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RIP - Richard Brown, BEL

Richard passed away October 10,2009. I was first introduced to Richard’s amp about 10 years ago. I purchased a pair of the MKII’s off the gon and was very impressed by their performance. So I got in touch with Richard and told him I wanted the upgrades to MKV statis. I enjoyed my conversations with him over the two year period I was waiting for him to begin the upgrades. (Begging with him at the end of each phone call) It was a very painful two year wait but well worth it! I did understand he had a life outside of audio. Subsequently I had him perform his MKV upgrade on another pair I purchased several years later. The previous owner had his name in for the upgrades so I was automatically in line. I only had to wait about 3 months this time around. Just recently I had the opportunity to purchase 2 more of his amps and had them shipped to him to perform yet another MKV upgrade. Not so lucky this time around.

I only new Richard through this hobby. He was a great guy who conducted his work life on his terms. His passing is a real shocker to me! My blessings to his wife. He will be missed.

Byron
byfo
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qzfrj6
4 posts
 
Sal Zambrano told me that he intends to carry on with Mr Brown's philosophy - see below in his own words - he seems like an honorable and caring person:

I have all BEL amp repairs performed by Tom, the technician at Brooks Berdan, Ltd who
knows Mr. Brown's amps well.

I am focusing on learning about Mr. Brown's amp design, and how I may bring Mr. Brown's
BEL 1001 amplifier back to the market in a couple of years...

I plan to continue Mr. Brown's legacy, respect his design philosophy, and remain true to
his design ideals.

I do own the BEL trademark, and will be exhibiting a BEL 1001 amplifier at THE SHOW,
Newport, and at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.

And, I manufacture and sell Mr. Brown's BEL "The Wire" cables (P-1 and D-1
interconnects; S24 and S12 speaker cables).
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Why can't his circuit be copied exactly with royalites to the estate if the IP is protected. The man seems to have done something right with SS. I would certainly be in the market for a new MKV with no mods or tweaks that would make it something other than a Mr. Brown creation.
monkeygod
3 posts
 
I've used a pair of 1001s for, let's see - 19 years now. Brooks died in July, but his son is keeping the store open. I'll be there today and try to get a sense of what's happening with these.
neotekman
2 posts
 
I contacted Sal Zambrano by email asking about repairing my BEL amp. He said he would repair it and had me ship it to him. Months have gone by and he has not responded to mulitple email and phone calls. I do not believe he is carrying on Mr Brown's philosophy.
weebeesdad's avatar
weebeesdad
139 posts
 
Are you saying he has had possession of your amp for months with no communication? I had contacted him several months ago regarding inspection and possible upgrading of my 1001 and he did respond, saying that he was testing an upgrade using some more current quality caps in the original design. He told me he thought he would have some results in a month or two. I emailed him about a month ago and he has not responded to my inquiry. Perhaps there are some extenuating circumstances as he seemed helpful at RMAF 2011 when I spoke to him (and even sold my friend a pair of speakers without a hitch), and did respond to my original (though not recent) emails.
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