Bel Canto DACs

I demoed the BC DAC3VB in my system a while back and if I had the coin it would still be here (the VB is a must have by the way -- night and day to the stock unit and I had both here). Nicely detailed but in a very natural-sounding kind of way -- not too thin, not too rich, but just right and had excellent overall transparency with no digital glare or sheen. Relatively recent reviews of the DAC3.5VB in Stereophile and Ultra Audio were very positive, and the Stereophile review compared them to some other excellent (and more expensive) DACs and all things considered it came out on top -- not that that means all that much since it's a personal preference thing as always. Anyway, hope this helps a little.

I've been curious about these but hear very little mention or discussion about them. Is it because they can't play with the big boys and the latest greatest or is there some other reason?

I'm thrilled with my Bel Canto DAC 3.5VB (paired with a Squeezebox Touch and Oppo BDP-95). Have no desire to upgrade at this time. Unfortunately, it doesn't support DSD playback, nor offer a headphone out, which could be part of the reason it doesn't get much "buzz" these days. However, I find it to be the perfect balance of detail and musicality (just as the aforementioned reviews did).