|
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
...strings and vocals sound buttery and sweet...(scroll down for full review)
The VP130 is a well designed RIAA phono preamplifier made to equalized phono signal to a line-level signal, and is intended for magnetic pickups. Since the unit utilizes tube circuitry, the resulting output signal is more warm and musical than solid state preamplifiers. It's the perfect blend of price and performance. Get the magical warmth of a tube phono preamp for an unrivaled price. This compact and affordable preamp effectively boosts the phono signal for any cartridge with an output of 3-5mV. It has a compact circuit board and uses a single 12AX7 tube in the output stage for that luscious midrange only tubes can provide. It’s also dead quiet, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 80dB. The VP130 also has a few added features that everyone will appreciate, including a 1/4” headphone jack on the back panel, a mute switch, a 20Hz (infrasonic) rumble filter, and separate output volume controls for the mains and headphones.
Bellari VP130 Features
RIAA aqualization
All-tube circuitry
Switchable rumble filter
Mute switch
Headphone output with variable level control
Steel chassis
Bellari VP130 Specifications
Input connectors: RCA
Output connectors: RCA and 1/4" TRS stereo
Input sensitivity: 30dB gain @ 1kHz, 47k
Input impedance: 50k ohms
Output impedance: 8 ohms headphone, 100 ohms RCA
Max output level: >10dB @ 1kHz at.1% dist.
Equalization: RIAA +/- 1.5 dB, 20Hz to 20kHz
Rumble filter: 20Hz
THD: .02% @ 1KHz
SNR: >80 dB unweighted
PWR: 15V AC
Dimensions: 6"Wx2.5"Hx5.4"D
Weight: 1lb
Indicator: 1 power LED
HiFi+ Review of Bellari VP129
I was surprised by how attractive and well balanced it sounded: smooth and warm, yet open and crisply detailed. The Bellari seemed to create a sound that was rich, natural and appealing. Surface noise was low, and the music emerged from a crisp, clean, quiet background. It was an excellent sound by almost any standards; one I was very happy to listen to.
Stereophile Review of Bellari VP129
The versatile [Bellari] VP129 looks great, and it sounded as good as it looks. It was quiet, and golden-sweet and liquid in the midrange, as you’d expect from a 12AX7-based phono preamp. I wasn’t expecting its top end to be so nicely extended, fast, and clean, or its bass to be so snappy, articulate, and extended. Every type of music I played through the surprising little Bellari sounded full-bodied and rich, yet detailed and crisply rendered. The Bellari VP129 gets my highest recommendation, and is the budget phono preamp I will now recommend for every genre of music…get a Bellari and a budget turntable, and I promise that your CDs will start to gather dust!
Audio Smorgasbord Review of Bellari VP129 PDF
Brian at Needle Dr reviews the Bellari VP-130
Though the Bellari VP-130 comes in at $250, don’t be fooled - this thing can sing. It comes supplied with a 12AX7 vacuum tube, (which can be upgraded), and is ready for use with MM or high output MC cartridges, though when I tried it with the Dynavector 10X5 (2.5mV), I found it less than ideal. The Bellari’s strengths certainly lie in the midrange, where strings and vocals sound buttery and sweet. Acoustic guitars, especially in smaller ensembles, sounded wonderful and accurate. Modern rock music got a nice jolt of vintage warmth with an ever-so-slight coloration - a dark orange or red maybe. What I really found useful and fun was the built in headphone amplifier. With separate volume control, and a signal fresh out of the tube, it sounds absolutely lovely with a nice pair of headphones. I used Grado SR-80s with great success. Cartridge wise, my favorite pairing with it was the Nagaoka MP-500 (MM - 3.0 mV). The liveliness and attention to detail was a perfect pairing with the Bellari’s warmth, and as we all know, balance is everything. All in all, I’m completely ready to call the Bellari VP-130 a giant killer - ready to take on phono preamps well above it in price.
|
|
|
|
