Pat Casey Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Can anyone recommend a starter "under $500" receiver or tube amp to go with a vintage set of Belles? I live in a small town with no audio stores to speak of. Probably will purchase through Amazon. I am running them now through a 2channel Onkyo A-9050 integrated amplifier and they sound kindof lifeless. I am new to the high end stereo scene,so go easy on me....Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Hi Pat, Welcome to the forum! I think that you will get more input if you post this in the 2 channel section. The 2 channel section gets much more traffic. Just a thought. You do not mention how old your belles are, but since you are calling them vintage I can imagine that the crossovers probably need to have the capacitors replaced. THis can lead you down a pretty expensive path so for starters I would contact Bob Crites on this forum or through his web site. He can set you up with either a built network or the parts to do so yourself. JMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Casey Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Thanks for the reply and suggestion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofers and Tweeters Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 $500 can get you a whole lot. Sometimes what you get can be better with refreshed caps and such. If you don't mind getting up to turn it up or down, an old school Marantz, Sansui etc makes the Belle feel good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rxonmymind Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 ^^^What he said. I have a Sony STR 7055 rated @35 wpc running my Belle's and the synergy between them is excellent. Very musical. Luckily the Belle's are highly sensitive at 104 db so one doesn't need a mega monster watt receiver to drive them. Look at Sony STR 7055 & 7045 or even Realistic 2100 and the like to drive them. Those are what I have experience with. (I have a Marantz 2500 but that's a bit overkill) But the most MUSICAL of them are the Sony's family of receivers by far especially after having one fully recapped & restored. The engineers that built those old Sony receivers knew what good sound was and more than one person has said they showed their Monster receivers out the door after listening to a Sony. Power isn't everything. My Sony EASILY bested the Realistic 2100D & a "new" modern Yamaha Rx 777. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofers and Tweeters Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 49 minutes ago, Rxonmymind said: <snip>Power isn't everything. You're right Tube listeners have been saying that all along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalifornian Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 I have a newer Marantz receiver and they keep the "warm" needed for horns. I've run La Scalas and Belles off of it and they both sound great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J M O N Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 Tubes would sound best with Belles in my experience but would be a tall order within your budget (not impossible though). However, as mentioned you should consider the age of the speakers. If they are more than 20 years old you may need to get the capacitors replaced in the crossovers. Bob Crites is a great source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 As Maynard might say, find a console amp and rebuild it. Not a lot invested and very good return plus good power for the Belle's sensitivity. Something like a Stromberg Carlson ASR-120 or a Magnavox. Maybe I'm partial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J M O N Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 I have not heard this particular one but it might be worth looking into. Maybe others here have first hand experience with it: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/tube-jolida-fx10-integrated-stereo-tube-amp-2016-10-09-integrateds-17602-lancaster-pa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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