BEL 1001 service in 2013?

Brook Berdan still services BEL and other SS and Tube Audio amplifiers and does a great job at a fair price. 

Though Brooks Berdan did indeed pass away, his tech Tom is still in the shop (Brooks Berdan Ltd. in Monrovia, CA) on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tom is a great tech and great guy.

Thanks Weebeesdad. I drive my BEL with a Jolida Fusion tube pre and enjoy what I am hearing from the tube/SS combo. The BEL is probably the best piece of gear in my system. Got a good buy on a used one. Please keep us posted when your find service for yours.

Mesch - In a case of apparent wishful thinking I mistakenly stated that mine is a Mark 2 when it is in fact a Mark 1. It was made in 1985, and around 1990 one channel went out so I sent it to Richard Brown for repair. Since then (25 years) I have had very little reliability issues. In the past few years, very intermittently, one channel will drop in volume. If I turn the amp off and then back on after a few minutes all is back to normal. As I said, this is very intermittent. I was interested in resources for repair as I have to believe that after 30 years of pretty constant use at least some caps and other parts have worn out and need to be replaced for the amp to perform optimally. Your 8 year old Mark 5 is most likely operating as new, with many more years of service left. I am on the precipice of buying a tube amp, but can't seem to let go of the BEL in my system...

+1 Weebeesdad. I own a BEL 1001 MK5. It is only 8 years old and in fine shape. However would like to know where it could be serviced if needed. It appears not to be a difficult amp to work on.

Would like to hear from other BEL owners regarding there experience with reliability.

Back to the OP's question - anyone with any idea as to who can service these amps? I also have a 1001 MK2 which is 30 years old and has never been recapped or "retuned". I know of some 'Gon recommended local service techs, would they be appropriate or should I seek out someone with direct experience in working on the BEL amps??

Would you have a copy of the Owners manual for the BEL 1001 amps, If you do or know someone who does could you get back to me, I would really like to get a copy. I have two BEL 1001's and "Love" them. Thanks

Ok thanks.

Actually, I'm the original owner. Bought it back in '93. It wasn't in use from about '98 to '09, when I downsized from a BAT VK500 - Wilson Watt/Puppy 7 system to the BEL into Proac Response D2's. I'm quite happy with this arrangement, so no plans to sell. If anything I might watch for another mk II to pair it with and do the mono block thing.

It sounds like it's a standard size switch and available, suitable replacements will fit the opening in the faceplate, even if the appearance is different. I happen to live 30 miles from San Jose CA where Richard produced BEL amps, so possibly with some hunting around I may find a shop there that can fix me up or point me towards my best option.

I should have mentioned that the switch is not part of the signal path. Its not like some other repairs where the parts have to be matched and use high quality soldier. Things like that make a difference. In your case, it doesn't.

It should be fairly easy to remove. If you can pull it out, you should have no problem finding a direct replacement at any electrical supply store. I'm sure you can get one at Lowes or Home Depot, but I think you'll have more piece of mind buying it from a place that really knows what they are doing. If not, any decent electronics repair store/person can handle the job. But only this job. You are right in wanting to find a well qualified person. Anything more than a power switch, and I agree. Find someone that works on high end gear.

Whatever you do, don't sell it. The BEL 1001 is truly a unique sounding amp and worth keeping. Even the Mark 2.

Thanks for the responses.

Zd542, that did occur to me but I thought I would at least see what options were out there for "factory" type service. Particularly if something more serious developed someday.

Along those lines, I'm not an electronics tinkerer, so for example, if the OEM switch on there is a common or easily found one, I have no idea. Mine has a rocker switch that is white plastic that glows orange when "on".

I'd certainly being willing to repair it if I knew where to source either the exact switch or an equivalent one. Suggestions anyone?

Just buy a new power switch and install it yourself. Its not hard to do.

Thought the store still operated after Brook's passing but I guess I was mistaken as I see his son Brian Berdan has opened his own store called Audio Element in Pasadena. It's possible he may be able to help.

Brooks has passed away.

This is the company that acquired the rights although I do not believe anything has come of it: http://www.audiosumma.com.

I have read that Brooks Berdan in Monrovia, CA has a tech that can service these. My own experiences in dealing with Brooks Berdan have been very positive.