What about the Belles SA-100?

It is interesting what you are saying. Earlier I have had JR monoblocks, but as good as these were, they could not even stand in the shadow of the Belles. The SA-100 is such an open window for every kind of music. But also needs a proper match and time to open up to reach its peak. If you have the opportunity to audition one, then you should.

I agree. Thanks Noortje.

It is interesting what you are saying. Earlier I have had JR monoblocks, but as good as these were, they could not even stand in the shadow of the Belles. The SA-100 is such an open window for every kind of music. But also needs a proper match and time to open up to reach its peak. If you have the opportunity to audition one, then you should.

I guess you are right that marketing may play a role here; unknown, unloved. When I was looking for a new amp my dealer suggested to audition the Belles SA-30, even while my speakers have a difficult load. I decided for the SA-100 as that was the one available for a demo while I was visiting him. I instantly loved it, though it took quite a while to run in the amp. And I still have the feeling that it is getting better every day. So similar to your experiences with the SA-30, this is phenomenally good amplifier, second to none. It is a true gem.
Not sure about the politics, but perhaps these amps are too cheap...?

Noortje --

I certainly did circle the SA-100 as well before deciding on the SA-30, but in the end based my decision without auditioning the former; it had not yet arrived at my dealer, and when I borrowed the brand new SA-30 it soon became very clear - even without being run-in and merely few hours of use - that something very special had entered my setup, and that it was there to stay. A little later when the SA-100's ended in my dealers hands I opted to inquire on his impressions and what he thought about it (I've known my dealer for some years now, and very much share his sonic preferences as his ways to describe them), mainly because I wanted to learn whether the SA-100 as a class A/B amp (and a smaller electrical bill) could deliver likewise compared to the pure class A SA-30. To the best of his hearing abilities it's a close run between the two, to be expected, with the SA-30 perhaps being slightly warmer (in more than one sense) and with a bit more "meat and blood" to the sound. This being so could also have something to do with the fact that the SA-30 had more playing-hours in it compared to its sibling, but that being said I wouldn't be surprised if the SA-30 - by sonic design, so to speak - had a richer tonality. A main reason for deciding on the SA-30 has to do with my speakers, which are fairly sensitive at ~93dB, and a possible future speaker upgrade (not until after a year or so) would be to even more sensitive alternatives (read: 96dB), so there's plenty of power at hand in the SA-30 - even with my existing speakers. First and foremost though the SA-30 couples wonderfully with my hORNS Mummy speakers, which uses drive units from the pro-sector.

Whether the SA-30/SA-100 is too cheap, I'm inclined to yell out "No, no no no!" There's the rationale with some (in no way directed towards you, Noortje) who are drawn rather slavishly to the (unspoken) mantra "the more expensive the better/more desirable," but they have plenty of alternatives. Let the rest of us enjoy excellent sound where it is more affordable and more reasonbly priced in relation to its qualities :)

Phusis, with 91 dB my speakers are a little less responsive than yours. Sound wise I was quite happy with the 2 x 40 W solid state I had, which nevertheless had some difficulties to drive my speakers, in particular in the bass area. That was the main reason why I went for something else. I hadn't heard of Belles, but my dealer, whom I also know for a long time, said that considering my tastes I should go for the SA-30. But a Belles distributor and a few other people convinced me that my speakers would be happy with some more power. They were right.
Of course the Belles SA-100 is serious money, but compared to the competition in this price range, nevertheless great value. Getting a great wine for 10 dollars usually makes more fun than getting a similar one for 100 dollars. That is how I feel about it.