bel canto dac 3 cd 2 owners

Chrissain, can you tell us if there is any difference in the
tonal balance. Thinner vs. fuller in pitch. Also, are you
using the upgraded cable between the two?

So, can you give us a cost of the mk2 upgrade?

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.

Thanks Bill.

Say, do you have the REF VB Cable?
The big question is, which is better. The REF VB Cable
or the mk2 upgrade. They both cost the same. I am sure they additive. However, my main concern is musicality. If I have to sacrifice musicality to get better sound staging, then I do not want it. For my system a Synergistic Research Hologram D with a Galileo MPC was the ticket to get this dac to sing.
Now it is much more fluid with no digital glare. The hang time of decay trials
are like nothing I have ever heard before.

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!”