PLAYBACK 24: Bel Canto Design S300iUSB Integrated Amplifier/DAC

A USB-Enabled High-End Audio Starter Kit

Look further if: you require an integrated amplifier that provides a built-in headphone amp (sadly, no headphone jack is provided), or if you need a DACs that provides a user selectable combination of USB, S/PDIF, and Toslink inputs (as things stand, the Bel Canto’s DAC is kind of a one-trick pony, providing a single USB input only).

Ratings (relative to comparably-priced integrated amps)

• Treble: 9
  
• Midrange: 9
  
• Bass: 10
  
• Soundstaging: 9
  
• Dynamics: 10
  
• Value: 10

 Ratings (relative to comparably-priced DACs)

• Design & Features: 4
  
• Tonal Balance: 9
  
• Timbral Purity: 9
  
• Detail & Resolution: 9
  
• Imaging/Soundstaging: 8
  
• Dynamics: 8
  
• Value: 8

FEATURES

• Terrific fit, finish, and build quality: this little amp gets all the “intangibles” right.
  
• Full-function remote control (but one that wasn’t fully documented in the manual that came with our review sample).
  
• A multipurpose control knob that is simple, elegant, and surprisingly easy to master (once you get used to it, you may feel most competing components provide way too many superfluous knobs, buttons, and switches).
  
• Four analog audio inputs and one USB digital audio input.
  
• Preamp section with quoted bandwidth of “DC – 200kHz.”
  
• Power amplifier section delivers 150 Wpc @ 8 Ohms, 300 Wpc @ 4 Ohms.
  
• High-quality 24-bit/96kHz USB DAC incorporates circuit elements of Bel Canto’s well-regarded 24/96 USB Link module for reduced jitter and noise.
  
• Analog input 4 provides user-selectable “home theater bypass” functions.

SONIC CHARACTER

Amplifier: Judged solely as an integrated amp, the S300iUSB was simply excellent, producing a tight, punchy, well-defined sound that was unfailingly well-controlled—a “take charge” sound, if you will. When I first installed the Bel Canto in my system, I was surprised by two things. First, despite its compact size, the S300iUSB handled dynamic swells in the music powerfully and expressively, vividly conveying the sense of energy and life in well-recorded performances. Second, I was impressed by the surefooted manner in which the Bel Canto was able to resolve subtle, low-level sonic details and to navigate tricky passages that provided densely layered transient information. The S300iUSB serves up an intense quality of immediacy and also of focus that make it an absolute blast to listen to. Compared to many ICEpower-based amplifiers I’ve heard (or reviewed) in the past, the Bel Canto has a noticeably more lively, open, and transparent sound (in fact, it’s one of the best ICEpower implementations I’ve yet heard).