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| Model: | C5i |
| Category: | Amplifier (SS) |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $2,000 |
| Description: | Integrated amp |
| Manufacturer URL: | Bel Canto Design |
| Review by mlsstl on September 18, 2015 at 18:46:32 IP Address: 162.206.90.0 | Add Your Review for the C5i |
This is my second Bel Canto unit -- I had their S300 amp about 7 years ago and only sold it because I had a chance to buy a tube amp that fit my mood at the time. However, the care & feeding of a tube amp has run its cycle and the purchase of a new set of speakers (Golden Ear Triton 7s) offered a chance to move on. The extra bass of the Triton 7s compared to my previous Spendor SP1/2Es called for a bit more low end control than the tube amp offered.
I always enjoyed the sound of my earlier Bel Canto amp -- the bass was tight and refined, the midrange clear and the highs airy and free of grain, unlike many solid state power amps I've had in the past. The C5i offered a good opportunity to pick up where I'd left off.
Visually, I like the clean Scandinavian design and small footprint of the Bel Canto products. I do have a minor nit about the green volume/input display. It looks rather dated and is not nearly as elegant as the rest of the unit. In fact it reminds me a bit of the game one used to play years ago, spelling words using a four function calculator. This should be upgraded, or at very least given better control over the brightness setting. Fortunately, this issue has nothing to do with sound quality.
Setup is easy, though one must be careful to avoid connecting any of the speaker outputs to common ground. There are five digital inputs - two optical, two SPDIF and one USB. There are only two analog inputs -- one line level and one for a moving magnet phono cartridge. I am using it with a Squeezebox Touch player as my music source, but this amp might not be the best choice if someone has multiple analog sources they wish to use.
Power is rated at 60 watts per channel into 8 ohms, which doubles to 120 watts/channel for a 4 ohm load. This is good -- a number of solid state amps can't double the power at 4 ohms and some aren't even designed to safely tolerate low ohm loads. The result of Bel Canto's conservative design clearly shows in its performance -- the unit sounds much more powerful than than its rating. Bass performance is tight and solid while the highs are clear and airy. While I don't have the old S300 for a side-by-side comparison, my impression is that the C5i competes well with its older brother that had 2 1/2 times the power. It has no problem driving the Triton 7s to a volume well past my normal listening level with dynamic peaks still easily handled.
As noted, there are plenty of digital inputs -- your choice of USB, optical and SPDIF. Bel Canto DACs have earned an excellent reputation over the years and this one doesn't disappoint. The sound is clean and smooth with no hint of glare or harshness. I've not tried the phono input but would have no reason to think it wouldn't be on par with the rest of the unit. The unit does come with a remote, but it is a one-size-fits-all unit designed to also control their tuners, CD players, etc., so there are a lot of buttons that don't do anything for the C5i. Not the ideal choice for a C5i-only remote, but the volume control buttons do stand out and are easy to find.
The unit runs extremely cool, in fact they recommend it be left on continuously as it uses virtually no power when not playing music. The power switch is at the rear of the unit which encourages you to leave it on 24/7.
The sound? I'm not one who hyperventilates in attempting to describe the sound of electronics. However, I've always leaned toward the sound of good tube amps -- that effortless, liquid sound in the midrange and lack of edge and grain in the highs. For me, those qualities have been worth the relative lack of tightness in the bass. Yes, there are some excellent high-end solid state amps out there, but they are out of my price range for the most part. This Bel Canto solves that problem for me. The C5i has a effortless smoothness and clarity through the midrange and into the highs, but the bass is tight. I noticed the same qualities from my S300 years ago, but I think the C5i does it even better. And, as noted, the unit seems far more powerful than its 60 watt per channel rating would suggest. All in all, I highly recommend it.
| Product Weakness: | Rather dated digital display for volume & input selection. Remote has many unnecessary buttons for the C5i. |
| Product Strengths: | More powerful than the rating indicates, superb sound, tight bass, lightweight & small footprint, runs cool |
| Amplifier: | Bel Canto C5i |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | None |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Squeezebox Touch |
| Speakers: | Triton 7 |
| Cables/Interconnects: | Nothing fancy |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Classical, jazz, rock, folk, etc. |
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 14 x 15 x 10 |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Hi MLSSTL, nice write up. I originally saw it in a certain newsletter, small world, LOL
Yeah, I've recently done some business with Wylie. He's a good guy and very low key. I like that in a sales person.
nt
try it! you know you want to!
Yes.
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