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nobody
08-06-2009, 06:25 PM
Just got my hands on a Bellari VP530 with the USB output. This is the first tube anything I've ever tried. So far really liking the sound of this thing. It replaced a Parasound phono pre that I was content with. Was just curious about tubes. Midrange seems more detailed, especially the lower midrange. Was worried about some roll off up top, but I'm not getting that. Bass sounds full and detailed. I really like the USB thing too. Was a bit lost about what cable to get, but found the right one and after messing with Goldwave a bit to get the hang of how to set it to be able to listen while recording and I'm all set. Got a stack of 45s I'm burning right now. Good sound and useful functionality make this one of the more fun things I've started messing with for quite some time.

I was worried about the gain on this thing, but I'm not noticing a problem at all with a Shure M91ED. Of course, now I may have to think about finding a different cartridge to mate with this thing. But that will be a while down the road as I just got a this Shure NOS to replace the more modern Shure 97. I seem to prefer the M91 for some reason, seems a bit more high end to my ears without losing the strong bass I like about Shures in general.

02audionoob
08-06-2009, 09:51 PM
And you gotta start rollin' tubes, too. There's the Sovtek 12AX7LPS, the Mullard re-issue long plates, the classic NOS Telefunken. The world is your oyster.

nobody
08-07-2009, 03:50 AM
Sounds interesting. I'm gonna stick with what it came with for now, but I would be interested in giving another tube ot two a try. Any idea what kid of sound changes different tubes give you?

02audionoob
08-07-2009, 04:58 AM
Tubes vary in performance and character, so they'll affect noise, distortion, sibilance, harshness, muddiness, handling transients, etc. just like other components. The old tubes have their established classics from Telefunken, Mullard, Amperex, GE and others. Those NOS tubes can be pricey, but I've seen in forums where people have actually put them in a Bellari. It seems a little out of proportion to put a 100-dollar tube in a VP130, but some people are just into it. I replaced my Bellari tube with a Sovtek 12AX7LPS and found it gave me a little less background noise and sibilance than the original Bellari tube. It's not an expensive tube, so I tried it just out of curiosity. I've been happy with it, so I'm going to use it and keep the original tube for when I sell the Bellari.

nobody
08-07-2009, 06:11 AM
Yeah, I can't see myself messing with expensive NOS tubes at this point. Were I already versed in tube stuff and already had a couple interesting old tubes lying around, sure try one out in the Bellari. But for me with no experience or tubes just lying around, before I'd go blow a couple hundred bucks on tubes, I'd probably just look into pre-amp further up the line with the cash. Now, experimenting with some inexpensive current production stuff does sound like something I'd be interested in checking out. Thanks for the suggestion.

dean_martin
08-10-2009, 03:04 PM
Welcome to the club. I have the Bellari VP-129. When I first got into tube rollin' I noticed that nos singles seem to be cheaper than shelling out big bucks for pairs of nos. Not sure if that's still the case. Also, one of our members was kind enough to send me some of his odd 12AX7s and equivalents. Finally, I picked up a "grab bag" of 12AX7s online for cheap. There were some duds in the bunch, but there was an old Voice of Music made by Mullard. That one was sweet but it didn't have much life left. I switch back and forth, but mostly I use a nos Tungsram and an Ei gold pin which were sent to me by a most gracious member here.

If you need more top end, I find that older RCAs have a sparkling treble. The new mullard re-issue is not bad either.

As far as carts go, I've used it with a high output (3.3mV) moving coil that worked well in a small room. When I had to move my system to a larger room, the output wasn't quite enough. I switched to a 4mV Grado and then to a 5mV moving magnet which seems to hit the sweet spot. Don't be afraid to try the gain setting at max.

nobody
08-18-2009, 07:01 AM
OK, I couldn't resist grabbing a Sovtek 12AX7LPS since they are cheap and it did make a noticeable difference, more dynamic. May be grabbing one of the Mullard re-issues pretty quick since I have seen them real cheap as well.

E-Stat
08-18-2009, 11:03 AM
Just got my hands on a Bellari VP530 with the USB output. This is the first tube anything I've ever tried. So far really liking the sound of this thing.
I use a VPI-129 in the vintage system. It is smooth and its sins are of largely of omission. While there is one dual triode tube used as a buffer, all of the gain is provided by the two sets of op amps. It would really take about four tubes in the signal path to do the job by themselves. If you should happen to have about $12k lying around, then there's always the new <a href="http://www.arcdb.ws/REFPHONO2/REFPHONO2.html">Audio Research REF2</a href>. :)

rw