Who and what are BEL/Bell Labs amplifiers

BEL is Brown Electronic Labs. Richard Brown designed and marketed his 1001 amplifier in the early 80s for about $1295. For a time he offered a double version called the 2002 but that was shortlived The current version of the 1001 sells for at least $4K. It is a class A, 50 watt stereo amp bridgeable to 200 watts mono. I used to sell them for BEL and had a pair of my own. There has never been factory advertising although during the 90s several dealers ran ads in the stereo mags.
The amp itself has the cosmetic appeal of Adcom and performance that approaches SOTA. You can find a used one on Agon for $1500-$1700. If you have moderately efficient speakers you will find that it is very competitive in that used price range. I don't attempt to describe sound so I'll leave that to someone else. Tom Miiller championed this amp in TAS during the 90s and his reviews will leave you panting to own one.

Here is the contact number I used 10 years ago. I don't know if it is current.
Richard Brown 408-259-8648
You might also check the manufacturers contact listings here on Agon.

Mikej,
The original 1001 retailed for something like $1200 or $1500 back in the 80s. Now the same amplifier is $3900. I understand that we need to adjust for inflation but even so, there seems to be an explanation due. Please outline the changes in design that required a near tripling of the price. I'm eager to hear this tale. And, please, no tapdancing. Just get right to the nuts and bolts.