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MSB Technology Universal Media Transport source. The new MSB Universal Media Transport (UMT) plays just about anything that comes in the form of a shiny plastic disc. It conveniently provides simultaneous XLR, S/PDIF and Toslink outputs at 192kHz, which is the maximum the Bel Canto DAC 1.5 can use. This capability along with the ultra-low jitter specifications published for the MSB UMT certainly come in handy for comparing how the various inputs sound. As was the case with the Lavry DA-11, my impression is that the XLR input offers slightly better sound that coax. Hearing this difference requires higher-end gear but it’s there. On S/PDIF and Toslink the music experience is definitely more realistic and natural when driving these inputs at high-resolution sample rates. Once again the S/DIF, this time from the MSB UMT, seems slightly better but the fact that the Bel Canto is refined enough to reveal the benefits of 176.4kHz versus 88.2kHz even over Toslink certainly says good things about its design. In this regard the DAC 1.5 shares the qualities of much higher gear in the sense of sounding better and better as the sample rates go up. Clearly it’s not straining when dealing with the increasingly well-populated musical world above 44.1 kHz.


Absolutely revealing. As alluded to earlier, the Bel Canto seems to be quite capable of demonstrating—when driving the Technical Brain amps—whether tracks are in normal or reversed polarity. James Taylor’s Hourglass, which to my ears appears to be inverted, sounds significantly better with polarity reversed. Does anyone else hear it this way? When in the normal setting, the tracks sound a bit mushy and softly but evenly out of focus. Using the Audiophilleo1 to reverse polarity, everything clicks into place. Without such a preamplifier function somewhere in your playback chain, you’re going to be a bit stuck. Same for balance although in most cases this adjustment may be a lower priority consideration. Through the headphone jack and Ultrasones, background noise is very low without any significant hiss or hum. Both the high and low frequencies are considerably rolled off, which naturally makes the midrange more prominent and hall reverberation is greatly enhanced. Thus a wealth of detail in the various performances come to the fore, which, one supposes, is one of the reasons to use headphones in the first place.

Why the differences between the inputs? With respect to USB, the Bel Canto reportedly uses an adaptive meaning not asynchronous USB interface which tends to have higher jitter. With this approach the computer is in charge of streaming music data to the DAC, which basically has to tag along submissively. And typically the internal word clocks of adaptive USB DACs may rely on relatively jittery USB frame timing information. To make clock jitter go away, the phase-locked loop coordinating incoming PCM data with the DAC’s word clocks has a lot to do. Some of the more expensive DACs simply generate all their clocking internally and ignore what’s coming from the outside world. In any event, for a newly released product adaptive USB seems somewhat atavistic. By limiting the USB interface to 96kHz, the Windows, Linux and Apple operating systems can connect to the Bel Canto without a special driver. Universality and convenience are certainly virtues. On the other hand several manufacturers deliver Windows drivers that work well at 176.4, 192 and even 384kHz. If USB is the only way for your server or laptop to connect to a DAC and high-resolution formats are of interest, this is something to consider. As usual there are tradeoffs.

Toslink sounds much better where apparently the PLL has an easier time. Jitter on typical laptop Toslink outputs runs at about 1000ps or more based upon data John Atkinson has provided in his Stereophile reviews. The sonic result to me sounded better than one would usually expect with this level of jitter. This suggests that the DAC 1.5’s internal synchronization circuitry is doing a reasonably good job of suppressing jitter. Noise of all sorts may also be less. Toslink uses optical fiber cables that provide excellent galvanic isolation from the very noisy power rails and grounds of computers and many music servers. This digital hash can wreak havoc with both the digital and analogue sections of DACs and in addition to explicit artifacts also lower the overall S/N ratio. Be sure by the way to use glass (not plastic) Toslink cabling for best results. The WireWorld conveniently has a miniature plug that will work with many laptops where the optical output is shared with a 3.5mm jack or doubled up with a mini headphone jack. The AudioQuest has regular plugs but a 3.5mm adapter is available as an accessory.


Going ‘straight in’ S/PDIF via the Audiophilleo1 not only gives a high degree of galvanic isolation but also deliver the bits with essentially no jitter. This device has published jitter specs of roughly 3ps from 10Hz to 100kHz, which is close enough to zero for most purposes. Phase noise is also very low especially in the critical 0.1Hz to 100Hz range which apparently contributes to realism, presence and air. There’s plenty of room on the back panel of the DAC 1.5 to plug an Audiophilleo1 or similar device directly into one of the two RCA jacks, thus obviating the need for an S/PDIF cable. Save money, enjoy even better music.

Conclusions. One of the Bel Canto’s most outstanding positive qualities is being actually a finished product. Fancy that in the context of many eccentric never quite completed digital 'creations' that may possess numerous virtues but seem to create consumer consternation in equal measure. By comparison many competing USB DACs—pretty much regardless of price—seem a bit lop-sided or uneven in their features and operation. There’s good sound but the user interface is peculiar or the sample rate selection is balky, the cosmetics leave a lot to be desired etc. The Bel Canto’s refined display is hard to beat. And its ½" faceplate, heavy steel cover and above average remote contrasts with the prototype appearance of other DACs. In short the Bel Canto DAC 1.5 delivers a well thought-out user experience, convenience and considerable musical enjoyment without any major rough edges. Although not all inputs are created equally—or perhaps some are more equal than others—the differences may not be significant. USB sounds about average to my ear for an adaptive implementation, Toslink works very well and if a high-quality AES or S/PDIF source is available you’ll be even happier with the results when using the DAC 1.5 to drive a second system in the office or bedroom. This solidly built easy to use and reasonably priced DAC from Minnesota does so many things well that depending upon your preferences and circumstances it may make your day. The DAC 1.5 offers a great deal of value and enjoyment for the money. There’s a lot to like here.

Physical: Weight, 13lbs (6.5kg); 8.5 wide x 12.5 deep x 3.5" high (216 x 318 x 88mm); power supply is 4 wide x 6.5 deep x 2.5" high (10 x 16.5 x 6cm).
What’s in the box: The DAC, in-line switching power supply, remote control, manual.
Final comments: Other companies could learn a lot from the DAC 1.5 about how to deliver a balanced and engaging consumer experience. Sound quality, convenience and aesthetics combine to make a great package for office and other small-system scenarios.

Bel Canto Design website
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