bel canto dac 3 cd 2 owners

The Mk.II upgrade of the BC DAC3.5VB is $500 from any authorized dealer in the US, and is performed at the factory in MN.

Chrissain - you're a step ahead of me as my DAC3.5 VBS is currently at BC getting the Mk II upgrade. I would greatly appreciate your more detailed thoughts on the type of improvements that the upgrade makes and how significant they are to the DAC's overall performance. I'm glad to hear that you're so pleased with the upgrade and thanks in advance for your time and input!

Glad to help, Scott. I do have the VB Ref cable and was very surprised at the significant improvement it made over the standard cable. It certainly does not sacrifice musicality, but just makes an across the board improvement. I now see that BC includes it in the Ref DAC Control System package when it used to be an optional upgrade.

I haven't yet heard the Mk.II upgrade so I can't comment on how the two options compare, but here's a quote from the BC product announcement at CES: John Stronczer is always thinking how he can make things better. The DAC 3.5VB MK II upgrade delivers an improved analog supply that better isolates the PCM1792 DAC and a new low-phase-noise main clock oscillator. These changes reduce the already extremely low noise of the DAC3.5VB delivering a more engaging, musical and communicative sound. John enthuses, “We’ve taken the DAC3.5VB to the next level of performance!”

The price of the Ref DAC Control System was raised accordingly once they began to package the VB Ref cable with it, I did not mean to imply otherwise and apologize for any confusion. I expect to post my impressions of the Mk. II upgrade later today.

If I had to find one word to best describe the differences that the Mk.II upgrade of the BC DAC3.5VB has made in my system's overall performance it would have to be "stunning".

Well engineered recordings now exhibit an effortless realism that I find very rarely achieved. On acoustic recordings the reproduction of individual instruments are beautifully rendered with a much better sense of the acoustic space around and between the instruments. This greatly increases the realism of the musical performance, as it transcends the typical hi-fi sound and is now much more realistically portrayed.

I can further say that from a return on investment perspective this upgrade's sonic improvements far exceed the $500 charged for it, and I commend Bel Canto for making the upgrade available to its existing customers rather than only incorporating it into a newer model.

Turnaround time for my upgrade was a couple of weeks, but I would expect that to vary with their number of commitments at any given time. I had it powered up and running for about a week before any critical listening was done so I can't really comment on changes during break in time. I find the DAC to be much more emotionally engaging and musical with the upgrade, so I would say their description of the changes were accurate. As always, YMMV.

I wouldn't say that the soundstage gets bigger, but more well defined with a better sense of space around all of the individual instruments. With the upgrade there is a new level of purity/clarity to the sound that is quite apparent, with an even better sense of each instrument's natural harmonic decay.

Yes, the VB Ref cable goes between the VBS and the DAC3.5VB in place of the standard power supply cable. The VB Ref cable is clearly identified on the heat shrink and is thicker than the standard cable. In the Stereophile review they stated that it made a more significant difference than the different digital cables they tried. I agree with your assessment of the Mk. II upgrade, it makes an already great DAC truly spectacular as it is now so musically effortless and much more engaging!

I received an RMA within a day after submitting a request on their website. I'd suggest sending an email to Matt bringing your request to his attention. Matt's email address is: mcramer {at} belcantodesign.com . Hope that this helps!

My VB Ref cable as well as the ones I've seen at a local dealer all have black colored outer braids, but are noticeably a bit larger in diameter than the standard power cables. The improvement in sound that they make is quite obvious to experienced listeners and I believe well worth their cost. Please let us know your thoughts once you've had a chance to hear them after allowing for some break-in time.