Bel Canto Dac 3.7 in 2018?

Apologies for the delay. 

I had the 1.7 - came across an offer for a nos 3.7 for a great price. If I missed the 3.7 deal. I would have purchased a Dialogue Premium pre amp, en route with the 1.7 ... Bridge the Ma6500 as main source of amplification. 

Since last post I obtained a pair of special 40s with Twl speaker cables, and a Twl discrete audio usb cable. Prior was a Audio Quest Carbon. 

I sold the 1.7 and some other gear. Though definitely held on to the Aci’s

The Ref500s should be showing up this week with a 30 day trial period. The plan is to utilize the ref link to the 3.7 via St fiber. Jumped to the MA- 6500 making that the pre amp, bridging the ref 500s. I agree that a tube line stage would be the best bet. Though finances only go so far. 

I already had my eye on the Don Sachs SP14, and the LTA microzotl preamp. Good call!! 

Both Preamps look like great contenders. Though it seems like you get the best bang for the buck with The SP14 specd with all upgrades. The works. 

LTA is beyond a safe bet. Just as good or perhaps better than Sachs. I’m assuming the LTA will have different sonic characteristics. 

Imo I believe with this selection of gear. I’ll be more then content. 

Thanks all for chiming in. Very much appreciated. 

Sincerely,

J

Hey jred - I’m currently contemplating what I think you did (going from the 1.7 to the 3.7 with VBL), in the hope that change will make a significant sonic difference.  If I’m understanding your transition correctly, can you speak to the resulting difference?  For what it’s worth, also running ref600m monoblocks,

@cnb3 

I'm a Bel Canto dealer, so I can perhaps help a bit here.  If you can get a good deal on the 3.7, I think you will for sure like the differences b/t it and your current 1.7.  The 1.7 is a nice little dac, but the 3.7 really does take it up a few notches (and is a great match with your amps).

@goldprintaudio 

Thanks for the input - appreciated.  I did buy the 3.7 with VBL - it’s in route! 

As a dealer, do you happen to know if the Innous Zen Mini MK3 will connect well to the 3.7, or if I will need a Ref Link or mLink - neither of which Bel Canto appears to still make?  The Zen Mini MK3 seems very well thought of and just perfectly fits my remaining needs all in one fell swoop - streamer, CD player (and ripper), and music storage.  (And size-wise almost perfectly matches Bel Canto.)

@cnb3   I don't really know much about the Innous options, but a quick look appears to show it has coax and toslink out, so you should be able to use those.  If you want to use USB out, you will want a RefLink/ULink/MLink.

Taylor
www.goldprintaudio.com