Anyone use a Belles 150A to drive a difficult load

I used it as loaner with Vandy 1C. Couldn't stand it for more than 10min. The absence of tonal balance everytime present in Belles will not certainly provide timbral accuracy. As to bass it's so shallow that many tube amps of half-power will do it much better and deeper.

For tough loads curent means a LOT.
The much better alternative is NAD S200 or NAD S300 that will care less about 2 Ohm than Belles.

A good approach will be if you want to bi-amp your ribbons using electronic crossover tube or ss. Tough loads benefit form active bi-amplification. Thinking of passive bi-amp only complicate things and make system sound out of balance ESPECIALLY with heavy speakers that after bi-amp become even more heavy.

You may also find Plinius SA100 worm as tube amp with all SS drive benefits you're aiming towards accuracy dynamics and bass but certainly pricey. Don't pay attention to 100W/ch ratings since it's only for class A margin. If you look-up its power supply you'll realize that it can work as welding machine.

As I can't agree with the above statements to the tonality of the Belles 150A, I will agree it is not the amp for extremely demanding loads. I used the 150A Hotrod with my Vandersteen 3A Signatures while being between amps. I thought its harmonic structure and truth in timbre was excellent. It just didn't have the ultimate in transparency. I'm now using a Belles 350A which is light years ahead of the 150A. Can't believe they come from the same family. It replaced my Theta Dreadnaught. I found it to be a more accurate amp while still maintaining a truth in timbre.

The new 150-Reference was developed to handle difficult loads, Dave claims 1 ohm loads pose no difficulty for them. I have used the 350-A to drive Martin Logan CLS II's and Magnepans and find that the bass control is the best I've heard. A recent use of the 150-R's on Vandersteen 3A's shows the ability to control bass to a degree that subwoofers seem to be an unnecessary addition. For that difficult load try a 150-Reference.

i had tried it on a pair of alon II's. a speaker that is not easy to drive and it did fine.

the amp is very dynamic and has a sweet sound for the price.

may want to consider a pair of muse monos or pse studio v monos.

good luck,

mike

I recently set up the 150a hot rod with a Quicksilver line stage preamp and a pair of 1.5qr maggies. I would say the sound quality is very good and there is no strain on the amp.