Belles 28A

This is electrically perfect and doesn't emit any untoward noises. It has a balanced in and out and Home Theater Bypass. Please note one of the photos shows an extensive list of the specs.

The remote controls volume, source (lights on the left), tape monitor by input (lights on right), mute and power.

The phono stage in this unit is superb and very quiet. You'll notice on the back that there are separate MM and MC inputs. There are also RCAs for MC loading. Loading pugs for 10, 20, 50, 100, and 150 ohms are included. No need to pop open the lid!

Cosmetically, there are marks on top from soft shoes one of which is shown in a photo below. There's 2 full circles like that near the front and 2 half-circles at the back. Keep in mind that this is zoomed in and cropped to show it at its worst. Also, you can see the only nick on the edge just to the left of the shoe mark. Otherwise, the preamp is cosmetically clean.

Also included is the original manual. It will be very well packed in a double box. I'm not going to say that it is the OEM box, but it has form fitting foam endcaps. There's nothing on the box that says "Belles" though.

As far as price, last month a Belles 28A linestage sold on Audiogon for $1495. That means the phono stage on this one is only $405!!!

And there's a sidebar on the 28A's sound in the Soundstage review of the Belles 350A:

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/belles_350a_reference.htm