First of all, I'm glad to be on board. This is my first post on this site. After reading/searching a number of posts, I'm hoping that someone will be able to help me.

I'm planning on building an AR upper with an A3 flat top receiver, 16" chrome-lined barrel and a Phantom 5C2 flash suppressor. (I have a Colt Lower) My question has to do with the quality vs price of upper receivers from various manufacturers. There seems to be a fairly wide range of prices from manufacturers such as EGW, DMPS, ARMALITE, WILSON COMBAT, DEL TON, etc.

For example, DELTON lists their upper receiver for $90 while ARMALITE retails for $255. I don't mind paying for quality. However, I also like to get the most for my money.

What's the difference between the various manufacturers from a quality standpoint? Is one more expensive than another (primarily) because of marketing costs for that company? What should I be looking for when reviewing the product descriptions?

An experienced friend of mine (with the proper tools and know-how) will be assisting me in this build. However, I figured I'd run these questions by some other AR afficionados. Thanks, in advance, for your suggestions.

well, 1st off, welcome to the site!

second, READ, READ, and READ some more; and try out your 'search' feature

most quality, forged, stock AR uppers (and sometimes lowers) are made by the same company and simply marketed by the big AR brands; while i cant verify off hand who makes what, i can say that the only difference w/ the listed brands you have is probably going to be on the finish--they are all qulaity, top notch AR uppers recivers

delton i believe gets the same recivers as DPMS's; not sure on armalite's, but i think thier upper recievers come from the same dist as busy and RRA...cerro forge is a popular maker
www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=12&t=223495
www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=123&t=297440

usually, you are paying for the name and logo, so yes, its mostly a marketing thing--for example, i dont see how a upper or AR from DSA, LeBaer, or Wilson Combat is worth $1K more than anyother brand out there, other than the NIB finish, name, and  logo
imo, as long as it works up to spec and there is nothing wrong w/ it (which would apply to all the brands you listed, except EGW as i dont know anything about em making AR parts), i would pick the $90 one from del-ton, or better yet, the ones for ~$100 by CMT/stag

you look for key words like: "aluminum, forged etc" from a reputable brand (ABCDRS); sometimes, be warry of those who use the words "mil-spec" or "USA made" all the time....while all quality made material should be 'mil-spec' or better, there are companies out there who simply use these words as thier marketing scheme, and it dont mean a hill of beans on thier quality, longevity, or functionality (hesse/vulcan is one brand i can think of to avoid b/c of this)

Welcome! I agree with the above. Most of the large Ar15 mfg. Have outside Co. Mfg. there uppers. I have Colts made bye Alcco and By Martin Marieta. CMT make a high guality upper. They are also one of Colts subcontractors. But you might find that the finsh color is a little diffent than your lower. Have fun and post when you can!

Alphaghost,

Thanks for your comments. I did to a search prior to posting but could not find much. Maybe my search was too restrictive. I'll try some other search options and continue to read, read, read.

Thanks also to JD42. I've already built an FAL. Now, I'm looking forward to building an AR upper to my liking.

I have a Del-ton T-marked A3 uppered M4, and the upper receiver is DEFINITELY not made by DPMS.  It is lighter in color than any of my DPMS parts (and they're all the same dark color).  Some Del-ton uppers may be made by DPMS, but not all of them are.  If it's forged 7075-T6 aluminum, like about all of them are, it's the same.  All that is different is the finish.

Engineer2001,

Are you happy with your Del-Ton upper receiver? Any problems with your build?

Very happy with it.  No problems at all, shoots great, and it's super light and looks very nice.  The REAL M4 profiling (gov't profile/light under the handguards) is the way to go.  The Wilson, DPMS, and others have that gov't profile, but the RRA does not.  They're working on it, however, and I've seen an RRA barrel that's M4 light profiled (It's just not on their website yet).

I was about to buy the upper straight from Del-ton when I found one in the EE used for much less money.  This is what I have:
www.del-ton.com/detail.aspx?ID=1211

You can ask them to use a T-marked upper - that's what I was going to do, and that's what the guy who sold mine to me did.  Normally, it comes with a non-T-marked one.  I have standard CAR handguards instead of the M4 fat guards, though - I don't like the fat ones.  Plus, I have a Phantom flash hider on it.

My only gripe with the Del-ton T-marked upper I have is that the upper is a little too light in color to match my DPMS lowers.  It really only shows up in pictures and if you turn it just right in the light.  It's not like Colt gray versus black - just two shades of black.  If you oil them both lightly with Rem Oil, they look the same.

Quoted: Very happy with it.  No problems at all, shoots great, and it's super light and looks very nice.  The REAL M4 profiling (gov't profile/light under the handguards) is the way to go.  The Wilson, DPMS, and others have that gov't profile, but the RRA does not.  They're working on it, however, and I've seen an RRA barrel that's M4 light profiled (It's just not on their website yet). I was about to buy the upper straight from Del-ton when I found one in the EE used for much less money.  This is what I have: www.del-ton.com/detail.aspx?ID=1211 You can ask them to use a T-marked upper - that's what I was going to do, and that's what the guy who sold mine to me did.  Normally, it comes with a non-T-marked one.  I have standard CAR handguards instead of the M4 fat guards, though - I don't like the fat ones.  Plus, I have a Phantom flash hider on it. My only gripe with the Del-ton T-marked upper I have is that the upper is a little too light in color to match my DPMS lowers.  It really only shows up in pictures and if you turn it just right in the light.  It's not like Colt gray versus black - just two shades of black.  If you oil them both lightly with Rem Oil, they look the same.

+1  Del ton is good quality.  IIRC they use CMT for their upper receivers.