Reliability of tubes/ Belles 150A vs Jolida 801A?

Hey, Avguygeorge; there's no "bad" to forgive! I would buy a used Reference 150 in a second if I felt freee to do that, but this dealer has, like I said, spent ALOT of time with me. So we are in agreement.

I am sure everybody here understands and respects how it "is", when your dealer is doing everything a GREAT dealer does.---OK, maybe I was a bit over enthusiastic with the "toy" reference.--BUT--I'm sure you will love this amp. I kept mine for 4 months.---enjoy--!! ----Also I should have read more carefully; I would have noticed you were decided; already--on your amp; my bad--please forgive??

The fact is, I'm committed to buying the amp and pre-amp new from a small local dealer who has spent alot of time advising me, who has brought gear out to my house, etc.

I respect that decision.

Avguygeorge, I have to admit that I hadn't ever heard anyone refer to the Hotrod as a "toy" before... I suppose it all depends upon one's perspective. The fact is, I'm committed to buying the amp and pre-amp new from a small local dealer who has spent alot of time advising me, who has brought gear out to my house, etc. I can afford to buy the Hotrod and Soloist new-- but not the Reference models.

I have owned the 150 hr/ the 150a ref and the 350a ref. Each amp is a good step above the other; as you move up their line.
i.e. the 150 hr sounded like a toy; (well almost) after I got the 150a ref----Same exact thing when I got the 350a ref. This is assuming your speakers and source are up to it.At the prices they sell for, here; I say get a 350,ref with the soft-start at around $2100/$2200. (Should save you upgrading two more times)

Bmr2a, I appreciate the suggestion, but I'm going to stick with ss; if I'm not mistaken, the 2.5 is a tubed preamp.

I have a suggestion. Buy a used Belles 150 Hot Rod and match it up with a VTL 2.5 preamp and try it. If you think you need to go any further in your quest for the 'right equipment' you won't have any problem selling either of the above pieces. I use the above combination and if I make any changes at all it would only be to upgrade to either a Belles 150 or 350 Reference Series amplifier from the 150 Hot Rod.

Tvad, that's great news! And thanks to you and everyone else for helping me sort this out.

OK, this has been helpful. I HAVE lived through failing tubes with guitar amps. However, having grown up listening to music played through tube amps, that's the sound my ears want to hear-- it's what they expect and what they judge as "desirable". However, this isn't the case with audio. And it's not important to me whether what goes wrong is in the amp or in the tube-- I don't want to have to screw around with figuring out which it might be to begin with! I just want to turn it on and focus on the music. Tvad, you hit the nail on the head re: "comfort level". I suspect the truth is that I lack the patience to deal with tubes, period, when it comes to music listening.

the belles pair

By all means listen and let your ears decide.
But as to the question concerning reliability, if you followed the threads in this forum and used them as a reference, the answer is that tube amps are less reliable. There are consistently more questions concerning problems with faulty tube amps than with ss amps. I haven't actually kept track so it's only my impression.

Thanks for your helpful responses, Tvad and Mofimadness. If the maintanence is not an issue with tubes, I might as well go ahead and listen to both units and see how my ears respond.

I just sold my Belles 150A HotRod and REALLY miss it! It just wouldn't drive my Martin Logan CLSIIAs. It's a WONDERFUL sounding amp! One of the best that I have ever tried and that list is VERY LONG.