Bel Canto Design EOne S300 Amplifiers Reviews

tdavism3

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.40 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1300.00

Summary:
I have used many different amps ranging from Mark Levinson's 432 to Rotel's 1077. While I will not say that this amp beats them all, it certainly is competitive with amps costing much more. This amp is very neutral and incredibly detailed. Also, it is a great match for b&w speakers (which lean towards the bright side of the equation). The 150 watts/channel seems very conservative. Factor in the cool form factor and this is a great little package at any price. The fact that it is priced at less than $1,500 only adds to the giddiness.

Strengths:
Neutrality
Dynamics
Resolution
Wide sounstage

Weaknesses:
Soundstage can seem a little shallow
I should have bought two of these!

Similar Products Used:
Levinson
Pass Labs
Theta
BAT
Krell
Bryston
Rotel
Meridian

mlsstl

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Bel Canto

Summary:
I've been using the S300 for about six months and consider it an outstanding buy. I'd been a devoted tube fan for many years, never having heard a solid state amp in a price range I could afford that I liked better. However, the glowing reviews of the digital amps caught my eye and I had to try one for myself. The Bel Canto S300 was in my price range so I gave it a spin.

The long and short of it is this is an outstanding buy and it didn't take me long to become a convert and sell my tube amp (CJ MV60).

The best word to describe the overall sound is "liquid." Very smooth, with a beautiful midrange, extended, well controlled bass and smooth, airy highs with no trace of brittleness. The power and dynamic range are extremely impressive.

However, the one item that "sealed the deal" for me was the resolution during quiet passages and lower volume settings. This lifted a veil and revealed inner details in many pieces that I didn't know were even there.

In short, highly recommended to anyone looking for a powerful, musical amp in this price range.

Strengths:
Significant power in a small package (about 10 pounds). Outstanding sound quality in an attractive design. Very revealing.

Weaknesses:
Cannot be used in common ground situations.

Comments

Justin Bentrup (08/08/2007)

Very insightful and helpful review. Can you explain, "Cannot be used in common ground situations."?

mlsstl (08/08/2007)

"Common ground" - the minus speaker connections on this amp need to be kept separate. Normally that is not a problem as typically one runs individual speaker wires to each speaker. However, there are some situations that would require the minus wires be used together in a common ground. Example would include headphone adapters, some mono subwoofer setups, speaker switching devices, etc. A number of the digital amps and some conventional amps have this limitation. Using a common ground could damage the equipment.

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