Service my Belles

There's really no excuse for poor service or communication, but in these one man operations there can be reasons that we can't know for certain. Perhaps he's having health issues, or family issues, or some other problem that occupies his attention.

Nevertheless, everyone has to decide when the time is right to move on.

If David Belles is in his 60's or 70's,[I have no idea],he's not running anything.Life is running him.I am sorry to hear of your experience and I would be pissed too,except try to remember,at that age your lucky to be alive,much less running a Co.Since your pre is gone with that note,you painted yourself in a corner.A wise man would of found that schematic[sp] and moved on as there are avenues yet unexplored by you and your MO.First,find out if he's alive,then contact him and apoligize for your lack of discretion,but explain your young and learning and would like to start over.Easy for me to say,except I've done that and have the scars to prove it can work.Good luck,were all in this together....

I had a similar experience with David about 18 years ago on an amp with a transformer machanical hum issue. It took over a year and three return trips to him and finally I just gave up. I continue to read about his genius in design, but that just doesn't hold water when he can not stand behind his product.

YMMV,
L

I own a Belles pre and have communicated with Dave on multiple occasions; from needing to get my remote replaced,discussing which tubes to use to discussing how to install Auricaps (by a 3rd party prof.).

He has always been available and has always taken time to speak with me.

I own a Belles 350A Reference amp with which I am blissfully happy. I recently sent the amp to Dave for service, and was able to make the arrangements with minimal fuss. No, he didn't always answer the phone when I called, but he usually called me back within a couple of days. He was also fairly responsive to my emails. It took about a month to get my amp back, but it was well worth the wait.

I get the impression that Dave's business (Power Modules, Inc.) is pretty much a 'Mom & Pop' shop. I know that he personally did the work on my amp, and I suspect that's the case with each piece of equipment that comes through his doors. If he fails to answer the phone when you call, or is slow responding to your emails, it's probably because he is BUSY WORKING!

I'm more than happy to accept the occasional slow communication with Power Modules, Inc. in exchange for the satisfaction of knowing that when I do speak with someone there, it'll be the man holding the soldering iron.