audiozen - I was one of those people that was obsessed with the audio magazines, the reviews, scouring the internet to find that elusive hidden gem of an audio component that I just knew was out there - I just had to find it. After a good long while, I was hitting the wall, burned out from the chase, and decided the only way to cut to the real chase was to go listen to some stuff and let my ears make the decision. I enjoy reading reviews, and always have, but in retrospect I realized that I had wasted an awful lot of time that could have been better spent listening to music on a great system, and be done with it. Done for the time being; you know how this "musicphile" addiction is!
The only brand that I owned for a long time was Rotel, and I really enjoyed their electronics for many years. An integrated amp, a small receiver back years ago, a very nice cd player and even an analog tuner that I still own. You get used to what you have, but you don’t know what your missing until you start surveying the audio landscape and allow your ears to take a test drive. Many of the magazines are afraid to publish a bad review, not wanting to offend the manufacturer and lose their ad dollars. You aren’t getting an honest assessment, and often the conclusion of the article is not positive or negative.... closing with the likes of " though it may not be for everybody, this amp, speaker, whatever deserves to be heard, and might be just the ticket for your audio needs." Vague and no feathers ruffled.
The Belles Aria sounds amazing to me. My Vandersteen speakers sounded very nice with the Rotel amp, but the Aria brought them to life, and put me front and center in front of the orchestra. The improvement over the Rotel was not subtle.
Having met and spoken with David Belles on several occasions, I can attest with certainty that he is incredibly talented, cares deeply about his customers, and as you stated, audiozen, he prioritizes musicality over all else. He emphasized this goal when I heard him speak about his products, and every time I listen to this amp I’m reminded of just how successfully he has achieved his goals.
I won’t tell you that Belles is the best, but it has been great for me, a great match for my speakers, and to my ears offers a level of audio performance that is simply staggering, at a price that will put a smile on your face.
The only brand that I owned for a long time was Rotel, and I really enjoyed their electronics for many years. An integrated amp, a small receiver back years ago, a very nice cd player and even an analog tuner that I still own. You get used to what you have, but you don’t know what your missing until you start surveying the audio landscape and allow your ears to take a test drive. Many of the magazines are afraid to publish a bad review, not wanting to offend the manufacturer and lose their ad dollars. You aren’t getting an honest assessment, and often the conclusion of the article is not positive or negative.... closing with the likes of " though it may not be for everybody, this amp, speaker, whatever deserves to be heard, and might be just the ticket for your audio needs." Vague and no feathers ruffled.
The Belles Aria sounds amazing to me. My Vandersteen speakers sounded very nice with the Rotel amp, but the Aria brought them to life, and put me front and center in front of the orchestra. The improvement over the Rotel was not subtle.
Having met and spoken with David Belles on several occasions, I can attest with certainty that he is incredibly talented, cares deeply about his customers, and as you stated, audiozen, he prioritizes musicality over all else. He emphasized this goal when I heard him speak about his products, and every time I listen to this amp I’m reminded of just how successfully he has achieved his goals.
I won’t tell you that Belles is the best, but it has been great for me, a great match for my speakers, and to my ears offers a level of audio performance that is simply staggering, at a price that will put a smile on your face.