The Bel Canto DAC1.5's musical performance rests on the solid foundation of the Master Reference Ultra-Clock, which provides jitter performance 50x better than other clocks. Specifications of 2 picoseconds RMS and frequency accuracy of 0.0001% insure maximum dynamic range. The Master Reference Ultra-Clock circuit uses a new aggressive 2Hz jitter filter, insuring that any incoming jitter on the data inputs can not compromise the final analogue output signal quality.
The DAC1.5 has been optimised to provide the highest level of performance for all of these critical functions. It can provide digital Pre-Amplifier as well as a D/A conversion and bridge from traditional CD or DVD player sources and from the isolated USB input for Computer music playback sources.
All digital input sources benefit from the new 2Hz digital PLL stage that rolls off incoming jitter by more than 10x at 10Hz frequencies and greater than 10,000x at 100Hz. Any incoming jitter at frequencies above 10Hz is reduced to levels that have no effect on measured or sonic performance.
The dedicated headphone DAC/amplifier stage is designed to drive any headphone with remarkable fidelity. This dedicated stage insures no compromise to either the main analogue outputs or the headphone output. The main analogue outputs are muted digitally when a headphone is plugged into the front panel jack. There is no additional switching of any any analogue signals or routing of analogue lines. The headphone circuitry is all DC coupled, avoiding any sonic compromise due to coupling capacitors.
The PCM1796 dual-differential multi-bit delta-sigma DAC circuit achieves remarkable analogue performance. The 4VRMS true balanced XLR outputs provide 122db of dynamic range.The noise floor of this DAC/processor is so low and so clean the the DAC2.5 is optimally used as a complete DAC/Pre-Amplifier with digital level control.
Because of dither applied to the 24 bit word there is no loss of effective resolution. The application of optimised dither insures that the analogue output noise floor maintains a clean sound, devoid of any tones or artifacts. The DAC1.5 can provide an optimum solution with the addition of a Bel Canto e.One Amplifier, eliminating the need for a Pre-Amplifier.
