Bel Canto Amp & Dac

Hi
I am new to this forum, although have been reading these pages for some months with a great deal of interest.
I post the odd thread on Hi Fi Choice.
I only have a dvd player and wish to buy amp speakers dac/cd.
Would like members opinions on Bel Canto evo 2i integrated compared to Primare 30.1 AVI Laboratory MF 308.Naim 112x 150x(all amps are in price range $3800-$5000 aus)

Opinions on Bel Canto DAC 2 used with Onkyo DV-S555 to Naim cd5i/cd5x Sony scd-xa3000es sacd.
Possible speakers B&W 704/705, Naim Arriva, Spendor s5e.

I am moving to the UK early 2005 so would purchase the Bel Canto here in Aus as for the other options I will wait to the new year and buy in UK.

 

Welcome to ZG meg.

You will find quite a few Belcanto owners here, not too many MF, and only a couple of Naim. I'd expect more favourable reccomendations for the Belcanto.

When you come over to the UK you'll find a high end dealer in every town, and demo's a plenty to play with.

Theres a lot of friendly folk here too, who wouldnt mind you dropping in for a listen to their kit.

My opinions:
1. If you find the Naim/Naim/Naim system too hard, try Naim/Naim/B&W.
2. Possibly need a bigger speaker demo list chap. Those I know that have tried the floorstanding Spendors havent been overly won over to them. Maybe want to add the likes of Vienna Acoustics, Audio Physic, Tannoy, Ruark etc to the list.
3. Have only heard the BC Dac 2 with a different transport, and the Naim CDP of those you mention. There are some other belting DACs to try, depending on what kind of sound you like.

Honestly, I would wait until you're over here. There are so many shops to demo in, especially if you're coming to the London area.

Chris

 

Depends where you move to IMHO, Wolverhampton (a fairly large city of ~220,000 people) for example has a Sevenoaks and thats it (Richer Sounds and Superfi have both closed in the past year), and Aberystwyth, well, okay its a smallish town in the middle of Wales, but the most 'hifi' of electronic shops we have here is radioshack

Saying that though, the closer you are to London, the more plentiful the hifi dealers are from what I've seen. Guess its to do with distribution of wealth

 

thats true..

I suppose I was thinking more of travelling in the UK compared to Australia..

I mean, if you travel 1.5 hours, you could see pretty much any hifi brand you wanted..

In Aussie, you'd be just outside the town youre from

 

i herad bel canto on few occasions but wan't too impressed.

it sounds OK but IMO for it's price it's not the best.

i'm getting an impression that they PR better than their products.

for B&W it's not an impression - it's a fact

 

Meg,

Don't know much about the Bel Canto's but you really ought to add Dynavector to your amp list. They don't appear to be sold widely here, but if you are passing through Sydney you ought to be able to line up a dem.

Also, try to get a listen to the new Legend Kantu 4's before you leave the country. To my ears, it would be difficult to find better 'speakers for the price.

Regards,

Stuart.

 

Thanks for the replys I will be residing in the Glasgow area and moving to the North when ready. I have sold my system off and had all intentions of visiting the dealers around Glasgow when I arrive--- it was only when I discovered the large price difference on the Bel Canto gear between Aus and UK that made me ask for opinions as I could take advantage of the savings by purchasing in AUS.
Stuart
I am considering buying a Bel Canto Dac 2 from a private sale--the guy is selling lots of gear and wants me to consider his Dynavector L200 pre HX-75 pwr but I can only find one dealer in the UK so not to keen on buying for that reason.
Never heard of Legand Kantu speakers who sells them in AUS?
Bottleneck thanks for the comments on the speakers I am completely open minded on any manufacturer's gear and look forward to many hours at the local dealers.
Mark

 

Meg,

The dac 2 is smooth analogue sounding upsampling unit, which at its price point is hard to beat. Small, neat tidy package too. Does gel with a wide varitey of transports, and has an unfatiguing sound.
The avi lab intergrated I've heard twice now, both times it produced a live & dynamic and enticing sound, though when paired with the AVI player, could give the odd hard twinge !. Not a bad amp at all.
The primare, is powerful, smooth and warm, with fuller bass, a more laid back approach.
The Evo2i (Biased now I own a B/C) is cracking intergrated, bass control sweets mids and lovely top end extension with bite and no harness. Dynamic and natural sounding, the ability to listen for long periods at loud volumes too.
Dynevector HX1.2 (180 watter), again nice amp, good staging, nice tonal balance, musical too. I did found it a bit matter of though and not as pacy or dynamic,& bass control wasn't in the same league as the Evo2.
When I did the back to back test with them, though the HX1.2 had more power, it just didn't do it for me. But well worth an listen. Wm

 

Meg

If you want to browse the internet websites of the shops where you will be - do searches on..

1) The Audio Salon (Glasgow)
2) Retro Reproduction (more second hand - Edinburgh)
3) Hifi Corner (Edinburgh, possibly Glasgow too)
4) Connoisseur Audio (Fife, near Edinburgh)
5) Lintone Audio (Newcastle - about an hour and a bit from Glasgow)
6) Linn is based in Glasgow I believe. Couldnt be easier to dem

Maybe the others can give you a few other shops within a reasonable drive.

A trip to London on the train one weekend would give you the ability to try every brand going pretty much.

The highest end branch of the above is probably the Audio Salon.

Hope you have a great time in Glasgow. Its a fine city with a great nightlife.

Chris

 

Add Kevin Galloway Audio in Kilmarnock - 30 mins from Glasgow. He does Bel Canto, Audio Note, Audio Research, Wadia etc etc, all listed on his website www.kevingallowayaudio.com.

Loud & Clear do a good range, from middle budget to high end and have shops in both Edinburgh and Glasgow www.loud-clear.co.uk

I tried to get in touch with Connoisseur Audio once, after an intial hello they stopped answering their email and don't return phone calls.

 

Alan /Bottleneck thanks for the info on dealers,I last visited Glasgow 3 years ago and checked out a few dealers, I live in Perth W Australia and the hi fi scene is poor,although you can still obtain good gear but shopping in the UK for hi fi is another world compared to Perth and of course a fantastic second hand ex dem market.

A trip to London would be great as it is so close compared to my travelling in Aus will make the effort to go as I want to visit Hi Fi shows like Heathrow etc.

 

Meg,

Legend is a small Canberra based company. Having heard both the current and previous incarnations of the Kantu's I'm tempted to spring for a pair but am trying to behave myself. Looks as though they only have dealer representation in the eastern states which could be an issue for you. Worth getting in touch with them directly to confirm however.

May be worth doing a search on PFM for some views on the Dynavector amps. Once again, I don't know what their dealer representation is like here. Jonathan at Dynavector reckon they export 99.5% of their production. I was under the impression they were relatively well represented in the UK.

Good luck with the search.

Stuart.