Thank you, James! The app is working. I’m now able to stream Qobuz and Spotify to the Strata. Very nice.
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it’s a QR code for iPhones/iPads to download the iOS app. Not a mac computer app. (Or maybe that’s what you were explaining to previous posters!)
Well maybe if you didn’t start your 401K late and live through 1 (and now the second) market crash, you could “scale up”.
I hear ya. Trying not to check it too often!
Don’t. You’ll be depressed.
@jamesh: I’m going to write a full review shortly, but are you sure you want it here instead of it’s own thread? Will you not remove this thread after BETA is over? Is this thread more for feedback / troubleshooting?
Yes, please post it here. The beta threads do tend to morph into an all encompassing trouble shooting and discussion thread as opposed exclusive reviews, but I don’t really mind. I think readers like seeing the progression and absorbing as much info as possible. Specially for those that are very interested in getting one once they’re released.
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Not sure if you want all this, but here goes:
Old System:
- Integrated amp : Cambridge Audio 840A (120w 8 ohms)
- CD Player : Rotel 1072
- Phono : Musical Fidelity pre amp / B&O , Garrard record players
- Speakers : ProAc Response 3.8 / JM Reynaud Twin II
- Speaker cable : MIT Exp S-2
- Interconnects : (unbalanced) Audioquest Columbia / Transparent Music Link / TaraLabs RSC
- Power Cords : JPS Labs (digital) / PS Audio (amp)
This system worked very well together. I changed out the amp to get the streaming, newer build and from all I have read, some of the tube magic that the Gain Cell is reported to have. I also like the energy efficiency of the PS Audio over the Cambridge. My initial thought on the amp section was that it might be a toss up.
New System:
- Integrated amp : PS Audio Stellar Strata (100w 8 ohms)
- CD Player : Rotel 1072
- Speakers : ProAc Response 3.8
- Speaker cable : MIT
- Interconnects : (unbalanced) Audioquest Columbia
- Power Cords : 18g shielded stock (digital) / stock 14g (PSA unit)
Music:
- CD Player: Tribute albums – Dedicated, Cole Porter, Ray Charles, Elvis Costello(& his wife), live recordings of Ani DiFranco, folk, Lyle Lovett, Van Morrison.
- Streaming (360kbps): Neil Young, older pop tunes, James Taylor tribute album, Bruce Springsteen, acapella groups, trio’s / quartet’s, rock and alternative.
Unboxing / impressions: well packaged and double boxed. Nice solid heft without being overly heavy. Clean design. Control knob is solid, not super silky in operation but not overly clunky. I think it makes it easier to select desired options as you don’t roll past them with the slightest touch. Rear panel connections are high quality. Nice and clean in grey.
Set up: You need to read the manual; it is worth it and will save you time. Thought I could set it up without the manual, but it is needed, though pretty simple once you read it and use it as a guide. Took about 20 minutes to scroll through various options and set up menu’s once I used the manual. I had the advantage of knowing my network passwords. I was 1 inch from the tweeter, no music playing, before I heard the faintest noise. Using stock power cords to get a sense of the unit itself. I set the overall volume limit at 75 and could get away with reducing it to save the speakers. I need to set input 9 as the app’s volume doesn’t always match the PSA’s.
First listen through 2 Days: Volume setting of 0 (zero) will produce sound. Through my system I am getting usable output with a volume setting around 25, 40 is plenty loud. The volume ramps slowly and is easily fine-tuned.
- The Sound; precise, quiet, more detail retrieval, highs maybe a touch lighter? bass is well controlled, tight. Clarity in place of that last drop of emotion, I’m not hearing the reported Gain Cell tube magic yet, but the sound is NOT dry and analytical (I do not expect it to be syrupy, overtoned) Differences between different types of guitar and bass are not jumping out/readily apparent, you have to listen for it a bit with pop/rock.
- Vocals and instruments sound correct, just lacking that last bit of emotion behind the sound.
- Depth / width / height/ decay – solid image placements, undecided on the rest just yet.
- Sibilance is noticed a touch more. This may be a result of being a cleaner and more accurate amp than the Cambridge.
- Dynamics are solid and controlled without the last degree of “jump” or “startle” factor.
- Rhythm & Boogey Factor are good but I need more time listening.
- So far, we have a nice product and upgrade in sound quality, ability to stream and power. The Strata seems more powerful, controlled and at ease with less power than the Cambridge.
Hiccups - getting streaming working from iPhone (my two factor authentication on my wifi network got in the way. I am using wired to the Strata, wifi from my iphone (same network). It took me two days on and off to play around with the streaming and reading the blog’s to figure it out (3 hours total). The PS Audio Connect app on the blog installed easily. First run of streaming I had the PSA Connect app and my iPhones Spotify app going at the same time. It dropped out after 15 mintues. I then shut it all down, started just my phones spotify app, no psa connect, and I’m streaming with out issue for the past 45 minutes. (The PS Audio Connect app started on it’s own after the I started the Spotify app?? )
Streaming quality- compared to CD, undetermined, I just got it working. It does sound WORLDS better than my Bluesound Node2.
Time playing music – 6 hours
Time in standby/idle – 2 days
Questions: How is it gunna change next week and at the end of the month. Will better power cables make a difference and should I focus on cables designed for digital gear, not “traditional power amps”. Will that last drop of emotion show up when it’s all broken in. I already know I need better speaker cables.
5/7 Update: can’t connect to streamer today. Tried for an hour. Left it alone for 30 minutes and tried it again and it worked (maybe an issue coming off of idle?). The volume on 20 seems a bit louder than when it was new out of the box.
5/8/ Udpate: took the amp out of standby and made a pot of coffee. Sat down with a fresh cup and turned on Spotify, not the PS Audio Connect app, and it worked seamlessly. Sound is filling out, a little more body, weight. 12 hours music, 4 days of idle power time. Will compare the streaming quality to the cd quality next week.
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I listened to Le Sacre du Printemps on the PS Audio app and there are gaps between the sections making it unlistenable. On my Qobuz desktop application no gaps. Qobuz says on their site that playback is gapless. Please advise.
Hi everyone,
Would like to provide my initial experiences with the Strata. Packaging was the usual PS Audio standard: excellent. I had no problem installing the PS Connect IOS app. It connected the first time to my network (using Eeros). The Strata unit is very well built and nice looking. Enjoyed not having to deal with all the interconnect wiring!
Connected my speakers, turned the unit on and selected the Bridge option for streaming. Using the PS Connect app located Radio Paradise and started the music. Up and running in about 15 minutes. The initial sound was very smooth but not overly warm. My wife came in and her first words were “WOW”. She has been using the Sprout100 connected to Harbeth P3s. Now my wife wants to replace her Sprout with another Strata — not a good thing Paul!
The Strata has been streaming music non-stop for the past 49 hours without missing a beat. The sound has improved. It seems to be getting a bit warmer and fuller. It’s just plain fun to listen to. My plan is to stream music non-stop for 200 - 300 hours and report later on the sound improvements. At the 300 hour mark will start trying the various filters, etc.
It appears all the beta testers are really enjoying their Stratas.
Congrats to Paul and the rest of the PS Audio team on a great product!
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Whoops, had a little problem. Streaming Audioarvana today, played a few tracks then starred having drop outs. Music would stop for a second, then resume.
Ok, switch to JRiver. Same thing.
Maybe will reboot everything later, but the wife was in the mood for some music, so I switched back to the DSD and Roon for now.
I run Qobuz straight thru a Mac, USB into DAC and there is gaps on some recordings that are really annoying like symphonies where the original production didn’t have them but the CD did. Then I have also heard on Qobuz gapless recordings. It may be the one you chose has them. I don’t have the Strata so don’t know if anything is going on there only that Qobuz is only sometimes gapless
If you are using the Qobuz desktop there are no gaps. With the PS Audio app there is. Could you ask one of your tech people? Thanks
Yes, I’ve reached out to the programmers and they should be getting back to me shortly.
FWIW I played this version and I can see how the gaps would make it difficult with such short pieces. I did have breaks as it loaded the next piece. 
i don’t think there is any doubt that making streaming work smoothly is exponentially more complicated than popping in a CD, though when it works well it is more convenient and a richer experience. The vagaries of networking and programming, and the variety that it brings, makes one wish for an Apple solution.
@jamesh, I vote for Landscape mode in the PS App. Dunno if I’m supposed to send that wish from within the app? That appears to be a way to submit bugs.
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Seems a discrepancy between the Filter settings and the Manual and/or the Filter display on the Main screen. If I go into the menus on the unit and set Filter to Fast, when it returns to the Main screen, the filter Icon/Display in the upper left corner now says “F1”. Similarly, Slow is F2 and Min is F3.
The Manual has those as F1 = Slow, F2 = Min, F3 = Fast (i.e. all three are different)
Also - dunno if reprogramming of display stuff is possible at this point, but the Filter thingy in the corner is only useful/readable if you are within a foot of the screen. When you press the Filter button on the remote, there is no way of knowing what it is now set on, except possibly by knowing what it was on prior, or using binoculars. It would be really nice if the display briefly showed “F1” or “Fast” in large text.
In the menu setting, it does not show both ways of referring to the filter - name and number - just the name. Conversely, the corner display only shows the number, and you have to memorize which is which name and what that does.
Sorry - I keep adding to this list🤷🏻♂️, but it is related. With metadata displayed on the unit, there is no obvious indication a filter has been changed/command received - the screen stays on the metadata info. Changing volume with the remote causes it to go to to the main screen with the Volume number and Filter display, but not making a Filter change via remote. This is with Display Timeout at 10s.
Darko’s product announcement on the Strata says the the Amp is Class A biased Mosfet?
I thought that it was Class A input to Class D amp?
Oops.
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