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- Bel Canto DAC-1
- Russell Lichter.'s review
Have a picture of Bel Canto DAC-1?, please send it to us.
Picture courtesy of René Fechner.
| Value for Money | 0/10 |
|---|---|
| Overall rating | 9/10 |
By Russell Lichter.
on 24th Mar 2000
| Value for money | 0/10 |
|---|---|
| Overall value | 9/10 |
 Russell Lichter.'s recommendation | |
The rating I give the Bel Canto DAC-1 is somewhat abitrary for several reasons. I have had opportunity to compare it with only a couple of other DACs, so there may well be other units out there just as fine. More importantly, the amazing performance of this DAC opens up the question of what constitutes a well designed DAC? Is it the upsampling to 96K? The dithering to 24 bits? The relatively high frequency of the digital filter (48K)? The very expensive precision components? The isolation of ground planes? The compactness and short signal path runs? The latest chip technology? The elimination of the typical PLL and reclocking circuitry? I don't know, and possibly neither do Bel Canto. They did a lot of things right, and had the advantage of the latest chipsets. The result is a stunning improvement in definition and detail and imaging, not the typical subtleties one struggles for with a new piece of electronics. Highly recommended.
| Helpful | Unhelpful | Agree | Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
Total Respect: -1
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sscharbach on 23rd Jan 2004