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Looking for discussion regarding this product once again.
Original Bel Canto products were not interesting to me because of their fairly plain boxy look (>$2000 product looks worse than my surge protector?).
From what I understand, in 2007 Bel Canto revised some of their products, DAC3 included. Particularly, not just the looks improved greatly (new one woops majority of the DACs used on head-fi), but also the functionality is far more complete.
The inputs are inclusive of all the standards, including USB, SE and Differential outputs are available, the DAC now supports variable and fixed outputs with a flip of a switch (great for those who may not want to add a pre-amp to their system just yet, or may be using an active speaker system, studio monitors for example), and also includes a remote to control all the functions.
In short - the functionality is very complete and thought through to my eyes, and obviously this is a Bel Canto DAC3 which is fairly well known for its sound quality...but there is still a substantial lack of user opinions, so I was wondering if someone here on head-fi has experience with one of these?
Comparisons would be very interesting.
__________________ Thinkpad T61 14.1" -> Stax SRM-252A -> Stax SR-003 Team Dispel the Myth.
DAC3 is amazing. Hear it for yourself. It destroys the DAC2. The USB is nice to have, as is the preamp, but me and several of my friends found it to be much better when used with a tube preamp and coax cable. But its fun to play with, and certainly saves alot of $.
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All my feedback links are busted. Just search for spwal anywhere...
There was also a review of the DAC3 in stereophile last year. If you look at the subsequent Benchmark DAC1 and X-DAC V8 reviews, there are some comparative comments. Patu upgraded from the Stello DA100 to the DAC3, perhaps his comments would be useful for you.
Looking for discussion regarding this product once again.
Original Bel Canto products were not interesting to me because of their fairly plain boxy look (>$2000 product looks worse than my surge protector?).
From what I understand, in 2007 Bel Canto revised some of their products, DAC3 included. Particularly, not just the looks improved greatly (new one woops majority of the DACs used on head-fi), but also the functionality is far more complete.
The inputs are inclusive of all the standards, including USB, SE and Differential outputs are available, the DAC now supports variable and fixed outputs with a flip of a switch (great for those who may not want to add a pre-amp to their system just yet, or may be using an active speaker system, studio monitors for example), and also includes a remote to control all the functions.
In short - the functionality is very complete and thought through to my eyes, and obviously this is a Bel Canto DAC3 which is fairly well known for its sound quality...but there is still a substantial lack of user opinions, so I was wondering if someone here on head-fi has experience with one of these?
Comparisons would be very interesting.
DAC3 is amazing. Hear it for yourself. It destroys the DAC2. The USB is nice to have, as is the preamp, but me and several of my friends found it to be much better when used with a tube preamp and coax cable. But its fun to play with, and certainly saves alot of $.
Interesting that you mention that. I did run a dem of my own DAC2 against a DAC3 and felt that there was very little difference between the two. Yes the DAC3 was slightly better, but nothing like enough (IMO) to justify the cost.
Having said that, the functional improvements are seriously nice.
Well yes, for $1100 it goes for now, the Tri-Vista is great, but it remains a single-ended DAC with only coax/optical inputs... (single ended does not worry me THAT much, but the lack of variation in inputs is a tad troublesome).
__________________ Thinkpad T61 14.1" -> Stax SRM-252A -> Stax SR-003 Team Dispel the Myth.
Can any one educate me if the voltage setting user asjustable.
Yes, I know one cannot do it from the outside.
However, at Audiogon, one seller says that can be down flipping a switch inside the box, but the other one says it cannot be done. Downloaded the manual and there is nothing said on this.
I am looking for a DAC3 for 220V a.c. mains, but most available on the used market are for 110V a.c.
That's why I am asking.
Thanks in advance.
F. Lo
p.s. also looking for a Bel Canto CD-2.
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Music aside, it is the discovery part that make head-fi self-fulfilling. One step at a time.
I have the Dac3 and it is a beast of a machine. I haven't come close to using all of its features. I've owned it since probably around last summer/fall.
I never heard the Lavry or Benchmark dacs. Too many common complaints about both kept me from committing to either. The main complaint I've seen concerning the Dac3 is from people who have never heard the unit; price.
Not that price is an invalid concern, but my point is I have not found too many negative opinions from experienced owners, concerning the sound.
If I decide to buy powered monitors, i.e. Dynaudio BM5a, I can simply hook them up directly to the dac via XLR. Done.
The dac has variable digital volume similar to the Lavry; if I want to plug the dac into a speaker amp, I can do so directly, without a preamp. (Though at this point I am 100% headphone based)
The other dacs I've heard (and owned) are/were the M-Audio Transit, the Emu 0404 USB and the Headamp PICO.
The PICO is the only one not completely blown out of the water by the Bel Canto. The differences are still there, but it starts to become differences in sound signature, in addition to better quality. With the M Audio and Emu, its not even close.
Obviously that says more for the PICO than the DAC3.
I should point out that I have not owned the PICO for very long though.
Using the Dac3 with HD650s is a joy. Many find the HD650 sloppy/slow/bass-heavy by nature. I never found that to be the case on a significant level, but I will admit all those attributes were lessened when paired with this dac. It is to date the most neutral sound I have ever heard.
Which of course leaves me wanting to hear it with an HP2
The strongest comment I can make here is this: Despite having 2 Headamp PICOs, I still intend at some point to purchase a second Dac3 for office use. Make no mistake, I am ecstatic with the quality of the PICOs, but having lived with the Bel Canto for ~9-10 months, I find I miss it greatly when using anything else.
Just curious, has anyone tried to use the DAC3's variable pre-amp output in place of a normal headphone amp (especially with the balanced XLR connection)? I am toying with the idea of going balanced for my HD-650's this summer, and this could kill two birds with one stone
EDIT: Sorry for any thread jack MaloS. I'm very curious as to general opinions about this DAC as well.
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Team Sennheiser //Shure // Ray Samuels// PC Source// Solid State
Bel Canto DAC3 2007 - info/impressions?
Linear Mode
