the terabyte
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2003
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I was unsure which source forum to post this in, but hopefully someone can help me out. I just picked up an M-Audio Transit and Bel Canto DAC 1 in an attempt to upgrade my digital source while I can't use my analog setup. Unfortunately, I can't stand the sound from the Bel Canto. I honestly had no idea that the source would make such a huge difference.
I bought the Bel Canto based on several reviews that noted it for it's smoother, more laid back sound, as I sometimes felt that the K1000s were just a little too edgy in the treble. Listening to it now, I can't see how it could be at all characterized as "tuby" in sound. the sound is actually much too strident most of the time to me, it seems to lack a fullness. In its defense, the sound is amazingly smooth and detailed, almost more detail than I can handle when paired with the K1000s. Unfortunately all this smoothness and detail was wasted, as the dynamics were terrible making things "blur" together and never giving me that "toe-tapping" experience that I've come to love from my setup.
Comparing it to the analog out on the M-Audio Transit, I thought the transit was much more dynamic, but similarly "light." It was rather detailed, but didn't have the same smoothness.
What disturbs me is that all the above is written with a $100 PC Card sound card as the reference. In my system, and to my ears the Echo Indigo handily bested both the above mentioned units in musical enjoyment (which is what I'm here for, of course). It wasn't as detailed or smooth as either the Transit or Bel Canto, but had an extremely satisfying fullness that really mates well with the K1000s. It also had dynamics that were simply astounding.
So this is my situation. I know what kind of sound I like, but I'd like more of it. The Indigo has an AKM 43xx DAC in it and the Transit has a 45xx I believe, while the Bel Canto has a Burr-Brown chip that I believe is known for its smoothness over dynamics but I could be mistaken. What I would like is a DAC with the same incredible dynamics and fullness of the Indigo but the detail and smoothness of the Bel Canto (perhaps another AKM-based unit?). And it has to be around the $600 price point, new or used. It would need to have optical input (unless coax from a USB device wouldn't be too noisy) or native USB as this is for use with a laptop.
I bought the Bel Canto based on several reviews that noted it for it's smoother, more laid back sound, as I sometimes felt that the K1000s were just a little too edgy in the treble. Listening to it now, I can't see how it could be at all characterized as "tuby" in sound. the sound is actually much too strident most of the time to me, it seems to lack a fullness. In its defense, the sound is amazingly smooth and detailed, almost more detail than I can handle when paired with the K1000s. Unfortunately all this smoothness and detail was wasted, as the dynamics were terrible making things "blur" together and never giving me that "toe-tapping" experience that I've come to love from my setup.
Comparing it to the analog out on the M-Audio Transit, I thought the transit was much more dynamic, but similarly "light." It was rather detailed, but didn't have the same smoothness.
What disturbs me is that all the above is written with a $100 PC Card sound card as the reference. In my system, and to my ears the Echo Indigo handily bested both the above mentioned units in musical enjoyment (which is what I'm here for, of course). It wasn't as detailed or smooth as either the Transit or Bel Canto, but had an extremely satisfying fullness that really mates well with the K1000s. It also had dynamics that were simply astounding.
So this is my situation. I know what kind of sound I like, but I'd like more of it. The Indigo has an AKM 43xx DAC in it and the Transit has a 45xx I believe, while the Bel Canto has a Burr-Brown chip that I believe is known for its smoothness over dynamics but I could be mistaken. What I would like is a DAC with the same incredible dynamics and fullness of the Indigo but the detail and smoothness of the Bel Canto (perhaps another AKM-based unit?). And it has to be around the $600 price point, new or used. It would need to have optical input (unless coax from a USB device wouldn't be too noisy) or native USB as this is for use with a laptop.