Bel Canto ACI600 vs Black EX Sepates

I thought the wife did not like the looks of the Hegel? I think the new Hegel will be a dark horse in the new crop of high end integrateds. Lots of people rave about the Hegel DACs. I assume the H590 will have this highly regarded DAC technology.

An interesting DAC to consider if you go with the Luxman is the Mola Mola. I have not heard it yet but it has a lot forward looking features that a lot of current DACs do not, including Ethernet (Roon, DLNA). I was on another forum discussing this DAC and there are a lot of DAC geeks interested in this one.

https://www.mola-mola.nl/tambaqui.php

A very good integrated you may want to consider is the T+A 3100 HV. (I am seriously considering this one myself)

https://www.ta-hifi.de/en/audiosystems/hv-series/

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/808-ta-elektroakustik-pa3100hv-integrated-a...

The T+A MP 3000 HV Media Player is available from the S.Cal dealer for about $7K.. See here on A’Gon demo unit). Would work great with that Integrated.

I have heard both together and they are overkill for the KEF REF 1 you have but I get the impression you want to get some truly outstanding gear for those KEFs..Overkill because your KEF’s do not need such massive power. However, there is nothing wrong with doing this other than $$$.

I am also considering the newer T+A MP 3100 HV Media Player. This icovers everything I need.

SACD | CD | FM Tuner | excellent DAC | I think Ethernet connectivity for ROON (not sure about that).

Have you considered the Devialet Integrateds?

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/528-devialet-400-mono-integrated-amplifier-...

A lot of dealers will tell you that it is not all that great. I think it is quite good and covers the check boxes you mentioned previously. I heard these with some B&W speakers.

BTW - "The Devialet 400s were the quietest amplifiers ever. " quote in the above review is incorrect. My AHB2 amps we discussed on the other thread are quieter.

I am giving suggestions based on you stating something that would also appeal visually to your better half.

@yyzsantabarbara :
great memory on the wife acceptance factor. She’s all in on the looks of the Bel Canto system but I’m too nervous to spend so much without hearing first coupled with such little community/forum feedback.

So I’m thinking I’ll change gears and try to limit spending to 10k for a permanent office piece with no plans to take home in the future. That makes the forthcoming Hegel integrated a perfect pairing with the KEF Reference 1’s....brand new, does MQA. Should be sweet but don’t want to wait!

that Mola DAC looks very interesting. Looking fwd to hearing it. That might be perfect with the new Luxman.

If I had the cash ready today I would be severely tempted to buy the Luxman 509x that WC put up for sale. I would use it in the office and likely move my office electronics to the future big rig in the living room.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis916dd-luxman-l-509x-integrated-the-best-integrated-from-luxman-...

I have heard the KEF Blade 2 with the Hegel 360 and it was surprisingly good driving the much bigger Blades. Your REF 1 would sing with the 360 and not need the extra little bit from the 590.

Totally agree the 360’s more than enough but want to have an integrated with internal dac that plays mqa.....the 590 will, the 360 doesn’t.

I have auditioned the full Bel Canto Black system at my dealer. I thought the system sounded very good when playing through Wilson Alexias. The name “black” describes it well as it is a naked, crisp type of presentation that is extremely transparent. I did think the vocals were a little recessed in the sound field though. At the time of audition I was actually considering the ACI 600 but the dealer no longer had that available. Long story short, I ended up purchasing an Audio Research system because I like its natural sound. The Black system in person looks really nice and exceeds the build quality of any equipment I have seen.

I have not yet heard or  seen any EX products first hand but I am considering the EX DAC as an upgrade for my Linn streamer. I am not really sure if the Bel Canto UX/UI is as good as the Linn from the streaming/app point of view. I would definitely want to give it a try first. 

I know this isn’t probably very useful information. Just wanted you to know that someone has heard, and likes, this system : )