bel canto dac 3 cd 2 owners

scott, yes the dac 3 was warmed up , and the vbs dac 3 combo sounded more open , with better front to back separation, more low level detail, better bass ect.voices sound more real to me with the vbs by the way. going back to the stock dac three sounded more closed in and coming from the speakers so to speak, a little more rounded at the top and bottom, maybe a tad more warmth, but that could just be because its not as open and extended at the frequency extremes. I now have a dac 3.5 I am evaluating against my dac 3, will post what I think .

Thanks Chrissain,

Please do keep us posted.

So, I have now listened to the new dac 3.5 vbs cd2 combo. It is with out question better than the old dac 3. this bel canto front end is now world class, for any price. some of the best digital sound I have heard to date. simply awesome. even at seven grand or so for the whole stack, it has to be considered a bargain compared to what else is out there, I would put it up against anything for any price.

Thanks for the update Chrissain.

Care to give a compare and contrast?

Hi scott. The new belcanto 3.5 vbs is better in about every way I can think of, I am going to upgrade my dac 3vbs to .5 status. It has more bass weight, and punch. it has a larger, soundstage , with better separation of instruments but with better focus of each individual instrument within the soundstage. it is paradoxically richer harmonically but with better detail and resolution. music sounds cleaner and clearer , and sounds just hang in the air with great decay. It just seems like there is less between you and the performance. I have heard and been around lots of highly regarded dacs and cd players , while I thought the original dac 3 was very good for the money, enough that I bought one, the dac3.5 vbs combo I would put up against anything at any price, its really that good. you will have to spend far more to get better digital sound. you have to hear one for yourself, happy listening, Chris