@elan120 I've owned a Belles Aria Signature for about three months. I agree there's not much out there about it. I'm not an experienced audiophile but I'm extremely pleased with it. I upgraded from a Rega Elex-R and I primarily listen to vinyl using a Tavish Design tube phono pre. Here are a few observations:
1. Relative to the Elex-R, the Belles is warmer, which makes it neutral and well-balanced through the range compared to the leaner, more forward Rega.
2. Bass is wonderful, very strong, full, and tight with great tonal and pitch definition. This is a refined amp and it really shows in the bass performance.
3. Soundstage depth and instrument separation are excellent, giving an immersive sense of being there and being able to easily point to each instrument or voice in space. It's very three dimensional, and endlessly fascinating to listen for where specific sounds are coming from in the music.
4. Clarity is dramatic and precise yet smooth at all ranges with no harshness or rough edges. It has a full, rich sound that's engaging, but never syrupy or rounded off. The sound is so interesting I have a hard time walking away, even after a couple hours of focused listening.
5. The Signature has a lot of grunt and really woke up my speakers, bringing them to a much higher level of performance than the Rega. I can really feel the fullness and power of the music, even in quiet parts or at lower volume.
6. Break in took a long time, and it goes through very audible changes as break in proceeds. It started to settle down after about 40 hours of playing, and kept getting clearer, smoother, and more lifelike over a few more weeks after that. Break in is not subtle with this amp.
7. I bought from Gene Rubin. Gene went above and beyond to help me with setup issues, and I highly recommend working with him. I also had a few questions for David Belles who replied quickly and gave me great service. These are top shelf guys to work with.
I'm really happy with the amp and highly recommend it. However, I freely admit I'm not very experienced and don't have a lot of high end references for comparison. For me, it was a great purchase that's added a lot to my enjoyment of music and my system.
Best wishes!