'The 28A is freakishly good at everything it does. Like the 350A Reference amp, it has no color, no limits bottom or top, and no hint anywhere of solid-state sound. Nor does it have any hint of tube sound. The 28A delivers everything you could want in terms of dynamics and harmonic content. The highs set the standard for what they should sound like from a preamp. The soundstage size is strictly a function of the recording. You can have flat or huge space; whatever is on the recording is what you’ll hear.
If you are looking for a preamp with no sound and no detectable limitations, the 28A is it" Doug Blackburn - Soundstage
To see a review of the Belles 350A Reference amplifier, go to soundstage.com.
The Belles 28A Stereo Reference Preamplifier has a comprehensive number of features designed to produce outstanding performance. All of the analog circuitry in the Belles 28A consists of discrete bipolar transistor class A amplifiers. The Belles 28A produces a holographic presentation with unprecedented detail, clarity and smoothness. Its dynamics are unheralded due to its high energy power supply using a 50 volt-ampere power transformer and 400,000 microfarads of filter capacitance.
Among its features is a phonograph stage for moving magnet phonograph cartridges and a head amplifier for moving coil phonograph cartridges with a seperate RCA jack input for cartridge loading. Moving magnet or moving coil is selected by a switch on the front panel.
In addition to phono moving magnet and moving coil inputs, the Belles 28A has three line level inputs (CD, AUX, and Video) and a line level balanced input. The balanced input is buffered with a differential discrete class A amplifier.
The Belles 28A preamplifier home theater bypass feature routes the signal at the video input directly to the preamplifier outputs with unity gain. The video processor output signals are sent through the preamplifier to the power amplifiers driving the left and right front speakers. A switch on the front panel controls this function.
At a retail price of $4500.00, the Belles 28A solid state stereo reference preamplifier is capable of outperforming any preamplifier whether it be solid state or vacuum tube based.
Specifications
General
| Controls |
Listen, record, Volume and Balance |
| Remote Controls |
Power On/Off, Mute, Volume, Input and Mon |
| Dimensions |
17" (432mm) W x 5" (127mm) H x 12.5" (318mm) D (excluding jacks, knobs and feet) |
| Shipping Weight |
26 pounds (11.2 Kg) |
| Power |
120 VAC or 240 VAC @ 50/60 Hz |
| Power rating |
50 volt amperes toroidal transformer |
| Fuse |
0.5A Slo Blo |
| Filter Capacity |
40,000 microfarads total |
| Warranty |
5 years |
Line Section
| Frequency Response |
20 Hz to 20,000 Hz +/- 3 dB |
| Hum and Noise |
90 dB A weighted |
| Distortion |
less than 0.01% IM and THD |
| Input Impedance |
20,400 ohms center tapped balanced
50,000 to 100,000 ohms unbalanced |
| Output Impedance |
50 ohms unbalanced
100 ohms center tapped balanced |
| Maximum Output |
6.7 volts rms |
| Gain |
7.0 dB |
| Crosstalk |
60 dB |
Moving Magnet Phonograph section
| Frequency Response |
20 Hz to 20,000 Hz +/- 0.1 dB |
| Hum and Noise |
100 dB (1 volt reference) |
| Distortion |
less than 0.05% |
| Input Impedance |
47,000 ohms |
| Maximum Output |
6.7 volts rms |
| Gain |
40 dB |
Moving Coil Phonograph section
| Frequency Response |
20 Hz to 20,000 Hz +/- 3 dB |
| Hum and Noise |
76 dB (mm + mc) |
| Distortion |
less than 0.02% |
| Input Impedance |
Adjustable at extra RCA input 0 to 1000 ohms |
| Gain |
26 dB |
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