DAC 1

About the DAC 1

The Bel Canto Design DAC 1 is a compact 24/96 digital-to-analog converter introduced around 1999, designed to provide high-quality upsampling and jitter reduction in a small chassis. Measuring about 3.6"H x 3.6"W x 9"D and weighing roughly 3-4 lb, it uses premium parts such as Caddock and Roederstein resistors and Wima capacitors. The design uses a sampling-rate converter (SRC) to add dither and upsample incoming digital signals, processes signals at 96 kHz, and applies a slow roll-off filter at 48 kHz to eliminate time smear. It supports input sample rates from 32 to 96 kHz and bit depths from 16 to 24 bits, with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 112 dB and dynamic range of 112 dB. Inputs include one Toslink optical and one SPDIF coaxial RCA. The DAC 1 is no longer in production but remains a benchmark for early upsampling DACs.