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."