Re formed for him means brought up slowly on a variac.
Yes he doesn’t much like speaking on the phone, and has always had a lot of tire kickers (because he has some pretty desirable stuff) so I mean it’s really hard to make a call on his system style there.
Like I said above, he likes stuff done his way. Nothing has changed there.
About condition, everything I purchased was (ultimately) explained fully and I had photos sent to me.
I’ve never seen his place, but my friend did when he was in Cali, I think it’s in his house.
So the bottom line is, this is really about your comfort level. Yeah he’s “different” to deal with. Ultimately the gear is good.