bel canto dac 3 cd 2 owners

Update. just compared the dac3/cd2/vbs to a audio research cd 8 and much to my surprise the bel canto was better ,in about every way. between myself and two other people listening to the shoot out it was clear that the bel canto was passing more low level information , was more dynamic and had a bigger , more open soundstage. very impressive. It was also put up against the new Wadia, the 17,000 dollar one, and it just killed it. WOW ! the wadia was dead and uninvolved compared to the Belcanto combo. I am starting to think the Belcanto is not only [good for the money] but state of the art, regardless of cost, and is sitting right at that sweet spot on the bell curve between cost and performance. The irony is that I think a lot of people will never consider the Belcanto ,because they mistakenly think its to inexpensive to be state of the art. ps I do not work for Belcanto ,just am a happy customer !

The VBS1 power supply powers up to 3 units (not amps) and noticeably drops the noise floor.

$100 connecting cord will let you power the CD-2 to the VBS1.

You can upgrade your Dac3 to Dac3VB for $600 but you will have to have a VBS1 ($1,500) or a new LNS power supply to power it ($500).

Chrissain, thanks for sharing your experience about the upgraded Bel Canto DAC3. Since I have the same DAC, I am trying to decide if its worthwile to upgrade it. I recently compare my stock Bel Canto against a ARC CD7, and I think the ARC was better (they are in different leagues). Did you compare the stock DAC3 against the ARC CD8 before the upgrade?, what did you think at that moment?. If I could match your experience, this upgrade would be a tall order improvement.

Thanks

sorry for taking so long to reply. I did not compare a stock dac 3 to the cd 8. I had all ready upgraded the dac 3 with the vbs at the time of the shootout. but in a very good system, revel studio 2s, top sim audio preamp , rogue Apollo monoblocks, the dac3 vbs was better, and all of us listening thought the same thing, it was unanimous. It [the vbs] is a big upgrade. good luck, chris

Chrissain, can you tell us if you are experiencing an
improvement in pitch and voice articulation.
Also, when you did a direct comparison with the regular
Dac 3, did you allow the old Dac 3 to settle in for
48 hours? I can attest that it does take about 48 hours
for the Dac 3 to settle in after shut down.

I am considering this upgrade. However, I hear that upgraded power cords will have no effect on the upgraded DAC 3 and I am using a Synergistic Research Hologram D power cord into a SR Powercell. This increased the sound stage and front to back layering to an amazing degree.
So, I am wondering if the upgrade would be any better
than what I already have. It may be worth it to me if there
is an improvement in the tone and pitch of the music.