BEL 1001 service in 2013?


Shortly after Richard Brown died in 2009, I saw posted somewhere that someone in Southern CA had acquired the rights and/or designs, parts etc and was offering service of BEL amps.

Anybody know who that might be?

I have a 1001 Mark II. The power switch is failing. I now leave it on and power it on/off via the power strip switch. That gets me by but it would be nice to get it repaired.

If no such BEL specific servicer exists, any suggestions? I live in the SF Bay Area. Richard produced them in San Jose.

Thanks for any help or advice.
nedhoey
+1 Weebeesdad. I own a BEL 1001 MK5. It is only 8 years old and in fine shape. However would like to know where it could be serviced if needed. It appears not to be a difficult amp to work on.

Would like to hear from other BEL owners regarding there experience with reliability.
Mesch - In a case of apparent wishful thinking I mistakenly stated that mine is a Mark 2 when it is in fact a Mark 1. It was made in 1985, and around 1990 one channel went out so I sent it to Richard Brown for repair. Since then (25 years) I have had very little reliability issues. In the past few years, very intermittently, one channel will drop in volume. If I turn the amp off and then back on after a few minutes all is back to normal. As I said, this is very intermittent. I was interested in resources for repair as I have to believe that after 30 years of pretty constant use at least some caps and other parts have worn out and need to be replaced for the amp to perform optimally. Your 8 year old Mark 5 is most likely operating as new, with many more years of service left. I am on the precipice of buying a tube amp, but can't seem to let go of the BEL in my system...
Thanks Weebeesdad. I drive my BEL with a Jolida Fusion tube pre and enjoy what I am hearing from the tube/SS combo. The BEL is probably the best piece of gear in my system. Got a good buy on a used one. Please keep us posted when your find service for yours.
Though Brooks Berdan did indeed pass away, his tech Tom is still in the shop (Brooks Berdan Ltd. in Monrovia, CA) on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tom is a great tech and great guy.
Brook Berdan still services BEL and other SS and Tube Audio amplifiers and does a great job at a fair price.