The Upscale Team

A Cincinnati, OH, native, Ken has lived in four states and seven cities. He has called Southern California home for many decades. 

His love affair with high-end audio equipment started at eight when his father gifted him some homemade speakers, so Ken wouldn’t mess with Dad's hi-fi gear anymore. Ken’s first full-time job was at Radio Shack, followed by other stereo stores. Then, after a 35-year stint in restaurant management, he returned to his love of music and stereo gear, stumbling back to hi-fi equipment sales 12 years ago. For Ken, hi-fi is a passion, hobby, and career. He loves to build speakers and pair them with the perfect tube amp.

Ken also loves animals and has had cats, a goat, ducks, and many dogs. He lives in Upland, California, and enjoys home improvement projects, hiking, and cycling outdoors. 

Three On-Repeat-for-Life Albums: Abbey Road by The Beatles, the greatest album of all time. Fragile by Yes. Blue Train by John Coltrane

Jordan has been a Californian all his life. He got into audio as a kid when he would help his dad and grandfather set up their audio systems. As a teen, he got more into listening to music, and jamming out in class with his Bose QC25s. It wouldn’t be until he became a home theater advisor at his local Best Buy that he would start his journey into premium audio. Jordan’s true first hi-fi experience was listening to a pair of speakers disappear in the demo room. His world was blown when his best friend introduced him to Upscale Audio. Although most of Jordan’s background is in home theater, he has come to truly love stereo audio. 

On weekends, you could find Jordan at his local comic book shop picking up his pull list. With three bookshelves full of collected editions, he has found that his favorite comic publisher is DC.  

Born and raised in Medfield, MA, Chris has always been a fan of music. He played cello starting in second grade and then played saxophone for the rest of his educational years. Chris has audio in his blood as his father was the vice president of marketing for Bose as well as Gibson Pro Audio.

Chris started his career in hi-fi with Magnolia as a system designer. This is where the “audiophile bug” really got him, and he saved up to own a McIntosh MC275 and a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 804 D3. Chris joined Upscale Audio in 2021 and moved to SoCal soon after. This is when he found his new love for the current brands he owns which include his beloved Klipschorns.

Chris specializes in headphones, speakers, amplifiers, streamers, and DACs. Other passions include hiking and video games.

Born and raised in southern California, Daelan grew up as the typical California kid skateboarding, surfing, and playing in the sun. One thing that was always present while he was doing anything was music. His dad would play anything and everything pre-1980s including the Eagles, Donna Summer, and Gordon Lightfoot. His mom would play anything post-1980s including Goo Goo Dolls, Oingo Boingo, and Duran Duran. Daelan’s love for hi-fi started with his job in Magnolia at Best Buy in his junior year of college. He has a special love for headphones.

Daelan is an avid outdoors enthusiast and spends his free time cycling (mountain and road), snowboarding, hiking, and surfing. Any adventure of his is just another reason for him to chase down a new favorite beer. He currently lives near the shop in Claremont, CA.

Born and raised in Houston, TX, Bill has always had a strong connection with music; it is the foundation that holds his group of friends together. Traveling for music is one of his hobbies, and he loves visiting new venues in search of great sound. His current favorite venue is the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.

It was this hobby that led Bill to want to re-create great sound at home. When his older brother bought a Systemdek turntable and a pair of Boston Acoustic speakers in 1985, Bill was hooked. He started in the industry at Music Lovers Audio in the Bay Area, where he says, “I was fortunate enough to work with great people and learn more about audio than I ever imagined.”

Bill has also worked at Sumiko Phono Cartridges where he helped develop its new line of cartridges. During this time he learned about Upscale Audio and found it to be the perfect place to share his love for audio.

Bill has many hobbies, from audio to woodworking, and recently got back into photography. He currently lives in Eugene, OR, with his wife and dog, where they enjoy cooking and traveling.

Born and raised in East Tennessee until the age of 10 and thereafter in St. Louis, MO, Joel heard his first awesome hi-fi from his less derelict and more affluent fraternity brothers at Southwest Missouri State. Skynyrd and some local boys called The Ozark Mountain Daredevils vied with the Doobie Brothers and Jefferson Starship for their attention.

After making a name for himself as a stage actor and putting the hurt on Snake Plissken in Escape from New York, he moved to Hollywood. After four or five years of semi-regular work in soaps, some prime-time TV, and starring in the cult film American Drive-In, he started a family and semi-retired from acting. He soon found another noble profession that he did not hate: Selling hi-fi.

He has two fine sons and lives near Upscale Audio in Upland with his high-school sweetheart.

Sean Smollon, or Smo as we love to call him, says he grew up with music as necessary as water. He first fell in love with the music of his mother as she worked at home to its beat, and his uncle and aunt were also a huge inspiration, giving him a hunger for the history of music and the exotic genres behind it.

His first taste of hi-fi was as a customer of Lyric Hi-Fi, with a life-changing NAD and Boston Acoustics system. After a brief love affair with Wall Street at investment bank Raymond James, Smo got the audio bug again. He found himself climbing the ranks of retail with roles at MartinLogan and VPI, eventually leading him to Kevin Deal and Upscale Audio.

Outside of work, Sean loves escapades on screen from Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, and many more. He also loves overeating at underrated places while revealing to other patrons that his aunt dated David Bowie.

Born in New York, he currently lives in Princeton, NJ, with his two dogs Willy and Lucky.

Product Specializations: Loudspeakers, Headphones, Amplifiers, DACs, Streamer/Servers and Networking Solutions

Raised "south of the border” in Buffalo, NY, Sean-Paul stumbled into the hi-fi industry shortly after moving to Los Angeles. SP had always been the kid with the latest garbage-picked receiver and set of mismatched speakers and, soon after starting at a local shop, the allure of proper turntable assembly and tuning took hold. That, and the simple but profound pleasure of listening to a decent music system.

Now having set up thousands of turntables and cartridges over the last decade, SP occupies the role of Analog Manager here at Upscale, and is responsible for almost every new table being tested by ear before it leaves. Outside of work, he is regularly found slumped over an ‘85 Toyota MR2, hunched over the latest watch project, or trudging through SoCal to the next hockey tournament.