SORRY!! 
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Question about cabling. I am preparing to receive the new Stellar Strata integrated amp. I think I am set as far as analogue cabling. I will use balanced XLR cables from my phono stage. My question is, what is best cable connection option for coming from my CD transport to the Strata? I have an older OPPO BDP-93. It has HDMI out (not I2S compatible), optical (TOSLINK) and digital coax. Thanks
Everyone seems to be really enjoying the overall sonic quality of the Strata. Are there any thoughts regarding this class D implementation and complimentary power cord designs; heavy gauge, lighter gauge? I get the sense that a massive power cable is not the right match but rather well shielded and clean current. I may have to save up for a regenerator if that is making such an improvement as noted in an earlier post. Should we be wary of any digital burn in disks, ayre/cardas cd clarifiers or other such devices? Are there any updates for input 9ās connection drops, this is so far the only functional issue Iāve had with the unit. Iāve got about 100 hours of music and two weeks of idle power on the Strata with stock power cables. Congrats to the PSA Team for putting together a product that sounds this nice with stock cords, unfiltered power and inexpensive speaker cables. I havenāt been excited to spend money on upgrades in quite a while.
@jamesh: just wanted to make you aware of a few niggles Iāve noticed
- plugging in headphones while music is running (coax 5) does not shut off the speakers at first. Must unplug headphones, replug them in and then speakers shut off. This is reproducible every time I turn on the amp - the first plug-in of headphones does not shut off speakers. Sennheiser HD580.
- subwoofer boom upon shut off. Normally I get speaker pops on startup, never on shutdown. Reproducible.
- Coax input 5 sometimes does not play sound. Switching to analog 1 works so I know all is well with the cd player. Must turn off / turn on amp to rectify. Not reliably reproducible.
Thanks for the catalog, it looks great.
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I only tried the headphone jack briefly, but I noticed this too. Had to unplug and re plug in order to get the speakers to cut out. I donāt remember what input i had it on however. I thought it was me, just not pushing it in all the way.
Huhā¦I only used headphones once and experienced the same thing. I also just suspected that I had not inserted them fully.
Thanks Yann, Iāll make sure these notes get to Barry. Weird that it seems to need headphones to plug in twice before muting speakers. Is music playing out of the headphones the first time you plug them in?
Iāll check tonight.
Mine shuts on and off, and swiches over fine. I was going to write, ānormallyā - but noticed that in fact it switches with the very first contact - it doesnāt require inserting the jack past the tip coming in contact with the internals on the unitās HP socket. I seem to recall this sort of thing usually requiring the jack to be fully inserted. But I could be imagining that, as it has been a long time since Iāve had a component with such a circuit on it.
This is on Bridge input, if that ends up being a factor. I can try it later with a different source.
Yeah, that sounds exactly like the GDAC. It doesāt need the jack to fully go in before you hear the relay. You feel a slight bit of resistance, and it clicks.
@jamesh I just did it again. Twice. The music comes out of both the speakers and headphones. Unplug-replug and it works properly by shutting off speakers. My Strata is plugged into a SP3. I turn on SP3 (logo), which turns on the Strata automatically. Maybe iāll try just the mains without SP3 to see if thatās the problem (I canāt fathom why).
Incidentally, upon power up I get a subwoofer boom when the SP3 powers up and another when the Strata powers up. Upon shutdown, again two booms, one for each machine shutting down. Normal? is this dangerous for the circuits?
I have to Renege my positive quick impression of the AQ monsoon. Iām afraid I fell for new sound but not betterā¦
The AQ gave maybe a touch more dynamics and bass slam but at a major cost of harmonic richness, timbre, and openness. I left them in my system with SP3 and Strata for a week and stopped wanting to listen to musicā¦ I kept feeling the sound was flat with the AQ.
AC-5 are back in and I think Monsoon are getting sent back.
I remain a fan of the AC-5
I had a simultaneous headphone/speaker output issue happen one time with Strata but removed and re-inserted the headphones and the speakers turned off as expected. Only happened one time and otherwise worked fine.
Headphone thing is weird. Iāll check with Barry if he knows anything about this.
As far as turn on/off sequence, Iād recommend leaving the P3 on all of the time. It hardly draws any current if nothing is pulling from it. Iāll check with our crew regrading the sub popping when Strata turns on and off. A small pop is ok, but there shouldnāt be any booms.
I too have an REL S510 connected to the Strata speaker post via the Airship and it sounds amazing. Make sure you connect the black cable of the REL to the ground screw on the Strata
I also get the BOOM on shut off /start up with my Rel sub. I called in but I was not able to get an clear answer as to why this is happening.
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iām not far in Aurora if you need my machine back for examination, but apparently iām not the only one that has experienced it so your Stratas might do it too.
yes, did that. if I donāt thereās a hum.
I can confirm that on plugging headphones for first time after turning on Strata, the speakers remain on. Replug headphones, no sound through speakers.
Just put Sprout 100 in the mail to return for credit. Almost didnāt do it. Fine little machine with a big heart. It did itās job well and I loved the analog feel. As good as it is, the Strata has more presence at lower volumes, richer depth of sound and more flexible inputs. I am intrigued by what I am hearing about the PS3 as power source. I currently need to use a power strip that has other devices attached. Transport, Sonos, two lamps. There must be a better way.
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