Bel Canto e.One Series S500 Dual Mono Power Amplifier

More from Bel Canto:

The Bel Canto Design e.One Series is a perfect example of what can be accomplished when elegant engineering and depth of empirical knowledge are combined.

All components are selected for high sound quality, precision, technical performance, and material quality. Bel Canto’s circuit designs and component quality will provide superb performance and years of listening satisfaction.

This technology brings unprecedented performance gains in absolute musical performance.

The regulated power supply and fully balanced analog switching amplifier architecture liberates your loudspeakers to perform at their best. T

he ultra-low noise operation insures that the most subtle of musical expressions comes through with palpable clarity.

The superb measured performance insures that harmonic and intermodulation distortion don’t interfere with the pristine beauty or raw power of the musical mes- sage.

The e.One series amplifiers from Bel Canto insure that you fully experience the musical intensity and beauty of your favorite artists.

From a Home Theater HiFi Review by Walt Meger:

Conclusions

In the never ending chase to produce quality goods at affordable prices, audiophiles are about to undergo a transitional period, kind of like the tube to solid state transition.

Manufacturers are fighting to survive the rising costs of materials (copper torroids & aluminum heat sinks,) shipping (raw and finished goods,) and competitive labor (fabrication and assembly.)

Even Rotel has dumped the trusted 1090 for its own ICEpower module amp.

The ICEpower age is showing the way to the future; with more emphasis on all encompassing green products and high wife approval factor.

But, tube, A, and A/B amp lovers, don’t panic, history has shown an ever existent market for prior art, look at the boutique tube and vinyl equipment market.

So, in conclusion, I like this amp, I really do.

I wholeheartedly recommend the S500 to anyone looking for a transparent sounding, high quality built amp in a sensible package containing the latest in current amp design. 

The SkyFi Testing Process for Solid State Amplifiers:

We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure there are no signs of stress or aging. Capacitors are checked for telltale sings of bulging or leaking, resistors are checked for signs of overheating or cracking, and transistors are checked for signs of stress or damage.

We then power up the unit carefully and run a simple 1k sine wave while monitoring the output on an oscilloscope for signs of distortion or noise. Finally, we run the amplifier to its full rated power into the appropriate resistive load provided by our Sencore amplifier tester. If there is an issue, it will usually be noticeable at this point. If everything reads clean, we will often test for THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) measured by our Keithley distortion meter, and compare it against the original manufacturers specifications. The amplifier then remains powered on to "burn in" on our test bench for a few hours to make sure there are no heat related issues. If there are balanced inputs available they will be also be tested.

Final testing involves pushing actual music thorough the amplifier. We've learned over time that some issues are only noticeable to a trained ear while listening to familiar source material. Our test bench has reference vintage KEF speakers that we're very familiar with which quickly reveal any discrepancies. Some amplifiers will then move into our listening room where they are tested with our in-house reference speakers of choice.

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