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Battle of the "Davids"......Belles vs. Berning

OK, it's a cold, rainy Sunday am in Chicago - a great day to listen to music. After the provocative thread on "Tenor vs, Berning" that got a little side-tracked, I thought I'd narrow the scope. I have been fortunate to audition both the Belles 350a ss amp ($3,500) and the Berning ZH-270 ($4,500)in the past two weeks. The common theme is that these two amps come from, in essence, "one man shops" and seem to eschew mainstream "hi-end" retail. Both amps are widely recognized as providing huge "bang-for-the-buck" and might cost substantially more if their logos were different.

This would seem to be a real world comparison of two "Davids" that may be able to bring down Goliath - whoever that may be. What do you think?
ianrmack
jayarr
117 posts
 
Ianrmack,
I owned a Berning 270 and an OCM 200. OCM was the company Belles was involved in prior to Power Modules. My understanding is that the amps are very similar. In comparing the OCM and the Berning amps the Berning was superior across the board. The OCM was a very good amp(slightly warm for a SS amp) which I could live with without any problem but was outclassed by the 270--faster,timbrally more accurate,more 3D soundstage,more like the real thing. I don't know if this is a valid comparison but the Berning was better on my Legacy Focus speakers.
Jayarr
harleyhawk
24 posts
 
I own both the OCM 200 (2 from Jayarr) and the 350A.
The 200 is raw compared to the 350A ... 2 OCM 200s bridged were more powerful but lack the grace and open, airy sound of the 350A.
As to the Berning, I cannot say...

What are you driving? David has modified the 350A to be a 800 watt monobloc that kicks! if you need the power.
bigspender
2 posts
 
Bobby at Merlin is recommending the "T" harness for the Belles.

bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
no doubt, sam "everything is class A" tellig will give it a boost.
Sam sure had me fooled with his stellar review of the 350A. That amp didn't synergize AT ALL in my own rig; BIG disappointment & that's a radical understatement. Can't compare with the Berning though; have never heard that one.
bigspender
2 posts
 
Sounds strange to me, remember it needs a lot of hours to perform its best. It also seems to be a good idea to turn it off and on a couple of time a day, at least in the burn-in procedure. Turning if off and on again seems to open it up in the midrange.

The new Belles monoblocks are really recommendable, 800W in 8 ohm of pure clean power. The 350A worked great with me, the new monoblocks are however a whole class better. Hope to get a chance to compare these with the Berning.
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