bel canto dac 3 cd 2 owners

Hi Chrissain,

I've owned a DAC3 and I absolutely loved it. The only reason I traded it in was because I did a serious upgrade to an MBL 1611F DAC. I thought the Bel Canto sounded great with the stock power supply. I'm not familiar with the upgrade that you mentioned, however I agree with you that improving power supplies usually helps, you may be able to improve your "power delivery situation" in other ways, though.

Your used DAC3 is worth about $1600, so I don't think that I would invest another $2000 into it, you'll never be able to recover your investment. I would personally rather put that money into a Music Server or Logitech Transporter.

If I were you, I would leave the DAC3 as is, because I think it's great, and then when you're ready to jump into the Higher Resolution Audio Formats 24bit/192kHz, you could sell the DAC3 for $1600 and then add your $2000 and see what you could get in the Music Server/DAC $3000-$4000 range that can handle 24Bit/192kHz Audio.

If you want to spruce up the power to the DAC3 now, then I would invest in a nice used power cord for a couple of hundred bucks, and consider a dedicated AC-Line, that can also make a big difference.

Are you not happy with the way it sounds now?

What's the rest of your set-up like, maybe there are other areas that you could improve on?

Rich

Hi Chrissain,

Great News! That was quick...., and I do recall that the DAC3 took at least 2-4 days to warm up initially to sound it's best, so you're probably going to be thrilled with it.

Was this upgrade done at Bel Canto, and do they offer this upgrade on their new products? Could you please list the contact information or link? Thanks!

It does certainly stand to reason that it would sound better, because I think many of us would agree that by supplying; dedicated power, cleaner power, a larger power supply, or more exotic power cords, that they would all have a cumulative effect towards improving the sound.

Enjoy,
Rich

Is this upgrade done by Bel Canto?

My DAC3 had an exceptionally low noise floor, with great resolution, using a Kubala AES/EBU Digital Cable, which I thought was great.

What is the rest of your system like?
Digital Cable type and brand?
Do you have more than one digital source plugged into the DAC3?
Are you using a Preamp or the DAC3 Volume Control?

What are you not happy with with the way your system sounds now?

Rich

OK, I'm with ya..., Certainly good Stuff!

I posted some questions awaiting moderator approval, but I see that you've answered some of them already. If you could answer some of the others forthcoming, I may have some other possible suggestions for you.

I love the DAC3 too, but what do feel you're not getting out of your system, that needs improvement. Black background, resolution, detail? Depth?

Digital cable brand/input type? How many inputs are plugged into the DAC3?
Are you using the Variable Volume or fixed volume on the DAC3, or external preamp?

Rich

I was wondering if you have any hiss, coming from your amp, when the volume is turned up, but no music is playing.

It's kind of strange, because my DAC3 was deadly quiet.

One thing I did notice was that, if another cable was plugged into the DAC3, (in your example it would be the playstation) then I found it decreased the quality of the output on the DAC3, even if the other item was off. By the way I noticed this with my MBL DAC also, maybe it's me.

I have a Wireworld gold digital Coax on hand that I use on a squeezebox in the bedroom, I thought it sounded a little thin and lean in my opinion. I have tried it on the DAC3 when I owned it, and I've also tried it on the MBL DAC and I've compared a few other high-end digital cables and the Kubala Emotion AES/EBU is absolutely phenomenal and it's the best one i tried, including some others that were double the price. I actually kept it even though I went to a much more expensive MBL DAC. It is very balanced from top to bottom, very musical, analog-like, and involving, with deep tight bass, with a very dark background that is inaudible. It has resolution and transparency without sacrificing musicality.

I also felt that the DAC3 sounded better driving an Amp from it's balanced outputs.

If you ever get a Preamp, remember to put the volume all the way up on the DAC3, before pressing in the fixed volume button in the back of the unit. It makes a huge difference.

Good Luck, If you decide to go with the upgraded power supply. I agree with you that it usually helps, however keep in mind that Bel Canto Gear is pretty robust already.

Regards,
Rich

I don't think it I'll hurt at all...

Good Luck with the upgrade if you should go that route. We're just looking out for your best interest regarding the above suggestions. You're right the DAC3 plays high resolution files, and it's very close to 24Bit/192kHz resolution.

I have a very large CD collection too, and I burned all of them using Apple Lossless Codecs into iTunes, on my MacPro desktop which is upstairs in my home office. So, it's actually not hooked up to my rig at all, nor is it on the same floor. I'm using a Logitech Transporter to stream the music to the Living Room Rig, using wired ethernet over powerline protocol in my house.

Even with redbook CD's it's great having a music streamer. I compared the Transporter to a $25,000 MBL Transport, and although the MBL barely won, it was closer than you would think. Compared to my trusty old Sony 9000ES transport there was no difference, as a matter of fact I actually prefer the sound out of the Transporter using the AES/EBU cable to the MBL DAC, because the Sony doesn't have the AES/EBU pro-link.

It goes without saying that most high-end transports can only store one disc at a time, and a music server can store an unlimited amount of CD's at your finger tips. If you have that many CD's then you will really appreciate loading an entire album from the remote control, I actually listen to much more music now compared to the old way of finding one CD at a time. Not to mention playlists, and favorites, and playing random genres of your entire CD Collection. I also have 2 squeezebox's throughout my house that can sync all of the same music in every room. The artwork shows up on the remote too.

I would not compromise the sound, ever..., however the sound is as perfect as redbook CD playbook could be, using the most expensive digital playback equipment on the Planet.

Rich

Oh... I didn't realize that, I knew that you mentioned it was a separate box, however, I thought it was an after market mod, so I didn't want to see you throw money at a product that I already believed was using a very good power supply.

Rich