have been the hot topic for weeks, months - this is literally the furthest thing from "insider info". This is more like "it’s obvious, man!". New gear prices have been going up every year for a while now, anyways.

I DO like the way Kevin presents in most videos. The Raven drama was fun to watch. He was a good advocate for Tannoy for a while. I do generally like him, but I’m not drinking his Kool-aid full tilt. It's a bit strange to me that you want to advocate here without being an actual customer??

@mulveling 

What he said exactly!! 👍🏽 

I did watch the video, and I’m not sure why you chose this one for a virtual high-five to Kevin. Tariffs and price increases have been the hot topic for weeks, months - this is literally the furthest thing from "insider info".

I agree it’s not that special but I have not seen that many of them. It was short and direct and I appreciated that. That’s really it.

As for it being strange without being an actual customer, I guess I don't feel I need to be a customer to appreciate someone communicating in an honest way. In fact, if I was a customer, I'd have a bias to like his posts due to cognitive dissonance.

If you find one you think is a better exemplar of what I’m talking about, I’d like to see it. By the way, I do appreciate your knowledge and point of view, so I consider this a friendly exchange.

@hilde45

Same - sorry I came off as salty! There’s no accounting for some of my mood swings :)

I'm curious as to when Kevin stopped being a Tannoy dealer. I only ask because it was known as far back as some 20 years that all of Tannoy's high end speaker cabinets were made and finished in China. That was around the time I went to TEAC headquarters out in Commerce, Ca. to pick up a TEAC CD player. The US rep for TEAC/Esoteric took me on a tour of the place and demo'd it for me. That's when he told me about Tannoy.

All the best,
Nonoise

@hilde45 , great post. I called them to get advice on retubing a prima luna integrated amp. I was also surprised, as one mentioned in this thread, that they said they don't give tube recommendations. They weren't rude at all. In fact they were very friendly. They gave me the following advice: research the tubes on your own, check out all the reviews and choose the tube that you think is best for your needs. I followed that advice. Called them back and ordered $800 worth of tubes. Couldn't be more happy. The amp sounds wonderful.

@mulveling   don't even worry about your perceived "salty mood". I have learned so much from your posts. Any discussion that includes your 2 cents of knowledge is gold in my book. You are a great presence in these threads.

I’m curious as to when Kevin stopped being a Tannoy dealer.

I don’t know the full story, probably few do, but there were rumors Tannoy was sort of "poached" from him. IIRC it was shortly after Upscale split out "Harmonia Distribution" for that side of things - so perhaps that rocked the boat just enough for this to happen. Anyways, it was some sort of drama, and not worth digging into further than that. Upscale ended up getting Fyne, which was probably the better move for them anyways.

Tannoy is now in a precarious position - it’s always been a hard sell into the hifi market, but they had a vehement and loyal fanbase (as evidenced by Kevin, me, etc). And now they’ve pissed off most of that core base by moving all manufacturing to China (thanks to Behringer). That said, I still hold out hope they can make good products this way. I’d be curious to hear the new Autograph 12, if it ever finally comes out.

I only ask because it was known as far back as some 20 years that all of Tannoy’s high end speaker cabinets were made and finished in China. That was around the time I went to TEAC headquarters out in Commerce, Ca. to pick up a TEAC CD player. The US rep for TEAC/Esoteric took me on a tour of the place and demo’d it for me. That’s when he told me about Tannoy.

That would be news to me, and many others. I’ve got several Tannoy speakers here with "MADE and designed in the UK" stickers slapped all over their cabinets and boxes. Some really nice quality cabinets, too. It’s known that they started farming out the lower-level lines to China a while ago. But higher-end lines (Prestige models, except for the Auto mini) were supposed to have drivers and assembly made in Scotland until recently (2020-ish). The cabinets themselves are another point of contention - I’ve heard it claimed these have long been made in Poland, not Scotland.

2000s is when I think they started shifting lower lines to China (well before Behringer). Look specifically at the early 2000s Eyris DC line (wonderful speakers), "Made in UK" all over them - after this line is when they likely started transitioning that level over to China.

don’t even worry about your perceived "salty mood". I have learned so much from your posts. Any discussion that includes your 2 cents of knowledge is gold in my book. You are a great presence in these threads.

@judsauce  Thank you too, very kind :)

I’m curious as to when Kevin stopped being a Tannoy dealer.

Because Fyne appears to be cheaper and just as good?

That would be news to me, and many others. I’ve got several Tannoy speakers here with "MADE and designed in the UK" stickers slapped all over their cabinets and boxes. Some really nice quality cabinets, too. It’s known that they started farming out the lower-level lines to China a while ago. 

Back when I demo'd the TEAC, they were using Tannoy speakers in their listening room. I remarked on how nice the cabinets were finished and that's when I was told about where the finishing was done. This really jogged my memory some and I need to clarify what I was told. 

The cabinetry was done at Tannoy but they were shipped to China for finishing as it could be done cheaper and better there. The lessor lines were being assembled there anyway so they had the infrastructure in place and had a great relationship with them. Some time after most everything was done there no matter what the line up. 

All the best,
Nonoise

I have yet to negotiate a price on equipment that was acceptable to me with Upscale Audio.

ozzy

The cabinetry was done at Tannoy but they were shipped to China for finishing as it could be done cheaper and better there.

@nonoise Interesting! Thanks for that info. I can’t complain about the results, either way. But it’s wild to imagine that it was cost effective to ship these speakers an extra trip around the globe, even back then.

Because Fyne appears to be cheaper and just as good?

@grislybutter As someone who has pined after and purchased Tannoys for a long time - Fynes actually appear more expensive to me (for comparable models). And what are they thinking with the driver trim on Fynes? Tannoy's drivers look so much more sexy 

I have had some good experiences with them, but I'm disappointed currently. I bought an item which (I learned after the fact) isn't in stock and it's taking weeks.

Kennyc: "It's refreshing to positively support audio experts and their body of service vs taking a magnifying glass on a oops then blowing it out of proportion."

Exactly! And UA's body of service is 30+ years! 
 

O52rc: "Nothing I said was insulting or out of line, and he just hung up on me. I understand that for him, an $8000 preamp is a nothing sale given how much business he does ..."

No retailer hangs around 30 years by hanging up on an $8,000 sale. If you weren't "insulting or out of line" maybe you were just wasting his time? I'd hang up too. 
 

I bought Meadowlark speakers from him back in the early 2000s after several pleasant and frank conversations; I've bought tubes, I've bought gear, I've had conversations with him and reps there that were informative but didn't result in a sale, with no hard feelings. Don't mistake "No-bullshit" for "Nasty."

I've never had any issues with Upscale. Spoken with Kevin many times over the years and he's always helpful and pleasant.  Maybe once he wasn't but never rude.  I shrugged it off because I'm sure his patience gets tried daily and he's human.  I couldn't imagine dealing with the public as long as he has. Overall, we've had some lengthy conversations. I appreciate his honesty. Kevin runs a very good business and not many like Upscale anymore.  They have always helped me out with their customer service professionals. Hopefully they continue to survive successfully.  

@awise1961 

I’m curious: how do you loo changes? 

Newflash: A/V stores that try to sell you power cords, esp. at $5000, are not "really up front and honest." They are part of the snake oil scum that's destroying this hobby. Educate yourself before falling victim to BS marketing, and those who perpetuate it. 

Uncle Kev was rude to me when I went in and said I wanted to buy speakers, seems kinda stupid. He said here play some music I played a song on his Roon system from a singer that I had worked with professionally for 5 years and was in the studio for the mixing of the song I was listening to. I said these speakers are way to bright, he was offended I said I'm really very sure the music doesn't have this much high end in general, more offense. I said I was in the studio when this song was mixed by perhaps the greatest engineer ever in one of the greatest studios ever and I've recorded this persons voice for 1000s of hours, there is no way I'm wrong about this. He said well this isn't a studio. OK I get it but I had 200k to buy speakers that day and he was just rude for no reason bad choice uncle Kev.