Bell'O PR-12 Chic European A/V Cabinet Review

Bell'O PR-12 Design and Build Quality

When building a respectable stereo system, usually the consumer is absorbed with the guts of the system: “Which amp should I buy?” “What are those speakers rated at?” “Do I really need super pricey speakers in order to make my system sound right?” All of those thoughts are valid and justified. I mean, without those components, you're staring at nothing - perhaps wondering if you should've pushed back when your significant other thought that mauve was the right color for that section of the wall. But what about the furniture? Bell'O would contend that your AV furniture is actually a very important part of the home theater equation. After seeing the PR-12 A/V Cabinet, we'd have to agree. So after toiling over each component, doing your due diligence on each piece in hopes of pulling together the best system you can afford, you still need to find a home for the grand collection. Ideally, the furniture you decide on will support your technical and logistical needs, but will also get the 'thumbs up' from the significant other who has to walk past it ever day. Why on earth would you invest thousands of dollars into your A/V gear and then skimp on the very thing that's going to add beauty and elegance to the whole system?

Delivery and Build Quality

The Bell'O PR-12 arrived in a large cardboard carton. The main unit as well as each of the supporting pieces was wrapped completely in plastic. Bell'O really went out of their way to try and protect the product by putting a medium density fiberboard skeleton covering the top and bottom so that it takes the beating and not the furniture. Despite the incredible packaging, there was a bit of damage at one of the back corners. This was no doubt caused by one of the trucking companies that were a bit too eager to get rid of this monstrously heavy piece of AV furniture (a thought further endorsed by the rather unprofessional manner of the individual who delivered it). Bell'O responded that shipping damage seems to be a rare occurrence.

We couldn't help but notice the width of the Bell'O PR-12 AV Cabinet. Most AV stands designed to hold displays these days trend toward 60" long. While this is fine, the bottom line is – if you have a room that is large enough to support proper speaker placement, then you have one wide enough to support a cabinet that can take care of most high end AV needs. That means loading all of your equipment in a way that doesn't force you to cram everything into a single enclosure, causing all manner of overheating issues.

The PR-12 has wood corner posts, metal shelf supports, dark tempered glass doors, shelves, and sides. The sides and shelves are all hardwood covered with a deep European Brown finish and the back has easily removable rear panels which makes wiring and re-wiring very easy. You don't even need tools. Compare this to the alternative, which would be having to yank out equipment each time you needed a change. Most A/V stands, even the nicer ones, don't give you this sort of flexibility.

The top has a 7/16" piece of thick tempered glass that sits an inch above the cabinet on top of short brushed aluminum columns. It's truly the most strikingly impressive part of the overall design. The glass is smoked and semi-opaque and you can't really see through it with a casual glance. This glass piece really sets the PR-12 apart from many competing stands. In a sense, Bell'O is having its design cake and eating it too - you've got a classic dark wood frame and a sophisticated contemporary-looking glass design.

The Bell'O team built this beautiful piece to consist of three distinct shelving areas. The center area has three shelves and the sections on each side come with two polished, matching pieces of veneered hardwood. As you would expect from such a high end piece, all elements are just simply top notch and beautiful - there is no particle board to be found. Each of the shelves sit on small metal supports that screw into the inside walls of each inner cabinet area. Even those look super high end and professional compared to the cheap push-plugs found in lesser products, which often fall out and get lost. There is even a small rubber band on the screw-in shelf holders to aid the pulling in and out of the adjustable shelves. As we assembled the shelves, it became increasingly clear that Bell'O put great care into the quality design of this product and was willing to spend more to come up with an industry-leading piece of AV furniture. You simply don't find anything plastic, or cheap on the PR-12 AV Cabinet.

Bell'O PR-12 Setup, Use and Conclusion

The piece comes fully assembled, so the only real hassle was getting it into the home theater room. Once there, it was simply a matter of ripping off all of the packing materials, installing the shelves (which is simply twisting in the shelf holders and putting in the panels) and fending off the kids from making the packing Styrofoam into snow. That last part was more difficult than all the previous steps put together.

One thing enthusiasts will note is that even though the center shelving area is there for a center channel, at 20-3/8" W x 6-1/4" H x 16-7/8" it simply may not be wide or tall enough to place many center channel speakers. This is yet another reason to want to "float" the TV above the Bell'O stand, thus giving you ample room on top of the glass for a larger center channel speaker. For people with smaller speakers, or those using in-wall or on-wall models, this simply won't be a problem. For the target market this piece of European furniture is designed for, we doubt there will be any real problems.

Bell'O likes to tout their CMS Cable Management System which amounts to the openings at the bottom and top of the shelves and the removable rear panels. We found that the system is one of the better solutions and it is really easy to get your cables completely in place without the hassle of drilling holes or dealing with smaller access areas. The side shelves are far easier to get to than the middle, but overall the nuisance-factor was minimal. We also liked that the entire Bell'O PR-12 A/V Cabinet can be rolled forwards and backwards on integrated nylon wheels. This made wiring easier by allowing us to pull the unit away from the wall and then physically get behind it to get everything fully connected. The wheels will work better on lower carpet, tile and wood floors, but even on pile carpet the system was easily maneuverable.

Conclusion

The Bell'O PR-12 Chic European Audio/Video Cabinet is clearly a very high-end piece of furniture. While it may not allow integrated room for larger center channel speakers some of the more hardcore enthusiasts might like, it's going to be perfect for the majority of users. It's great to see the death knell sounded for the formerly ubiquitous wall-systems in favor of lower, wider, cabinets that allow the beauty of your television and speakers to be seen. With the PR-12, the smoked glass gives your gear the look of floating in your room, and it's rated at 175 lbs, which is more than enough for ever larger flat panel displays. The 50 lb rating of the two interior shelves should hold all but the most outrageous amplifiers. The finish and veneer work was immaculate, revealing the clearly excellent overall craftsmanship that went into this piece of furniture. This is a piece of "equipment" that might make the most unsympathetic spouse get excited about your hobby. Although it is a touch expensive compared to entry-level A/V cabinets, it's by no means overpriced. At $999 you are paying for a real product that will provide the finishing touch to your audio/video system, and likely last longer than most of your gear. It's an investment that's well worth the price.

Bell'O Pro PR-12 AV Stand
$999.99

Phone: (732) 972-1333
Fax: (732) 536-6482
www.bello.com

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Build Quality
Ease of Setup/Programming/Integration
Features
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value