I purchased this unit as a gift for a friend and was more than mildly surprised at its performance. It provides a warm and even gently sweet rendition of the music on the record. I compared it my Acoustech SS pre-amp and other than providing less detail then the Acoustech, the Bellari could stay the distance with it. - Bathroom Remodel Tacoma

None so far.

OK, so like, I don't own a Rolls Bellari VP 130. Hug me?!!! Throw some nickles into my hat
Call my mother rude names & my species. I own a Rolls Bellari VP129 Phone amp which old man Deets told me NOT TO UPGRADE because they are essentually the same unit, same colour and same circuitry (1930) was a very good year!!!

In a word, you want a VALVE Phono AMP and sub $600.00 nothing can touch the Bellari VP129-30. I adore my Acurus RL11 Line Stage Pre-Amp/A150 Amp but they can become, shrill, overly analytical and wirery sounding. That's why my Solid State Phone Amps (Audio Alchemy, Project, Music Fidelity) were so wrong for the System. When I whined to my dealer (audio, not the other kind) Deets told me I needed to attenuate the Treble by slapping in a VALVE output to yer Line Stage Pre-Amp. I hesitated. He then told me to pay for it, take it home & try it out and if I wasn't happy, bring it back. I did and no, I didn't!!!

THREE NEGATIVES: FIRST, is the cheap, Chinese 12 AUX7B (Jody?) that comes stock with it. OF COURSE, you are going to toss it---it goes without saying. But what to replace it with? Well, the Bellari is a cheap phono amp that doesn't rate GOOD NOS Valves such as a 1962 Madza, a 1968 Telefunken or a 1952 Mullard. Me? I recommend Russian Mullard, followed by Russian Golden Dragen. Most people who use 12 AUX 7 are musicians in their Marshall Stacks or whatever---you don't need to distort your Valves to get that wicked sound---you're Audio, not Guitar-ish!!! SECOND, upgrade the WALL WORT. My tiny Wall Wort hummed like Linda Lovelace and that is not a good thing. Upgrading the power supply ($14.00 approx.) gets rid of the problem. FINALLY, use yer head!!! (a) You need to seat the valve in PERFECTLY else it won't work [FYI, Mullards don't glow) and (b) Remember to pull the plug when you switch to CDs or your Music Server---those valves cost $30.00 each and there is no excuse to leave it on idle for the weekend then whine when you need to replace it. Valves need replacing every 500 hours and I don't see any biasing adjustment (is it Automatic? I don't know). And it has RIAA equalization to boot?!!! Buy this PHONO and use it until you win the lottery or something...!!!

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Hello, Love this little preamp. I changed out the stock no-name tube for a new Mullard 12AX7 (New Release) and got a more powerful power supply. It is a laptop charger for a Toshiba laptop that was slightly used for $10 on eBay. It is 15VDC at 3 amps compared to the stock power supply that is 15VDC at only 300mA or 0.3A. These two upgrades made it very 3D with awesome weight to the bass. It's better than the Grado PH1 phono preamp ($500) that I borrowed from a friend of mine. The tube makes it very non-fatiguing and image like only a tube can. I'd put it up against any sub $1000 phono pre out there.

I have used Bellari VP-130 more than 3 months. VP-130 is tube phono amplifier using single 12AX7. It is a good product considering reasonable price. The sound is satisfiable as a part of higher priced gears. I can feel all different tone and punch of classical and pop music with VP-130. It is also enough to detect quality of recording. I was not really sure to buy this for my system which includes Music Hall 5.1 SE, conrad-johnson Classic Pre and McIntosh 275 Power. I have finally realized VP-130 is good enough phono stage that can be matched with more priced system.
My on & off audio history since 1981 coveres wide range from entry level analog (Shure V-15, Thorens, Marantz 2285 recever and JBL 50) system to top level solid state system (Wadia CDP and Transport, Cello Pre, Marklevinson NO 20 and B&W 801). But, I am very safisfied with current tube system with small Bellari to enjoy music. Variety of NOS tubes have been tested in my system. This little gear can figure feature of each tubes. I have enjoyed sound from series of NOS tubes including Telefunken, Mullard, RCA, GE, Raytheon and Aperex not to mention variety of triod, 12A 7 family. It looks to OK to use variable amplification level triod to Bellari. I simply raise more volume with lower gain tubes with MM or high out put MC cartridge. This may be a strength of Bellari. I would say anyone desire to experience tube sound under reasonable budget, it is very recommendable. Build quality is also good enough to stay as a part of main system, especially considering the price. The last word for critic is little smaller sound stage compare to other solid state phono stage and higher priced (multiple times) tube phono stage. Otherwise this is very enjoyable product to listen quality sound.

I have lived with the Bellari VP130 for well over a Year now and I am very pleased with it.
First two thing has to be done before using the Bellari
1. a prober PSU - I use a Monacor PS 414 13,7 volt (important get a PSU with low ripple voltage)
2. NOS tubes - not the nasty tubes that comes with the Bellari - I The Telefunken EEC 82 and EEC 83 are great
Whats in front of my Bellari - Denon dl 103 pickup and step up transformers
This little red wonder of a Riaa is the best all-rounder I have had and it leaves Vincent, Project, NAD, and Cambridge Riias behind in the dust
Built in Riias in my vintage Luxman, Denon, and revox amps also leaves much to be desired compared with the VP130 - the only Riia that comes close - is the riaa in the old Sansui AU 555 A amp (1972/73) - it has some of the same sweet sound as the Bellari, but miss some of the clearity in sound
I have tried the Bellari with the following combinations (MC pick ups with step up transformers from Lux corpt, Ortofon and Beyer Dynamics) - Thorens TD 124 with Ortofon arm and Ortofon SPU Gold, Michell Hydraulic Transcription with Mørch up4 arm and Ortofon MC Supreme, Revox B790 with Ortofon OM30, Garrard 301 with SME 3012 and Denon dl 102, 130, 110, 160, SPU GTE,
The Bellari delivers equally well within Classical, Jazz and Rock - I'm not saying that it is the best RIIA in the world but it sure offers great value for money and easily a RIaa you can live with paired with much more expensive equipment. With the SPU Gold, JS step ups, and the EAR Yoshino 861 and Tannoy dc 12"s it very hard not to smile

If I had to ad some criticism it would be that the output is a little bit low - the psu in the box is crap and the tube likewise but for about 30£ you can have them replaced

This is a great little phono preamp for the money. I used this on my Rotel 985/B&W 685/NAD 333 & it did make the sound so much warmer & musical. Also great that it has a headphone input during those late night listening. I highly recommend upgrading the stock tube. I tried 3 different kinds - tung sol, sovtek & reissue Mullard. And i seem to prefer the Mullard between the three but all of them were way much better than the stock tube. There were some hum issue that i notice only when the turntable was not playing & i tried different solutions that the customer rep recommend. Seem to decrease it but still noticeably there. Another great thing is the company that makes this product - Rolls. They have the best customer service i have encountered helping me set up,troubleshoot my problem, definitely no outsourced customer service & real staff to answer your question.

This actually a review of the VP530 with the USB port. I bought this unit from Music Direct and it was worth every penny. The first thing I did was tube roll. I replaced the cheapo 12AX7 with a rather tired Telefunken 12AX7 "Ribbed plate" and for a well used tube she still sounded good. I bought an NOS Brimar "Longplate" and within 24 hours it went microphonic. Luckilly Brent Jessee exchanged it for an NOS Telefunken "Smooth Plate" and haven't looked back since. The sound is simply wonderful, warm and lifelike (thanks in no small part to the Tele). I did try the USB port to do some needledrops but my computer wouldn't recognize it (more with the computer than the preamp), but I did try the line out and that worked just fine. So all in all I strongly reccomend this unit, and if you do decide on this then tube rolling is a must to get the best out of it.

- price that even the most miserly can live with
- nice looking metal case
- muting
- very quiet, smooth operation
- headphone output
- the switching power supply makes it quieter than the VP129

- its big brother the VP530 offers even more neat functionality like direct recording on your PC via the USB port!
- rated Stereophile Class B
- you have to purchase the PSU115 separatly

The VP130 is the newest version of the venerable VP129. It utilizes a 15 volt DC input that is derived from the Rolls PSU 115. It is shipped with a 12 volt DC wall wart. You can get the PSU 115 from the Rolls website.

I purchased this unit as a gift for a friend and was more than mildly surprised at its performance. It provides a warm and even gently sweet rendition of the music on the record. I compared it my Acoustech SS pre-amp and other than providing less detail then the Acoustech, the Bellari could stay the distance with it.

The headphone amp is a really nice bonus and most vendors would charge you
the list price just for it. I used it with a Philips and my Sennheiser 650s and was highly satisfied with the overall sound.

In the process of purchasing it, I uncovered another gem, www.sweetwaveaudio.com. My mouth salivates every time I peruse their catalog. I ended up purchasing a Furman Power Conditioner, which is must for any audio lover, but was amazed at their amplifier, equalizer, etc., offerings.