Now the 30-day trial period for me is over. The window for return is closed. Do I feel bad about it? Absolutely not.
I have now owned the preamp for over three months with approximate 200 hours of use ( as I don’t listen to music everyday), I still concur with my previous review on 9/1/2025. The PMG Signature preamp is an outstanding preamp, especially at less than $10k USD. By the way, the big round and bright display of the volume level is an excellent design that I can see it very clearly from my listening chair.
Since my original review, I have upgraded all my XLR cables to top tier XLRs. The Signature preamp is able to show substantially the improved performance of the sound through these flagship cables. The noise floor is now very low. The very dark background allows speedy transient attacks, dynamic contrast, even frequency distribution top to bottom, full body, glare free on top, three dimensional soundstage, low-level details and ambience. I think Paul has hit a home run with this preamp which is priced reasonably. A great product with grounded price.
Paul, I am also interested in the PMG Signature Phono preamp. Ready to take my money? When will be the release date? How many gain settings does it have for MC cartridge?
One of the true tests I make when evaluating preamps is how apparent a difference really good interconnects make. It’s more difficult to hear the differences with a mid-fi preamp. Sounds like the PMG preamp is a winner.
Decided that the PMG Pre will be the first of the PMG Series to hit my rack. It will replace the BHK Pre. Thanks to all who took the plunge before me and put their thoughts on paper. It made a difference! Now…should I wait till the Christmas package rush is over? I’d like my box and its contents to arrive in one piece, if that’s not asking too much from FedEx.
Bought a StellarGold preamp while it’s on sale with the idea of trading it in towards a PMG preamp sometime down the road. I’m sure the PMG is loads better but this one is a real honey. Really didn’t like it much at first and had requested a return authorization but it turned a corner, seemingly overnight, and completely changed. Canceled the return. It would be really interesting to compare it with the PMG now. Also would be fun to hear how it would compare to a good tube preamp like a Rumba or Rogue RP9. It seems to sound better every day and certainly hits above its price class.
Still enjoying the StellarGold preamp but agonizing my next move, if any. From my prospective it basically has only two faults. First is an overall smoothness to the sound. Many would consider this a positive but to me I react to this as leading to a slight reduction in transparency. Splitting hairs here. Secondly, is a tendency to sound a bit warm in the mid bass. Again many like this kind of color. In my system it adds to a room mode problem and is not ideal. If this were higher, say in the upper bass region I might react more positively. As it is, I feel like it’s just adding a bit of pollution to the low end that I could do without. Also, seems like it overwhelms the sense of power in the deep bass. Two really minor reservations for sure that might not be problems in other systems. I get the impression from descriptions on the forum that the PMG preamp might be free from these minor weaknesses. Surprisingly, I have no reservations used with vinyl as a source. Vinyl sound can sound grossly different from many factors ranging from cartridge loading to platter mats that, frankly, typically overwhelm any minor problems that might be attributed to this preamp. The gold is a great partner when paired with the Stellar phono stage IMO. Anyway, I’m struggling with the notion that I should replace the StellarGold preamp with the PMG or replace my DS MKII DAC, which I love, with the PMG DAC instead. Seems like everyone who has made that move seems to agree that the new DAC sounds obviously better. The fact remains that, except for my minor reservations, the StellarGold is a great sounding preamp- wonderful open soundstage and nice resolution and finesse. Overall, I would say that many don’t give it its due simply because it’s from the lower tier Stellar line of products.