Musica Bella
Pushing the Performance Envelope

Home s Products s Reviews s Scheduling s Recommended Tubes

Modification Services s Exclusive Modified Products s Picture Gallery

What's New s Specials/Clearance s Retail Website s Contact Us

 

February 5th

The Bella Phono Stage came to my door one week ago today. 

That Thursday I was calling Bill Baker (the phono maker) for the tracking number.  He was unsuccessfully trying to retrieve it off the Fed Ex system.  My doorbell rang.  The reason he couldn't find it on Fed Ex was that the delivery person has just changed its status to Delivered.  I ran to the door, signed in my hastiest scrawl, and began unpacking.  To say it was well packed is an understatement.  I pulled my existing phono stage, placed the Bella, used my own power cord and ICs, but Bill's JJ tubes, let it come to room temp and turned it on.  Just to warm a bit. 

Fit and finish are wonderful.   
Bill's new wood cabinets for his equipment are spectacular, and the great veneers are very attractive. Bonus points for WAF.  (Now I just need to send the rest of my system out for an appearance package upgrade. )I remembered Bill might still be on the telephone line, since I had not hung up the phone when the doorbell rang (in my race to make sure the Fed Ex person didn't leave, with the phono stage, having allowed me 4 milliseconds to answer). 
But, knowing my enthusiasm and interest, Bill realized staying on the line would be fruitless.  So I rang him up to confirm the arrival, great packing, and (most importantly) its working condition, and to apologize for leaving him talking to my unmanned phone...

OK, enough backstory.  After a week, I hear a beautiful, crystal clear, dynamic, balanced phono stage, with a great big soundstage. 

I was the first stop on the road trip for the Bella, and the first day or two the Bella spent breaking in, warming up, and making friends with my system.  There has been notable development.  The first day or two bass was a bit light, treble a bit pronounced, and the dynamics a bit compressed - just what one expects from new hardware.  Let me assure you, all those early break-in effects were very temporary and are well in the past.

A week later - I am almost speechless.   
Although tubed, this phono is one of the clearest I have heard (at, or considerably above this price point).  Four listening impressions dominate.  Clarity, balance, speed/dynamics, and ability to unravel complex passages. 

First, the clarity and naturalness of the sound.  Black background, and the effect of opening the window further to better hear the original recording.  I hear so much more detail (I have owned three phono stages previously) than ever before, even better than on other NJ Audio Society member systems better than mine.  Many records, Peyroux (Half the Perfect World), Joni Mitchell (Don Juan's), Band (Big Pink), Poulenc (Les Biches), Strauss, etc. that I have heard many times before revealed so much new detail and musical information, and enjoyment, I couldn't stop putting records on (strained, bloodshot eyes confirm this...).  This clarity (coupled with the speed) is responsible for my first amazing listening moment - HUGE soundstage.  Wider, deeper, way past speakers...

Second, the balance of the phono stage's sound is very faithful to the recording.  Bad recordings are even more annoying, but great recordings (this phono stage just LOVES high quality recordings - Alison Kraus and US, Night Ark-Picture, Holly Cole, M Peyroux, Jacintha, Classic Records RCA re-masterings) sound unbelievably good.  Bass is strong, articulate, clear.  Brass sounds very natural and clean (Bill has a great ear for jazz brass).  Strings have just the right delicacy/intensity, depending on the musician's style.  Percussion is precise, good skin sound, cymbal shimmer is very clear/clean and decays just right.  All the elements are in balance.  Bill - you have a great ear!  There is NOT a tubey, golden, even-order harmonics dominanated sound.  Just what was happening in the studio, very clear and faithful to the recording event.

Third, the speed of the unit is amazing, a very capable presentation, no lag or delay on the fastest sounds. This allows for the very BIG soundstage to the degree the recording provides it.  Classical music symphony halls, chamber music chambers, jazz clubs (think Evans - Waltz for Debby), all this music provided a very clear impression of the space the music was recorded in.  Not exaggerated, but faithful and accurate.  Dynamics are excellent.  Inner detail and micro-dynamics, to big rock macro-dynamics were easily discerned, and the live music "jump" factor was very impressive and real.  Live recordings were heard to be much more live than previously. 

Fourth, ability to reveal complex music and unravel complex passages was better than anticipated, and excellent.  In my experience, this is one of the benefits that you get only with the big $$ phono stages.  The musical image provided is one of layers being peeled back, allowing far far greater understanding of the original intent of the music.  Complex (and often loud) classical music passages were sorted out (in the better recordings, usually Philips or Telefunken) so that previously confused passages were heard more cleanly, allowing the natural instrumental sounds to be differentiated and heard.  Joni Mitchell's Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, which can be overbearingly bright, was heard to be a layering of the bright, reverbed guitar/voice, in front of which was Joni's natural voice and guitar, with Pastorius playing a powerful and expressive bass line working from lead instrument status to rythym section beat all around her centered natural (unreverbed) image.  The phono stage let these layers appear in space, dynamically, with accurate tone in a way so that the music made more sense to me than ever before. 

Such is the value of a good phono stage.  And the Bella is truly beautiful.   
There are many phono stages out there, and I have heard many.  I have come to be a bit cynical about whether there is a need for so many different version of the same function.  But I have been convinced that the Bella has earned its place, and brings more music to my ears.  I strongly recommend a listen.  If you are part of the road trip - congratulations!  I think you will have an interesting experience with this unit.  Bill, you have created a phono stage that finds the music and carries it very well, to the rest of my system and me.  Congratulations are especially in order for you!

I have a list of most all the records I have spun during my listening experience (about 40 or so records), with notes on my listening impressions. It is far too long to include here, but if you are interested, PM me and I will be happy to share my notes.  My apologies for the length of this post, but I wanted to start with enough information for others to compare to...   

Bill C.

Equipment: Rega 25 turntable; Shelter 501 II cartridge; Bella (Bill Baker) Step-up Transformer; Bella Phono Stage (focal point of evaluation); ModWright Instruments SWL 9.0SE Preamplifier; Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai CD Player (used as transport and for SACD); MSB Nelson Link III 24/192 upsampling DAC w P1000 Power Base; Antique Sound Labs Hurricane DT Monoblock Amplifiers (with extensive component modifications by Bill Baker at Response Audio); Von Schweikert VR-4jr speakers; K-Works Power Station; K-Works speaker cables (bi-wire); K-Works Clearheart interconnects; Grover Huffman SC interconnects; Various power cables

February 14th - Part 1

After a many hours last night getting acquainted with the Bella, I can strongly confirm the Billc observations offered in his excellent review of Unit #1.  As he described, the bass was light, the treble seemed exaggerated, and the dynamics were compressed; however, I did notice a huge soundstage both in height and width. I can also attest that the Bella does remove a veil on clarity.  My EV amp shines at recreating the human voice, and the addition of the Bella is proving to be a synergistic match.  Although I liked that 1952 Sylvania 12AU7 tube, I did replace it with a Sylvania 6189/12AU7WA round getter, and the sound became much better balanced.  Although the treble still stuck out, it was not as pronounced as with the older Sylvania.  I suspect with a settling of the Bella in my system the Bella’s charms offered by Billc will be confirmed.

After reading sts9fan’s review of the Bella, I had fears that my EV amp would not have the gain required to show off the Bella’s skills. Several solid state phono pres have come and gone in my system, because they did not have enough gain to enjoy the music. The Bella does not have a gain problem working with my Eddie Vaughn integrated. When cranking my EV for a couple rock albums last night, I easily registered 100 dBs using my rat shack sound level meter. Later next week, I plan to try the Bella with a Music Reference EM7 (2.5 watter) and a C4 preamp.  The C4 with tone controls was set up to handle single driver speakers from 90 dB to 93 dB, so my 96 db speakers are almost a mismatch for gain.  I will report my findings with the Music Reference equipment at the end of my review period.

To end this Bella introduction, let me comment that I have made many purchases over the years from Bill Baker.  On my short list of favorite audio dealers, Bill remains at the top. He is a positive example of what audio builder/dealers should be.  I will always purchase products from him when I can.  He sold me the excellent Acoustic Solid turntable which has changed my listening habits from 80/20 cds to turntable a year ago to 80/20 turntable to cd, today.  I have acquired over 900 LPs this past year replacing many that I had previously sold and introducing me to many excellent LPs that I had missed. The Bella phono pre has already made a positive impression. More later.

tybee

February 21  - PART II

This has been a pleasant week watching the Bella phono pre-amp adjust to my system and open up.  After settling in my system, I must re-confirm billc’s observations in his review of unit 1.  Unit two like unit one can be summed as having, “Clarity, balance, speed/dynamics, and ability to unravel complex passages”.  I found that my amps and/or pre-amps were a good match in gain with the Bella.  Keep in mind that the Bella has a listed gain of 32 dB which is lower than many competing MM phono stages.  Since I do not try to entertain my neighbors with loud music, I did not find the Bella gain as a limiting factor to enjoy music.  So, what else can I add to this fine product?

Tube rolling baby!  What the Bella phono can offer your system depends on your listening preferences, but the Bella can quite handily display the strengths of the various 12AU7 tube family.  I have chosen the 12AU7 tube because many vintage phono quality tubes can be found at much less cost when compared to vintage 12AX7s.  During my listening sessions this past week, I kept the excellent Sovtek 12AX7LPS as my 12AX7 choice and rolled many of favorite 12AU7s.  The Bella easily displayed the tonal characteristics of whatever 12AU7 was utilized.  I often use Tube World’s chart for describing the tonal characteristics of the 12AU7 and 12AX7 tube family. Although the 12AX7s chart is similar, here is Tube World’s description for 12AU7s:

High Resolution/Clear, Detailed/High End Extension   
RCA Cleartops
12AU7 Sylvania
12AU7 Tung Sols

Warm/ Smooth/ Rich
7316 Amperex
1950s 12AU7 Black plates
12AU7 Brimar
12AU7 Mullards

Lively 3D Midrange/ Good bass/ Midrange vocals more pronounced/Sweet highs
12AU7 Amperex Bugle Boys
12AU7 Phillips Holland

Detailed/ Articulate/Warm

12AU7 Telefunken smooth plates
1960s Mullard Box plates
12AU7 1960s GE
50s-60s Mullard long plates

My listening preference depending on the music generally falls between high resolution/clear, detailed or warm/smooth/rich.  Tubes used this past week include:

RCA 5963 50's black plate D-getter version which is balanced, very smooth with nice/round bass, 3 dimensional sound. I like this tube with most every music style.
50's Sylvania JAN 12AU7 - lush tone, slamming bass, smooth and lively. I like female vocals like Alison Krauss and Eva Cassidy with this tube. A great Rock tube in my system.

Tung sol early 50's black glass – very detailed, smooth highs but slightly drier in the midrange.  A great tube for classic jazz like Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Ellington

CBS/Hytron 5814 displays bass with good detail, excellent top to bottom extension, a very good tonal quality, and can offer an interesting dynamic presentation. I like this tube with classical music.

A mid 60s Sylvania 6189WA – very balanced tube that matches nicely with the Sovtek 12AX7LPS.  Some say this tube reminds them of the excellent Amperex 7316.  Jim McShane recommended this combination and I must agree.  This tube combination sounded excellent with all music styles.

As I ran out of time, I was not able to try a 50s Amperex D getter or an Amperex 7316 as well as any of my Mullards or Brimars, but the Bella is very capable of displaying the sonics of any 12AU7 tube type. If I have time this week, I will switch from my Ortofon 2M Black MM cartridge to a MC with a step up that should match the Bella. I have been breaking in the 2M Black on my Acoustic Solid table, but it will reside on my Doug Olsen modded plinth/Thorens 150/ Grace 707 Mk11, my second table.  Yes, I have two tables set up like toobluvr. But I am not like Doug, who has too many “tunas” and too little time.

I hope this review is helpful for those of you in the market for a high quality phono pre-amp like the Bella.  It will be interesting to read what others in this demo tour observe in their systems.

tybee