Bel Canto har sina rötter i de “svenska” områdena i USA – Minneapolis Minnesota. Produktionen startade på 80-talet och John Stronczer – grundare, ägare och chefsdesigner designade en Single-Ended Triod-rörförstärkare som krönte framgång. I början på 90-talet fokuserade man också på separata D/A omvandlare där en fascinering för digitalteknologi bildades. Det dröjde inte länge innan man gick över till förstärkare av klass D teknologi och ice power modulerna fick John Stronczers fulla uppmärksamhet. Bel Canto är ett av de företagen som arbetat med Ice power längst, vilket visar sig i deras skicklighet att vrida ur dess kapacitet till perfektion. Med en stor del erfarenhet av digitalteknologi har man också etablerat sig som en av de bästa producenterna av D/A omvandlare.
e.One
e.One serien innehåller allt från källor & D/A omvandlare till Integrerade förstärkare och slutsteg. Halvformatsdesignen är läckert tidlös i sin design och på grund av storleken är den lätt att passa in i alla möjliga konfigurationer. Displayn är stor och lättläst och tillsammans med den ofta förekommande stora ratten kan man navigera sig fram med lätthet i menyerna. De ser anspråkslösa ut men under skalet finns det massor av högteknologiska lösningar för ett högpresterande ljud.
Black
Ett statement system för att visa vad som kan åstadkommas med spetsteknologi inom digital HiFi. Bel Canto Black är ett konceptsystem i tre delar med extremprestanda som krossar alla fördomar om hur ett High End HiFi system ska se ut.
Utdrag från tester gjorda av några kända recensenter :
Listening to Cash sing Nick Cave’s “Mercy Seat,” I was immediately struck by how good this amp and DAC sounded. The lateral imaging was especially wide, stable, and well defined. The midrange and bass were nicely fleshed out. My time with the Bel Canto C7R receiver showed me that great, audiophile-quality sound can also be gotten out of one little box. The C7R is tiny but elegant; it uses little power, doesn’t get hot, and it’s built in the US by a real company that stands behind its work. I loved the Bel Canto C7R. I recommend it to anyone who wants simplicity and great sound.
The Bel Canto DAC 3 serves oodles of detail and superb dynamics with a sense of speed and tight control of the whole frequency gamut. Put on an acoustic piece like Tom Brosseau’s “How to Grow a Woman from the Ground” from the wonderful CD Empty Houses are Lonely [Fat Cat Records CD41, 2006] and the life of the performance is delivered realistically and with its full helping of string micro detail, transient attack and life-like presence. So, to summarize, what does this technically complex component bring to the table? The Bel Canto DAC 3 is a nicely built piece of kit and aesthetically simple and pleasing. It is tremendously versatile in features and connectivity and functioned flawlessly. The DAC 3 has an incisive, detailed and fast sound that maintains tonal neutrality and superb resolution. Run as a preamplifier in a single source system, it shines in the areas of transparency and dynamics whilst maintaining its other strengths as shown via its DAC section.
Voices seemed especially lifelike, and I noted more chest than throat. Even at low volume, there was plenty of resolving power.” “I also heard the effects of a low noise floor, which were noted as a more resolving, involving, and detailed sound. In other words, even at low levels, I could hear low-level detail. Efforts at Bel Canto to improve the third-generation ICEpower module seem to have succeeded. The REF500 monoblocks delivered on the promise of low noise, as evidenced by good detail retrieval and heft amidst notable dynamic drive and power. They were subject to burn-in and cabling issues, as most amps are. I enjoyed my time with them and suggest a personal audition — just be sure they are fully burned-in before you reach any decision. They are a step forward in the march of class-D amplification into the world of organic high-end audio.
Adress
Bel Canto Design, Ltd.
221 North 1st Street
Minneapolis MN 55401
USA
Kontakt
+1 612-317-4550
info@belcantodesign.com