Mosfet vs. Bipolar revisited and the Belles 350A


I have always favored bipolar outputs with mosfet drivers until I ran into the Belles 350A. I stated this preference in a thread sometime ago. After listening to the 350A, I have to do an about face (at least with this amp.) The 350A uses 3 gain stages and operates almost entirely in class "B" with a very little of class "A."
I have heard a lot of amps but never one so neutral, transparent, reveiling and most any other attribute. It also has unbelievable bass control, pitch definition and lower transparency. No Mosfet haze here.
I have been using a Theta Dreadnaught 4-ch amp biwired. I must say, this amp IS better with my Vandersteen 3A Signatures. You can actually not use the subs(pair of 2wq's) and not really miss anything. I have not found this level of performance in this price range before($3495) I finally get to really hear these speakers do their thing.
I have adopted opinions over the 35+ years I have been playing with this stuff but I have never run across an amp that totally changed my way of thinking like this one. This is the overall best amp I have found (so far) driving the Vandersteen's.
bigtee

Showing 1 response by fs_audio

Disclaimer: I am a Power Modules Dealer.

It seems to me that Dave Belles is finally starting to get some of the recognition that he deserves. ALL of his products represent one of the biggest performance to price ratios in all of high-end audio. The Belles designs are the epitomy of how a MOSFET amp can/should sound, IMHO. At the very least, anyone that is on the hunt for a new preamp, amp, or integrated should consider the Belles products (before spending more money on another product that very likely will not be any better).

Best Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio