Bellari VP130 MK2 Tube Phono Stage & Headphone Output

It vividly and naturally recreates recordings and has an uncanny ability to complement any turntable. The Bellari VP130 further defines its position as the price-to-performance world-beater, do-everything-well, high-fidelity phono preamplifier. You need vacuum tubes in your life, and the 12AX7 tube in the VP130 is the perfect audio upgrade to your system.

The versatile Bellari looks great and it sounded as good as it looks. It was quiet and golden-sweet and liquid in the midrange, as you'd expect from a 12AX7-based phono preamp. I wasn't expecting its top end to be so nicely extended, fast, and clean, or its bass to be so snappy, articulate, and extended. Every type of music I played through the surprising little Bellari sounded full-bodied and rich, yet detailed and crisply rendered. The Bellari gets my highest recommendation, and is the budget phono preamp I will now recommend for every genre of music…get a Bellari and a budget turntable, and I promise that your CDs will start to gather dust!

The Bargain of a Lifetime Tube Phono Stage. For (this price), the Bellari Tube Phonostage offers warm musical sound and may be just what the doctor ordered for those who want to get into analog without loading up the credit card.

I was surprised by how attractive and well balanced it sounded: smooth and warm, yet open and crisply detailed. The Bellari seemed to create a sound that was rich, natural and appealing. Surface noise was low, and the music emerged from a crisp, clean, quiet background. It was an excellent sound by almost any standards; one I was very happy to listen to. An excellent performer at a very reasonable price!