".I just wish Kevin was a little younger as I’m hoping he will be around if I ever get the money to bring my system to that elusive next level."
Ha! First off, thank you for all the kind words. At 68, I can look back on 50 years of selling hi-fi, including more than 30 years at Upscale Audio, and remember countless great experiences—and some completely ridiculous ones—with our customers.
I remember one Christmas Eve when a customer who spoke only Chinese and a few words of English received his Cary Audio/AES Sixpacs. He turned the bias screws, blew the fuses, and called us for help. I didn’t know which direction he had turned the pots, so out of desperation I called Cary Audio. My good friend Dennis Had, the owner, actually answered on Christmas Eve, and between the two of us, we somehow got the customer up and running. By the end of the call, we were laughing our asses off.
Our customers really are the best people, and we have had a lot of fun together.
One of the hardest parts of our business is selling tubes. Customers naturally want us to tell them whether a particular tube will make their system sound better, but that is impossible to predict. We may not know their amplifier, speakers, room, associated equipment, or personal taste. Even I can’t always tell someone exactly how a tube will sound in a system I have never heard.
That can frustrate people, but I would rather be honest than invent an answer just to make a sale. We test tubes more thoroughly than almost anyone, but testing can tell us whether a tube is quiet, stable, properly matched, and performing correctly. It cannot tell us exactly how that tube will sound in every system.
I once showed the owner of another good-sized audio store how we listen to every tube in circuit, how all tubes are somewhat microphonic, how we judge what is acceptable, and how a single KT150 can take 11 minutes to test because it has to settle down. He looked at me and said, “You are a glutton for punishment.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that.
As for whether I’ll be around when you are ready for that next upgrade, I want you to know how fortunate I am to have the team we have today. Some are digital freaks, some are analog fanatics, and none of them are paid a commission to sell you anything. If the person you speak with isn’t the right expert for your question, he’ll bring in someone who is. No egos.
We often gather in my office and work through a system together, because there is no such thing as “the best” anything. There is only what is best for you, your system, your room, and your budget.
There’s no doubt I’ll eventually get eaten by a mountain lion or hit by a truck, and I have worked hard to make sure Upscale Audio will live on without me. Some of our employees have been here for nearly 30 years. Laura and I think of them as family— and we have a responsibility to them.
So don’t worry. When you are ready to take your system to that elusive next level, somebody here will be ready to help you.
