hifinutt
hifinutt
Had quite a few integrated amps through the door this year including the norma 70b and the moonriver 404 ref . all very good . So recently got the little bel canto c5i integrated with is class d with digital front end . Used with the RFC modded Taus which is very detailed and shows up bad equipment fast . There are quite a few of these now ex demo at around 1200 pounds as the new C6i has come in which has a analogue front end and still class d
The BC units are US built and therefore prices are a bit on the higher side but they last for years being well built . they also have superb remotes with 200 step volume control . they are small and easily fit into domestic environment .
First up you notice the sweet top end and controlled bass which is fairly substantial . its 120 watts into 4 ohms and 60 watts into 8 ohms per channel . damping factor above 200 . I was expecting a clinical ` digital ` sound with some grain and hardness , actually its quite surprising . totally non fatiguing , imaging fairly good and very musical . not as muscular sounding as the norma 70b [ which costs over double] but for the money its well worth a listen. It wont be for everyone but its worth a listen . Even the inbuilt dac sounds very sweet . I have yet to compare fully to the external black ice dac but initial listening is favourable
P1070890 by , on Flickr
P1070888 by /url], on Flickr
good points . the WBT binding posts are superb and of course the 200 step remote is brilliant
bad points . only one analogue input so nowhere to put my tuner as well as external dac
packaging is not as good as bel canto of yesteryear . rather meagre
after a week of listening i tried the C5i as a pre amp into a class AB power amp . [ using a highly modded black ice dac] .... well .... its way better than i expected i must say . Reminds me of the townshend allegri pre we had here but this thing has a remote . At around 1200 quid these are a stonking bargain as a pre amp
Extremely transparent with a sweet top end , great imaging and no fatigue at all. played various stuff including lemon jelly and whats striking is the pure treble that is sweet and controlled bass .
Based on this i am highly tempted to get the new BC pre 5 pre which is a dedicated pre with more inputs . very few reviews on this
The BC units are US built and therefore prices are a bit on the higher side but they last for years being well built . they also have superb remotes with 200 step volume control . they are small and easily fit into domestic environment .
First up you notice the sweet top end and controlled bass which is fairly substantial . its 120 watts into 4 ohms and 60 watts into 8 ohms per channel . damping factor above 200 . I was expecting a clinical ` digital ` sound with some grain and hardness , actually its quite surprising . totally non fatiguing , imaging fairly good and very musical . not as muscular sounding as the norma 70b [ which costs over double] but for the money its well worth a listen. It wont be for everyone but its worth a listen . Even the inbuilt dac sounds very sweet . I have yet to compare fully to the external black ice dac but initial listening is favourable
P1070890 by , on Flickr
P1070888 by /url], on Flickr
good points . the WBT binding posts are superb and of course the 200 step remote is brilliant
bad points . only one analogue input so nowhere to put my tuner as well as external dac
packaging is not as good as bel canto of yesteryear . rather meagre
after a week of listening i tried the C5i as a pre amp into a class AB power amp . [ using a highly modded black ice dac] .... well .... its way better than i expected i must say . Reminds me of the townshend allegri pre we had here but this thing has a remote . At around 1200 quid these are a stonking bargain as a pre amp
Extremely transparent with a sweet top end , great imaging and no fatigue at all. played various stuff including lemon jelly and whats striking is the pure treble that is sweet and controlled bass .
Based on this i am highly tempted to get the new BC pre 5 pre which is a dedicated pre with more inputs . very few reviews on this