Bel Canto DAC3 Stereophile Class A

For sale is a Bel Canto DAC3 in excellent condition. No scratches or dings that I could spot - 8/10 to cover my bases. The volume buttons on the remote are cracked but work fine -- this is a design flaw and an inevitability. It is a very versatile DAC with RCA, BNC, balanced, TOSlink, and USB inputs, RCA and balanced outputs that can be used simultaneously, remote control volume, mute, input switching, power.

This is a fantastic sounding DAC - highly resolving, clear, defined, extended, and incisive, yet just warm enough, quite liquid, and non-fatiguing. Really great sound. I like it so much I bought a second one for my bedroom system where it does a great job as a preamp connected to a Pass Labs Aleph 30 power amp. This one has been replaced by the Berkeley Alpha DAC at more than twice the cost and to be perfectly honest they sound about 90% the same with the Berkeley being just a little more refined. I was rather shocked at how similar the tone and presentations are, but as we all know it's difficult to take a step back, however small. That said I could easily go back to the DAC3 and be happy if I had to, and that's exactly what I would do under such circumstances.

I've also owned the DAC2.5 and while they sound very much alike, I have enjoyed the DAC3 even more, finding it more musical and lacking a slight hardness I had with the 2.5. If you don't need a subpar headphone amp or analog inputs (which undergo AD conversion and then DA conversion), then why pay more for the 2.5? The DAC3 can also be factory upgraded to the latest and greatest DAC3.5VB MkII status sans analog input and new display features.

Buyer pays insured shipping to CONUS only. Paypal +3% of total. Local pick up in SF Bay Area welcome.