Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Bellari VP 129 Phono Preamp by StylinLP

Model:	VP 129
Category:	Phono Preamp
Suggested Retail Price:	$250.
Description:	MM Tube Phonostage
Manufacturer URL:	Bellari
Model Picture:	View

Review by StylinLP on October 18, 2007 at 17:24:09
IP Address: 162.135.0.6 Add Your Review
for the VP 129

After one year of owning this sweet little phono preamp and just got home from my weekend of auditioning audio equipment at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 07, I felt it was time to write up a review on this marvelous tube phono preamp I purchased new for $150. The price has gone up twice since then but it is still well worth the money, if not more.

For over the last year I've been listening to and enjoying many many records almost daily on this current setup:
Goldring GR1.2 turntable /mounted IKEA Lack endtable
Audio-Technica 120E Cartridge Output: 5.0 mV
Usher CP-6371 tower speakers
DH Labs T-14 shotgun speaker cables
Rotel preamp and amp - IKEA Lack stacked stand 3 high
30'x35'x10' room - dedicated power lines - diy bass traps and sound panels

Last weekend while attending the convention we would retire each night back at my buddies place and listen to this phono preamp on his system all night:
Linn LP12 turntable w/ Akito II tonearm - wallmounted w/ 2" maple chopping block
Goldring Eroica H Cartridge 2.5mV output
QUAD 22L tower speakers
JR diy Beldon speaker cables - Signal Cable and Nordost Blue Heavan interconnects
12'x22'x8' room - dedicated power lines - diy bass traps and sound panels

Originally both my buddy with the LP12 and I owned the Music Fidelity X-LPS phono preamp without the optional power supply. I used the Creek OBH-8 before that. Surprisingly, this Bellari tube amp has MUCH more bass than anything either of us had before. Something so small with only a walwart powersuppy has extended, punchy, full and rich sounding bass. You could "feel" John McVie's bass driving Fleetwood Mac songs. You can clearly feel and hear the heartbeat on Darkside of the Moon. That's simply amazing.

On the opposite end of the frequency range between YES, Stevie Nicks and Ricky Lee Jones the highs were clear and smooth. The brightness and hardness was gone when switched from the Music Fidelity to the Bellari preamp. This phono pre passed the Ricky Lee Jones test! Her voice will destroy any entry level system. Her voice is crazy high pitched. We could easily hear the difference throughout the entire frequency range how much clearer and smoother this preamp had over the SS preamp with no short comings.

Midrange had that special liquid smooth sound you beg for in any audio system but with good amount of detail and huge sound stage. Made the speakers taller and wider. Bigger with more detail than that MF X-LPS pre. Stevie Nicks was singing in that room. Her delicate voice was so vivid and real on Rumours album. You could hear at one point when she sings so tentatively the music briefly hesitates then resumes. The Willie Nelson Stardust LP played you can hear the room he is in. Three dimensional image with floating soundstage but no hint of slowness anywhere. This preamp had more than anything I ever owned before. Whatâ€™s funny, after a day of auditioning $100k to $500k audio systems at the convention. I swear you could have setup my buddies LP12 system with this phono preamp at that show and it would fit right in. People would be asking questions and asking how much. It sounded that good. Perfect for one of those smaller rooms.

During our Bellari auditioning we kept swapping out interconnects from the phono pre to the preamp. Single Cable, Nordost Blue Heavans, Cyrus cables, Audioquest Diamonbacks. Allot of fun hearing how different these interconnects sounded along this this phono pre. Our fav was a toss up between the Blue Heavens and the Cyrus. Heavens had perfect midrange and high end but the Cyrus has allot more bass. I'm not completely satisfied with any of these cables. This preamp and his amps deserve allot better. I see that if you user better cables you WILL hear the difference. We proved that without a doubt. Believers now :)

My buddy is looking for a Bellari for his system as I write this. Bellari needs to come out with a two tube preamp. One for each channel. If they did I would be the first in line to buy one. I bet that would contend with the $1000 phono pre's out there easily.
If all you have is a tonearm that can only handle an MM cartridge then this tube phono pre-amp is strongly recommended. If one was to decide to move into the world of low output mc cartridges then you would have to spend at least $1000 to get a phono stage plus the cost of a matching tonearm to do it justice to be worth the move. That's too delicate a signal for a cheap $500 phono pre to handle.

What I have owned before:
Goldring GR1.2 new
Pro-Ject 1.2 new
Music Hall MMF-5 friends
Linn Basik w/ Basik Plus arm
Linn LP12 w/Akito II arm
Nottingham Interspace with Hyper platter.
Technics SL D5-free table
Auditioned: Rega 3, Rega 12, Gryodek SE, SME20

____
*Analog fans may be blind-but digital fans are deaf*
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82495693@N00/

Product Weakness:	MM or high output carts only. Flashy red colour case.
Product Strengths:	Well balanced, extended, punchy, full and rich sounding bass, large soundstage, fast from top to bottom, vivid sweet detailed midrange and highs. Low cost.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Rotel RB-985 and Monarch Audio 70pro
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Rotel RB-965
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Linn LP12 and Goldring GR1.2
Speakers: Usher CP-6371 and QUAD 22L
Cables/Interconnects: JR DIY Belden/Nordost Blue Heavan
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Classic Rock, Jazz, Classical
Room Size (LxWxH): 22' x 12' x 8'
Room Comments/Treatments: JR DIY Bass Traps and Panels
Time Period/Length of Audition: 1 year
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): None
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition): Two seperate systems

Amplifier:	Rotel RB-985 and Monarch Audio 70pro
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Rotel RB-965
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Linn LP12 and Goldring GR1.2
Speakers:	Usher CP-6371 and QUAD 22L
Cables/Interconnects:	JR DIY Belden/Nordost Blue Heavan
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classic Rock, Jazz, Classical
Room Size (LxWxH):	22' x 12' x 8'
Room Comments/Treatments:	JR DIY Bass Traps and Panels
Time Period/Length of Audition:	1 year
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	None
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	Two seperate systems