Bellari VP130 phono stage info requested thanks

gfong

Purchased a Bellari VP130 phono stage and have a few questions if anyone can assist. Did some searching on the net but could not find much info.

As it does not have a power button, I assume it is fine to leave the unit on 24/7 or should I unplug the power cord at the back of the unit when not using?

If I do unplug does it take this little unit long for the tube to warm up? Does it need that? If I do leave it plugged in how long can I expect the tube to last?

When using the output level, where is the ideal spot to have it set at or is it just like a volume level, put it where you think it sounds best?

I read about some hiss and background noise with using this unit, but with my equipment/connections there are none and I am glad of that. I am using a Ortofon 2M Blue cart with a Pro-Ject RPM 1.3 turntable.

Once I get use to the sound, I think I will try some different tubes just to experiment, there are some good posts about this on the Polk site so no need to ask about different tubes at this moment.

SCompRacer

gfong wrote: »

Purchased a Bellari VP130 phono stage and have a few questions if anyone can assist. Did some searching on the net but could not find much info.

I had a VP129 and the manual wasn't much. You can DL a manual for your 130 off this page.

http://www.rolls.com/product.php?pid=VP130

As it does not have a power button, I assume it is fine to leave the unit on 24/7 or should I unplug the power cord at the back of the unit when not using?

I have a tube pre/phono stage and turn it off when not in use. Takes ~ 20-30 minutes to get the electrons sloughing off nicely.:cheesygrin:

When using the output level, where is the ideal spot to have it set at or is it just like a volume level, put it where you think it sounds best?

You got it. IIRC turned all the way up I got some undesirable hiss/hum out of the 129. I think they had made the 130 a bit better.

Once I get use to the sound, I think I will try some different tubes just to experiment, there are some good posts about this on the Polk site so no need to ask about different tubes at this moment.

Rolling tubes can find your best sound combination. You can also google to see what other Bellari owners are using.

gfong

Thanks for the info, bang on to what I was looking for. Appreciate the info on the tube rolling as well.

nspindel

I just got the 130. Got a nice deal on eBay for a lightly used one, included the Radio Shack power supply and a couple of extra tubes including the SovTek 12AX7LPS that people rave about with this unit.

With most of my gear packed away I'm just listening to it through headphones. First issue I have with this piece is that the headphone amp is worthless. Just about any headphone amp in the world can put out enough power to drive a pair of Grados to a high volume, they are very easy to drive. Not this thing, though. Even with the headphone level pot turned all the way up, the volume is nowhere near listening levels. So I'm piping the output of the Bellari into my Grado RA-1 headphone amp in order to get some decent power. I was hoping not to have to do that, but it's not a showstopper by any means.

Sound is pretty good from what I can tell through the headphones, but I'm already eyeballing mods. I will never use the mute, I will never use the rumble filter. I will never use the output level, nor the headphone amp. Sounds like a lot of nonsense that would be better of being bypassed. Then there are the upgrades to opamps, caps, and resistors that I've been reading about online.

I guess I need to settle in with this for a little while and decide if it is a keeper or not. Won't really be able to do that until after the house is sold and I move to the next location and set up shop. If I like what I hear through the SDA's enough to keep this thing for the long haul, then some upgrades will likely follow. As with anything else, need to decide if I'm better off investing time and money into upgrading this unit, or just get a different phono stage.

Meanwhile, this little desktop vinyl/headphone setup I've put together is quite enjoyable, so I'll be getting some good use out of this thing for a while.

ken brydson

Lasker reported