I've never heard the Belles amp, but I'm pretty familiar with the Sierra 1. Those are a special speaker. I'd say hard to beat at under $1k.
+1 Good question, ogdens_sliced! And if I may tag on, can anyone shed some light on its sensitivity/adjust-ability via remote?
I live in an apartment so can't crank up the volume usually, but I would say yes, it gets very loud well before 10:00 with my speakers. I will check for sure tomorrow, but I don't think I even get close to 9:00. I will put on one of my quietest mastered discs, perhaps Toto The Seventh One, to check how far up the volume range I can get.
In my opinion the remote has good sensitivity and it is pretty easy to make fine volume adjustments with a quick press of the button.
I played the album The Seventh One by Toto, which has excellent sound quality and is mastered at a very low level. I was only able to get the volume control on my Aria to 9:00, and it was pretty loud and I didn't want to go any higher for fear of pissing off the neighbor. So for my speakers and purposes, the volume control is always below the 9:00 position and does not offer much of a useable range. Great sounding amp though.
If you are looking for an amp with a lot of usable range through the volume pot then I would suggest the Sonneteer Alabaster. Wonderful amp with a great phono stage.
I remember about 5 years ago I lusted after the Alabaster, and the volume control specially designed to be useful across more of the range was a big attraction to me. At the time I couldn't afford one and instead bought a Creek Evolution 50A for half the price.
Yes I read a post of yours a while back where you mentioned Belles & Sonneteer. I admit to not having heard of either prior to your post. Thanks for raising my interest. Downside of both of these amps is that demo is impossible where I live. Looks like Sonneteer are low volume builds to order also.
OK, but as you say, sound is the primary here. I have same scenario with a Primaluna - low usable volume pot but up to 10 o'clock it sounds killer. After that it is still killer, but into too loud territory.
As with any amp, you can have the volume pot changed to a different type so the range is evenly distributed as opposed to providing (let's say) 20-30% of the power within the first few segments of the dial.
Isn't the range of the usable volume affected at least to some degree by the speakers attached? I have the Aria and just don't use it over the 9 o'clock position as the speakers I have attached to it are 4 ohm, 400 watt capable. Typically it is above average listening levels at nine and sounds great, but much beyond that with these speakers and it just seems too loud even in our decent sized loft space, although they are efficient (98.8) I just think that they are drawing too much from the Aria at high levels. I have a pair of Drop Hifiman planar headphones that when used with the Aria allow to take it up to 12 and beyond, I just assumed that the amp could benefit from better matched speakers, but it sounds so fantastic that I just keep it under 9 and all is well.
Ubiknik, I wouldn't worry about the position of the volume control & power output. It's not a linear relationhip, e.g. 12 o'clock = 50% of the rated power. David builds a great amp, you don't need to change a thing. Just enjoy.
I'm strongly considering this integrated to the well reviewed Parasound Hint6. I like the flexibility and simplicity of the one box Hint6, but would only need to add a dac to the Aria, not a deal breaker. Does anyone have any experience how they compare in sound quality? Weighing if the flexibility is more than the difference in sound quality. I like that the Hint6 seems to be an easy amp to match speakers and is a balanced presentation, but the Aria sounds fantastic as well. I'm seeking an integrated that places greater emphasis on enjoying music rather than focusing on the hifi equipment. Buchardt S300 are the speakers I will be driving (currently running Parasound Zamp).
I own a belles aria integrated amp that is paired with Buchardt s400’s. Great combination. The belles is an excellent amp that will hold its value. Plenty of power.
Johnny R. called me today. My Aria probably really gets going this coming week - delivery in early August. Those Buchardts look super sweet. But it seems I end up buying something significant every 15 years or so. The Belles is going into Vandy 1c's, which is supposed to be a great combination.
I heard the Belles Aria integrated with the Vandersteen Treo CTs earlier this week. It was a great combination and the Belles drove them beautifully. That’s an impressive little integrated for the money.
Hi, any opinion on how the Belles Aria Integrated compare to Rega Elicit R, irrespective of price point, in general or with Dynaudio Speakers Emit20/Special40. Regards
Johnny R. at Audio Connection finally demoed the Aria for me last week through Vandy Treos. All kinds of music, mostly on Tidal, with a Johnny Cash LP at the end. I was very impressed overall. Such a humble-looking little thing, and it just handled everything effortlessly, rendering excellent detail. I'm sure the Rega's a great amp, but I don't envision needing 105 wpc at any point in the near or distant future. I also like the fact that the Aria's basically handmade, not that far from here.
I also have the 1c's and have been eyeing the Aria for some time. I'm 20 min from John, right down the GSP. My buddy bought Treo's from him. The only thing holding me back has been the lack of a balance control on the Aria. The other thing is I'm exploring integrated's without a phone stage as I use the Phonomena II +. My listening room isn't perfectly balanced, and if you know Vandy's, they need to be set up just so. If he worked with you on the price, that may be a deal maker. Either way, a great amp!
Well, my order's in. John thought I was ordering some other Belles thing - not an Aria, but something between it and the Virtuoso for about $4500. Can't do that! Balance control is something I rarely feel the need to use. I'm running a Kenwood receiver from 1983 that, to be honest, is still amazing, for what it is. Talk about getting your money's worth...it's been serviced twice in all that time, and sometimes I'm still surprised by it. I'll post my initial impressions here once I take delivery of the Aria. I think I'll go for a Loki too, 'cos I listen to such a wide variety of things, and still run a cassette deck, blah blah blah you get the idea.
