Bel Canto C5i and Bel Canto C6i

[hifinutt]

well been using the c5i as a PRE only the last 2 weeks . John Stronzer has certainly pulled it off here , playing electronica , vocals and other genre with a black ice valve dac into an english amp [ arcam] its very detailed but also very smooth . in fact i have been playing trumpets and some stuff that sometimes grates on my ears and it really is very natural . imaging is very good . Vocals are delightful with a sense of presence . I had some schiit pre amps in days gone by including the freya and saga . its more transparent than the saga and has more warmth than the freya . i prefer it to them both .

So this pre gets 9/10 for performance ... why only 9/10 , well its only got one analogue line input which means i cant plug my tuner in as well as ehe external dac . I can live with that to get a cost effective pre amp .

Been trying the internal dac .. well for D/A conversion the C5i relies on a 24/192 Wolfson WM8740, for its 24/96 USB 1.1 input on a Texas Instruments TAS1020B transceiver, for asynchronous sample rate conversion on a BurrBrown/TI 4382.

https://6moons.com/audioreviews/belcanto2/2.html
So far the dac sounds pretty good ... very good bass and detail

This thing makes a stonking pre amp if any one wants a pre .... it will put a BIG smile on your face !!

 

[hifinutt]

good to see a review of the c6i

https://twitteringmachines.com/revi...w0kfIMSBhLzWXyO-tdActpSk32K-pCz8W6hw1z8p_knsI


When paired with the DeVore O/96, the Bel Canto stack proved to be up to the task of coaxing a healthy helping of these speakers’ rich voice out and into the Barn. I’ve been addicted to Boy Harsher’s Careful from 2019 of late and playing this record, I deemed it vinyl-worthy, well into the darker hours proved to be rich, rewarding, and kinda creepy. Careful’s skeletal sound, goth-ish Joy Division-like sparseness, sounded perfectly big and punchy through the DeVores with Bel Canto in charge. While I’ve heard the O/96 sound bigger and richer, I was not left wanting sitting in the dark with Boy Harsher providing the soundtrack for thought-travel beyond the concerns of the day. This music needs real control and punchy dynamics which is something the Bel Canto stack delivered with every speaker I paired it with. Nice.

 

[simon g]

I revisited this thread, as I've been looking at a compact system for a friend. To my amazement, the C6i is now £3,700! That's just silly money, imo. Who on earth will buy at that price?

Bel Canto, and its UK distribution, have lost the plot on pricing in the UK, imo. They used to be good value propositions. They are now way, way over priced. It's a shame.

 

[Mcribbons]

on the price front £3700 puts it in direct competition with amps such as Naim Supernait 3 and Hegel 190, which i guess are more widely enamoured brands in the UK. Maybe the sound quality is on a par, but when the previous model C5i can be had for around £1000 the new rrp does look ‘ambitious’.

maybe the Bel Canto marketing department need to pedal it around some of the magazines for reviews and the YouTube reviewers.

I love my C6i, especially using the analogue input from my cd spinner.

 

[hifinutt]

Yes i swear that c6i was about 2.8k when i last looked . I guess kwarsi kwartang in someway responsible as the pound is so low against the dollar

As far as i know they are still made in USA so that affects price . Even schitt and modwright have gone up in recent years .

Be good to have comparison with sn2 and aethos at similar money

Makes the c5i somewhat of a bargain !!

 

[hifinutt]

new youtube video on the c6i . this integrated has a lot of competition with naim sn3 , aethos etc but still worth a look

 

[number 6]

so this week the capable C5i went in as a pre amp to an old class AB amp . As an integrated its been ok with the taus but FAR better used into a decent power amp . I must say its far better than I thought as a pre . these are plentiful on eBay due to the new integrated coming out . we had a townshend allegri here not too long ago and its every bit as good as that with a very good remote . so if you need a pre amp grab one . only BIG downside is only one analogue input .

this was used with a highly modded valve dac [ black ice ] . not fully assessed the inbuilt dac in the c5i

It appears that even if you feed the single analogue input from an external DAC it convert it to digital with an internal ADC for use with it’s own possibly inferior DAC. The C6i has changed the Phono and analogue inputs back to analogue and along with an Ncore module will set you back a mere £3700

 

[hifinutt]

why would BC be an inferier dac ? they are always pretty good . I use my analogue input to input a superb dsd jolida valve dac and have been very impressed with the sweetness , realism and well just very musical and engaging sound . worked extremely well with the RFC taus

would not have sold my c5i if i still had my taus .

 

[hifinutt]

many people power their amps using the superb BC dacs like the 2.7 , 2.8 etc and really enjoy this
with the C5i it seems this is the case too but as mentioned i liked that sound

review says this
Bel Canto skips the preamplifier stage, driving the amp directly from the DAC section, utilizing their 24-bit digital level control. Designer John Stronczer likes to point out that their approach leaves “no stinky pots to wear out.” The MM and line level inputs go through a 24/192 ADC into the DAC section, eliminating the traditional line level preamplifier function entirely.
A prominent sonic wallop is likely the first thing you’ll notice when firing up the C5i. Bass is particularly well controlled, as is transient attack. The California Guitar Trio’s “Led Foot” demonstrates the C5i’s ability to maintain pace while simultaneously keeping separate and clean the three distinct guitar voices. California Guitar Trio records contain a wealth of musical information in a small space, an acoustic that most moderately priced integrated models fail at recreating.

Bill Bruford’s Earthworks lies at the opposite end of the sound spectrum. A skilled drummer that never hesitates to maximize his kit, Bruford provides a great torture test. The C5i has no problem keeping the cymbals in their own distinct space as the percussionist takes flight on several rapidly paced solos.

Comparing the C5i to the much larger REF500M monoblocks reveals a close resemblance at less-than-earthquake levels, and for good reason: The C5i uses the same power modules, albeit in stereo rather than in a bridged mono configuration. Again, Bel Canto doesn’t sacrifice sound quality at a lower power level, making the C5i an even more attractive proposition regardless of where you sit in the
https://www.tonepublications.com/review/bel-canto-c5i-integrated-amplifier/

chris you make an interesting point about the c6i . at some point i will try that as a pre amp into my power amp . however the pre 5 is pretty good so that may not happen

The DAC section is also greatly improved and the volume control, line-in and phono stage are now all within the analogue domain!
https://www.sound-lab.com/news/bc-c6i

 

[hifinutt]

review of the e-one stream network bridge and c6i if anyone interested . used with the successful q acoustics concept 50

https://twitteringmachines.com/revi...rated-amplifier-e-one-stream2-network-bridge/​

 

[linnex-]

I revisited this thread, as I've been looking at a compact system for a friend. To my amazement, the C6i is now £3,700! That's just silly money, imo. Who on earth will buy at that price?

Bel Canto, and its UK distribution, have lost the plot on pricing in the UK, imo. They used to be good value propositions. They are now way, way over priced. It's a shame.

I totally agree. I have been into hi fi for over 40 years and the prices are being pushed up and up and up. You can buy a very good car for the price of a half decent amplifier. I come from a time when things were in their tens and hundreds not thousands. Its all gone stupid. The hobby is now a luxury.

 

[hifinutt]

Recently bought a bel canto eix which is a pre a dac and a streamer .its superbly built ,has a very very high quality metal remote and sounds simply superb .in fact my ambition of getting another arc ref 5se is on hold

Quality costs and as its made in usa i dont mind paying for that .also got a pre 5 recently which will probably last 20 years . Buy cheap ...buy twice !

 

[number 6]

Just revisited this. My only point Phil is that whilst BC undoubtedly make decent DACs, when using the C5i as a Pre everything including the analogue input (via ADC) goes through its internal DAC . So your own beloved DAC fed to the analogue input will be converted to digital and fed through the C5i’s DAC. The C6i gets over this but at some price.

 

[hifinutt]

Yes i belive the c6i is analogue

 

[number 6]

C6i has allegedly superior DAC, the dreaded nCore amp module and Phono and analogue inputs are now actually analogue! I’d still take the C5i with its 125ASX2 Ice module, same as the superb REF500s, and a steal at the prices you can get them!

 

[Mcribbons]

Having had one for a year I am quite confident in saying the C6i DAC has clarity in spades without any harshness. To me it possesses a larger and clearer presentation than the Rega Saturn R dac, and with that comes superb imaging etc.

 

[TIU]

There's a review in which it's compared to a Naim, Cyrus and Moon amp. The latter had the broadest appeal so there's no dark side to the moon really.

 

[hifinutt]

that would be interesting . moon amps quite expensive now , cyrus quality not quite up to bel canto imho .

 

[Mcribbons]

There's a review in which it's compared to a Naim, Cyrus and Moon amp. The latter had the broadest appeal so there's no dark side to the moon really.

I think this is it.... https://criterionaudio.com/2022/08/27/hi-fi-amplifier-comparison/