Belles original 150 amplifier. Any good?

Belles 150 for $50.00, wow! Fantastic amp for the price Can you get me one for fifty?

This is an original belles 150. It’s is a rather ugly duckling. It looks like a black shoebox. However, it sounds great! I grabbed it off a local selling site. He only wanted $50 because he had no idea if it worked or not. I quick peek inside revealed no bulging caps, etc. apparently it’s 100 wpc and can push 70 amps of current. I’m planning on eventually Replacing the caps  and such.

Can’t beat a deal like that, for sure. However, I too had a hot rod version of the amp in my collection that I sold, shortly after acquiring my 1st Nuforce STA 200. The Belles in comparison, sounded dark, lacked detail and had a withdrawn presence compared to the little Nuforce. Maybe it was needing a rebuild or a recap ( the inside looked stellar ), but out with the old, and in with the new. A good amp though, and if matched to the right speakers and front end gear, can easily get you enjoying your tunes.

First, how and where the heck you bought it for $50? That’s a steal.
I had that first Belles 150a HotRod version for over a year and loved it. I mated it with Jeff Rowland Capri preamp and I really liked the combo. It’s a very good budget stereo amp for someone new to the hobby or wanting to walk away from AV receivers. I used it to drive my Sonus Faber Concertino, Vienna Acoustic Haydn, and Focal Chorus 806. I then sold it when I ordered a new one Belles 150 v2, from Dave.... which is a big step up. Good luck

+3 on contacting John Rutan.
I just bought my Aria monoblocks from him and sent an Aria preamp to be upgraded.
He knows Belles inside out, PM or call him.

Bob

Agree with joey54, check with John Rutan, he knows his stuff.  They sold a lot of Belles amps.

MAYBE.

I would try a Belles preamp for this. You should contact JohnnyR at the Audio Connection in Verona NJ. He has been a Belles dealer for more than 20 years. Good Luck!