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Bel Canto REF1000 vs S300

I was wondering if anyone could comment on the similarities and improvements between Bel Canto's REF1000 and S300 amps. I have trialled an S300 but it does not seem to reproduce vocals very well in my system. It sounds like the singer has stepped back away from the mic compared to other amps. On the other hand the S300 has very good soundstage width and depth and has great separation between instruments. (I do wonder if it seems to overly highlight some bass instruments though.)

I am wondering how the REF1000 compares to the S300. Does the REF1000 reproduce vocals clearly? Does it keep the soundstaging and separation without overly etching each instrument? How does the REF1000 improve on the S300 and what areas could be improved some more?

Any comments or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank.

Richard
thomaco

Showing 1 response by shannere

shannere
82 posts
 
I have the s300 and had the same initial impressions of the vocals being overly recessed, almost to the extent it had an echo. This amp had an overly long break in time as compared to anything else I've heard in my system. After about a week of being powered on continually this anamoly started to disappear and didn't fully disappear until it was played heavily for several weeks. Bel Canto says 100 hours of power on but I think it is on the low side. Sit back and give it a chance it gets much better. The s300 I have is the Underwood mod maybe this took longer with the added caps.

Glenn
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