BEL 1001 amps. Specs and ordering

Turek, what did you end up doing? I too am thinking of BEL, and Ayre for an SS amp for my Merlin VSM-MXe (they like underdamped amplfiers).

bump for comment

I decided to try the Atma-sphere OTLs. While I want the maintenance free aspects of SS, I can't quite buy that Merlins don''t always sound their best with tubes. But either BEL, Ayre, or Pass would be by SS amps of choice. Bobby did suggest that the BEL 1001 would do well with the Merlins.

I've heard that BEL, Belles, Ayre, and SIM work well with Merlins, by I've only personally tried the Pass XA30.5 in my system and it sure did sound fantastic. I think this Pass amp may be the best sounding amp Pass has ever made. The Ayre has Zero NFB and is likely to mate well with the Merlins that don't need or want a lot of damping from the amplifier; which is one reason they usually perform better with tubes. Among these you should find something that works well - but I loved the Pass when I had it - yes, 30 watts was enough for me.

One additional argument for the Ayre is you are very likely to find a 5 series used on Audiogon - the BEL and Pass I mentioned not as likely.

I second the low power PP comment. My Ars Sonum is a little 30 watt integrated and it indeed works very well with my Merlins; that in the context of CAT JL2s and Music Reference RM 9 Special Edition. The Merlins don't need a lot of TUBE power to sound superb.

You may be hard pressed to find a SS amp that will satisfy you like the sweet (in a good way) sound of EL34s if you like their sound, not sure any SS will give you that very easily.