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When is Belles going to get the credit he deserves

Having been in the audio business for 20 years, owned a High End Store for 12 years, and Director of Sales for a notable High End Manufacturer; I sold just about every high end electronics line on the planet. Also, I was exposed to those few I hadn't sold during my travels while working for the manufacturer, visiting more than 100 stores all across the USA. So this perspective comes from a very broad look at the industry. Dave Belles is making, in my humble opinion, amplification and preamps, which outperform some which cost multiples of his pricing. Yet, when it comes to reviews, he rarely gets a mention. This is unfortunate, since it leaves the consumer, who is searching for great values,out in the cold.
It is true that he is a very small company, and hand builds everything, but isn't that the American Dream? "If I build it they will come" That is worth repeating; HE HANDCRAFTS ALMOST EACH PIECE. In a world of cookie cutter products this is a refreshing difference. The time has come for more people to be aware of his products; they are simply amazing. For the money they are a triumph of ingenuity. Also, some of the reviewers out there need to give this man his due. Marty DeWolf, I think it was, reviewed the 350 Amp, and was spot on on his evaluation. That is a wonderfully open and dynamic amp, and, for a very good price. Are we stuck on, "If they don't advertise, they don't get reviewed?
Comments please.
lrsky
lrsky OP
1,118 posts
 
In all fairness, ten or fifteen years is a long time ago. I think, that he is completely responsive these days. I'm sure everyone has a bad story about just about every company out there. Actually, his personal attention was what drew me to him in the first place.
Give him another chance, and you'll be glad for it.
Larry
pmrodier
38 posts
 
I cannot claim the praises that have been written above, but that is only because I have yet to hear the 350a and/or 21a. I have similar components to Doug Blackburn and Bigtee, so it is a no brainer to take the leap of faith. Belles is building me his brand new 150 Ref that is supposed to be sonically superior to the 350a and can be used in either stereo or monobloc mode. I cannot wait!
unsound
7,318 posts
 
Lrsky, with all due respect, on the one hand you argue that this manufacturer doesn't get enough credit and on the other hand you dismiss reliablity and customer service issues from the small audience that responds from experience. Food for thought, Thiel has a rather large audience and while I'm sure that its possible some one is disgruntled somewhere with regard to their reliabilty and customer service, I've yet to see or hear about it, ever. Customer service is a big issue for me, especially when comes to expensive luxury items. BTW, prior to this post I've only heard good things about Belles, though I've no experience of my own with his products.
bigtee
803 posts
 
I've actually read about some reliablity(problems)with Thiel on this sight. However, I have not heard any complaints about their service after the sale.
I have not been using the Power Modules(Belles)amp for all that long(maybe 8 months.)It has performed without fault. I'm always sensitive to repair issues myself but until this poster, I had not heard of any customer complaints with Belles(although the above poster may have been refering to some older Belles designs with companies other than Power Modules.
I too am very interested in the new Belles amp. Of course I always remain skeptical because ALL new products are touted as better and that certainly isn't the case sometimes.
As much as stuff is "Improved" you would think we should be getting close to perfection!
lrsky OP
1,118 posts
 
Sorry, but I did not dismiss it. I put it in its proper context. Service is everything, but I, like you have never heard of any, repeat any problems with service with regard to Belles, prior to this one instance. Also, the issues he mentioned were more than twelve years ago. Being in the industry for 20 plus years, gives me a rather broad perspective. Let me site some rather large snafus which have reared their ugly heads through the years. Back in 1984 THIEL had too much viscous compound on their midrange drivers, of their newly released CS3, which caused the speakers to have a very sharp peak in the upper mid range. If someone brought that up, I would consider it old news. Also, Krell's Audio Video Standard, DID NOT WORK correctly, 4 years ago, and they finally quit making the product, and gave dealers full credit refunds on most if not all of them, and that was a $12K product, yet, old news again; even though they were in denial for months, claiming each instance to be isolated. The same is true of McIntosh, a company that replaced every MX 132 PrePro that they shipped to Nicholsons Hi Fi, in Nashville, TN due to digital circuitry problems, which caused them to all lock up. Let's be real here, every company has issues from time to time. Each of these companies, (THIEL may have been the exception) was in denial of the existance of these problems for months after they were reported. So in this Belles instance, one customer, again the only one I ever heard of does not come close to the enormous problems with these industry icons. So I respectfully disagree that I dismissed the problems, I simply put it in its proper perspective, and really do think that old news is simply that--old news. One customer does not create any worthwhile trend of poor service, especially compared to the above mentioned manufacturers. Even the customer who wrote the thread said that he would consider buying this product again.
Larry
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