Has it really been more than seven years since I reviewed Bel Canto’s REF1000M monoblock?1
According to the Bel Canto website, that model, based on Bang & Olufsen’s ICEpower class-D modules, is no longer made. But now, like so many manufacturers, Bel Canto has adopted for its new models the NCore class-D module from Hypex—although the REF600M monoblock ($4990/ pair) is not Bel Canto’s first product to use it . . .
Last year, Michael Fremer reviewed Bel Canto’s nearly all-digital Black amplification system,2 which comprises one ASC1 Asynchronous Stream Controller (essentially a Master Clock/preamplifier) and a pair of MPS1 Mono PowerStreams (monoblock DAC/power amps with digital and analog inputs, connected to the ASC1 via ST-optical links). The MPS1 is based on an NCore amplifier module and Hypex SMPS power supply board, supplemented by Bel Canto’s own AC power pre-conditioning circuitry. The sound of this $50,000 system ($20,000 for the ASC1, $15,000 for each MPS1) impressed the fastidious Fremer, and John Atkinson’s measurements (and comments) were highly complimentary. After spending an unseemly amount of time with it at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, I, too, was impressed with the Black system.
I couldn’t help noticing that the power-output specs of the REF600M monoblock—300W into 8 ohms, 600W into 4 ohms—are identical to those of the MPS1, suggesting that they share similar NCore and power-supply components. So, even taking into account the fact that a basic power amp such as the REF600M has no need for the MPS1’s digital inputs and DAC, the new amp’s price is eye-openingly low. Yes, there are cheaper NCore monoblocks out there (and Hypex modules are available to DIY-ers), but this amp comes with a pedigree. I had to have a pair.
Déjà vu
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2016-Ausgabe von Stereophile.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2016-Ausgabe von Stereophile.
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German kitchens, Japanese amps, and Afropop gems
BRILLIANT CORNERS - I have a day job at a museum. One of my favorite things about working there is taking the elevator from my office down to one of the floors open to the public; I walk into the galleries through a discreet panel in the wall. This makes me feel like I'm in one of those horror-movie manors with a tunnel concealed behind a bookshelf. Sometimes I startle people, which I kind of enjoy.
EDITOR'S PICK - RECORDING OF THE MONTH
The record business was awash in money and power. Vinyl LPs were still five bucks, and while the pressings could be suspect, the music-buying public still snapped them up en masse.
The Butthole Surfers wipe out
REVINYLIZATION - Music's lunatic fringe drifts further out every hour. As it should. In this century, with computers playing an ever-larger role, music continues to fragment and become infinitely more varied. This splintering is either the essence of what keeps it relevant as an art form or something profoundly disturbing, to be hated and feared.
You're only lonely
AURAL ROBERT - The least surprising story in music today is the inevitable passing of irreplaceable talent. Tenor saxophonist Benny Golson died at age 95 the day I finished this salute to another fallen star, Southern California singer/songwriter John David \"JD\" Souther.
PS Audio Aspen FR5 - LOUDSPEAKER
I remember the first PS Audio product: a simple phono stage. It was so simple - a passive RIAA eq filter flanked by a pair of primitive op-amps - that when the schematic was made public, I built one myself; I was in the midst of my DIY years. I thought it was, to use a word from that time, nifty.
TEAC UD-701N - STREAMING PREAMP, D/A CONVERTER
In Gramophone Dreams #88, I described the sound of TEAC's VRDS-701T CD transport as \"dense and precise in a way I had never previously heard from digital.\" I went on to explain, \"by dense, I mean there was a tangible corporeality effected by seemingly infinite quantities of small, tightly packed molecules of musical information.\"
Sonus faber Sonetto V G2 - LOUDSPEAKER
Here's a hard truth: A written review of a full-sized speaker any speaker, really-is, at best, semi-useful. We all listen differently, we have different musical tastes, our system electronics are different, and our listening rooms vary a lot. You will gain a general picture of a speaker's capabilities and foibles from John Atkinson's measurements, and I can tell you how the speakers sound to me, in my room. But that's it. You need to hear them for yourself before making a buying decision. The best I can do is tell you how my music brain felt when the speakers were in my house and making music.
STEREOPHILE'S 33RD ANNUAL - PRODUCT OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024
When Stereophile's Product of the Year Awards were first published, in 1992, we decided that unlike some other publications and their awards schemes, we would keep the number of categories to a minimum. That way, we would avoid what the late Art Dudley once described as the \"every child in the class gets a prize\" syndrome.
Moon 861 - POWER AMPLIFIER
It is unusual to begin a review with a detailed discussion of setup. But setup protocol for the Moon 861 power amplifier ($22,000 each), the top-level amplifier in the North Collection from Moon, which I reviewed bridged in mono, proved crucial to its sound.
Mobile Fidelity, PrimaLuna, and First Watt redux
GRAMOPHONE DREAMS - It's important for readers to remember that I've spent my adult life as an artist and mechanic. Making things. Working as a tradesperson during the day then at an easel or workbench at night.
