Actually, I would have to disagree that it is voiced to sound a certain way. I can, and have picked not only brands of electronics in blindfold tests, (with speakers I am familiar with),but also, speaker cable brands, as well as interconnects brands. That is not something to be in awe of, it is just noteworthy because of what I am about to say. Mr. Belles' gear has about as little of its own 'personality', or noticable voicing, as anything I have heard. That is true of the 350 amp and the 21A preamp. I just today, compared it to a well known, (Out of respect I won't mention the name) preamp, which costs $8K. The more expensive preamp did have a flavor, and was pleasant, but it was NOT as neutral. And that is quite a statement given that he builds his for $2500.
Calling his buyers cult following is a real backhanded comment. In the middle 1950's Ford Thunderbird outsold Corvette in multiples, and nobody called Corvette buyers cultists. They ended up capturing the whole of that market.
Why he doesn't sell more has to do with his capacity to build, and his desire, (he would have to address this) to maintain his company at a level he can enjoy, I would think.
First Sound Preamps are hailed as one of the finest preamps around, but they make very few. The amount of sales of a given product in any field do not necessarily have any bearing on the quality or even the success quotient of the company and its products. Success may be defined, in the mind of the creator, as the ability to make a few, and make those customers happy.
When I started in the Audio business, in 1982, nobody had heard of THIEL Loudspeakers, and they were in their 7th or 8th year.
Frankly, the average buyer of audio gear would be surprised how small many of the companies they buy from, really are.
The high end is mostly very small manufacturers, who comprise this cottage industry.
IMHO
Larry
Calling his buyers cult following is a real backhanded comment. In the middle 1950's Ford Thunderbird outsold Corvette in multiples, and nobody called Corvette buyers cultists. They ended up capturing the whole of that market.
Why he doesn't sell more has to do with his capacity to build, and his desire, (he would have to address this) to maintain his company at a level he can enjoy, I would think.
First Sound Preamps are hailed as one of the finest preamps around, but they make very few. The amount of sales of a given product in any field do not necessarily have any bearing on the quality or even the success quotient of the company and its products. Success may be defined, in the mind of the creator, as the ability to make a few, and make those customers happy.
When I started in the Audio business, in 1982, nobody had heard of THIEL Loudspeakers, and they were in their 7th or 8th year.
Frankly, the average buyer of audio gear would be surprised how small many of the companies they buy from, really are.
The high end is mostly very small manufacturers, who comprise this cottage industry.
IMHO
Larry