New Bel Canto REF600M using NCORE

It appears that the Bel Canto REF600M will go down as a reference statement piece and will sit on top of Everest as the worlds finest Class D amp in its price range. With that said, another reference statement component that was also released this summer several weeks before the Bel Canto REF600M, is the new SST Phoebe II Preamp from Spread Spectrum Technologies. I actually have heard this preamp through a pair of Emerald Physics speakers from a Wyred 4 Sound amp on the low end and the SST Son of Ampzilla II amp for the mid-range and a Wyred 4 Sound DAC. One of the very best preamps I have ever heard during the past thirty years.
A mind blower. Jerry Siegel's recent review and statement in 10 Audio online magazine, that it equaled the performance against the Levinson 326S at $11,500.00 and the $30K Levinson #52 with superior dynamic performance over both Levinson's. What really struck me is its remarkable organic smoothness, especially the high frequencies. Its holographic imaging, hall effect, echo decay, and its very three dimensional mid-range bloom, like the very best tube preamps on the market. The SST Preamp is derived from the Ambrosia Preamp. James Bongiorno and EJ Sarmento were working on these pieces together until James death, leaving EJ to finalize the designs with remarkable results. This Preamp has a very low output impedance of only 50 ohms, making it ideal to drive any Class D amp on Planet Earth.
This Preamp is a perfect match for the Bel Canto REF600M.

We have a demo pair in now and are just starting to put some hours on them, but already, these are quite a step up from their previous generation of amplifiers. They're detailed yet incredibly smooth with plenty of power, control and authority on the bottom end. There's a richness and naturalness to the presentation. Nothing remotely hard or fatiguing on the top end without sounding rolled off either. Very impressive so far driven by a Bel Canto DAC3.7.

Hi, has anyone compared the REF600m with JC1’s? I am considering moving to the REF600m from my JC1’s. I am wondering if it would be a step up in SQ or about the same? If its either a step up or comparable then I will be making the switch. I love my JC1’s but they displace too much heat and I live in Arizona where our summers are HOT! I have owned the REF1000m and REF500m and I loved both these amps. I have tried W4S SX-1000 which I liked too. I didn’t have the best luck with D-Sonic M3-1500m. The M3-1500m sounded way too bright and cold with my setup. I currently own Salk Soundscape 8’s and have tried the amps mentioned with the Salks and also with my Dynaudio C4’s. Bel Canto comes closet to Class A/B sound that I experienced. A nice warm neutral sound with good tight bass is what I have experienced with Bel Canto’s.

I haven't heard the REF600M myself, but all accounts I've read from those that have claim that they are a significant step forward from the previous BC models. The company felt so strongly about it to discontinue the more costly REF1000M since their newer REF600M outperformed it. That's quite a statement of belief in the newer product. Of course you'd be best off auditioning them in your system if possible, but it seems a pretty safe bet that if you liked their older series you should love the 600Ms.

This is the first review I've seen of them. He seemed to like them, although not enough to push his Anthem's out the door.


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