Thanks, love the advice of utilizing the playing cards.
First impressions of Stellar Phono Preamp (SPP). I’ve been listening to it for a week now and I’ve already sent my trade in phonostage (Lehman Black Cube SEII) to PSAudio.
What I’ve already noticed: Sound stage is bigger, especially in height. I used to crouch down to bring my ears level with the tweeters to get the best center sound image. This is no longer necessary with the SPP. It’s also wider and deeper.
Articulation has gone up a notch. Listening to Dire Straits it’s way easier to understand what Mark Knopfler is saying. This is true even when the instrumentation is loud.
Finally, when listening to backup vocals on several LP’s the imagined space between the singers is clear and palpable. This is noticeable even when the backup vocalists are predominantly coming from one channel. This was unexpected to me and what a treat it is. Plus, the SPP is getting better as it breaks in.
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That’s great to hear it beats out the BC SE II. I’m coming from an Lehmann Audio Decade and will find out shortly if the SPP beats it.
I am curious about that, please do post your findings. I had a chance to compare the Black Cube to the Linn Uphorik, that was indeed day and night. The Uphorik played music compared to that the black just kept the pace.
The decade may be a different thing though it is very high regarded.
Nice! Thanks for the positive review. Do you have it powered by a Power Plant perhaps?
My P20’s comes tomorrow.
This is what the manual should say, as I struggled with the gain setting on my NPC.
Hello Paul, I do not have a PS Power Plant in my system at this time. However I have been intrigued by regenerated AC since PS Audio first offered the Power Plant I believe in the 90’s (I have lived in Colorado since 1980). Your generous trade in policy has got me thinking about the PS Power Plant all over again. We’ll see.
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If and when you’re ready for a PowerPlant in your system, feel free to email me. Because you’re a fellow Coloradoan, I can help to sweeten the deal a little better than just trade-in.
Someday I will be calling as well, James. The sheer number of people who testify to the difference they make is stunning.
Although as generous as PS Audio has been to me, I think I’ll pay list when the time comes just on principle.
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Hell yeah brotha, I’d love to chat. The attention explosion this pre is getting is exciting and well warranted. The improvement over a few of the other phono pres I’ve heard is nothing short of stunning.
Hope you’re doing well and enjoy the tunes!
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I dunno. The jump I made from my Bellari tune pre to the NPC was stunning. I don’t know if I can take another quantum leap.
Hello jamesh,
Thanks for the information on getting a PowerPlant. When I’m ready may I talk to you or someone at PSAudio about which model PowerPlant would be suitable for my system.
Thanks,
Gary Quinn
I own and love my P20. I have a friend who owns a P15 and heard from a salesperson that the Shunyata Hydra Sigma would “blow away” the P15. So he had them ship him one. After a extended and extensive break in procedure he and I created a proper playlist and did a lights out test. We listened to the Shunyata first and I will admit that I was not enjoying it much. Then we unplugged everything and hooked it up to the P15. We unplugged the Shunyata from the wall in case it might have an effect. It only took seconds to realize that through the Shunyata, all life and emotion was absent. Both of us were immediately drawn in to the P15 fed sound.
Now the question is how about the Denali 2? Me, I am not curious although I recall some people here that preferred it to the PS Audio gear. Hmmmm.
A PowerPlant will 100% be my next component purchase. All this positive chatter is making it hard to hold out.
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Thanks, Al. I think people often mistake what these passive boxes do to the sound as “better” when, in reality, they are stripping the life out of the music. This was a constant problem for me when we started development of the Power Plant decades ago. Every
passive conditioner we used at first sounded cleaner. It wasn’t until after extended listening and AB comparison we realized that “cleaner” was really bereft of actual musical information. Like the baby and the bathwater problem.
What’s happening technically is the added impedance of their filters is robbing the music of its life. Power Plants, because they are active, take the exact opposite approach and lower impedance while still cleaning. That has, as you’ve noticed,
the exact opposite affect.
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I have just purchased a Stellar Phono Stage after an interesting home demonstration. My turntable setup is a Michell Orbe SE with Technoarm A (Michell modified Rega arm) and a Garrott Bros Optim S with Fritz Geiger stylus recently retipped. My stage is a Graham Slee Era Gold V.
I was feeling pretty underwhelmed with the sound which was flat, small and cupped in the midrange. I got to try out a couple of stages, the Musical Fidelity M6 and the Stellar.
Firstly changing the stage to the M6 improved things considerably by opening out the sounstage and improving the intelligibility of the music but the cupped midrange effect was still present, albeit less pronounced. We then changed the cart to Van den Hul Frog MC and that was a game changer. Far more body and impact, no more cupped midrange. A very big improvement.
Once we had got to grips with the new sound, we swapped out the M6 and put in the Stellar.
Far more slam, body, inpact and sense of the music flowing from the system. We were using a 180 g Japanese pressing of Supertramp Crime of the Century - School. At the start of the song are sounds of kids in the playground in the background and suddenly you could hear that far more clearly. The bass had an almost visceral gut punching impact and I was smiling from ear to ear. My turntable is making music again and in many ways beats my digital front end.
Worth noting that I looked at the Stellar after reading the review from Stereophile.
Very happy camper.
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I am considering a SPP, currently using SEII. Any updates on your impression after your switch? Thanks.
Hello zheng4, I’m into my third week of using the SPP. My first impressions described in an earlier post are still true. As the SPP gets more hours on it I believe the female vocalist albums I have listened to sound better than ever. This is true for new and old records alike. The sound seems to have a more relaxed flow and the vocals seem sweeter as the SPP breaks in.
I had used the Black Cube SEII for seven years with both a Clearaudio Maestro MM cartridge, and an Ortofon Cadenza Bronze MC cartridge. For the price, I consider it an excellent phono preamp. It has a dead silent background as does the SPP. The SEII produces a good soundstage as well, but the SPP soundstage is bigger and sweeter (especially in the midrange). The SPP makes vinyl playback on my system sound more engaging.
The PSAudio trade in policy is brilliant marketing. That, and their 30 day in home trial with free shipping both ways made my decision real easy. I happen to live in southern Colorado and I ordered the SPP on a Friday morning. It was delivered to my door less than 24 hours later. Auditioning new components in your listening space with your components is the only way to go.
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Hi, I just setup my SSP, and I am getting some strange behavior. I am getting some high frequency “whining” if I switch the loading to custom. I have noticed that I can turn the pots and make the whining noise come and go at certain loading values. I do not have any high frequency whining noise If I use any of the fixed loading values. I have never experienced this behavior before on my previous phono stage, which was a lehmann audio decade. @DarrenMyers can you help me understand what is going on and if the SSP I have is defective? My other components are Benz Micro Glider, Rogue Audio RH-5 headphone amp, VPI Prime, and Cardas Clear Cygnus cabling everywhere. I am certain my system is setup correctly, and cabling is dressed optimally.