gocubs42 said The size of this thing, match it with a mac mini....that would look great. now the speakersThanks @gocubs42 can't tell you how hard we fought to get round corners on all four sides. That, and no exterior-facing screw heads...does indeed call to mind certain Apple products. We were going to do it out of sheet metal, then die-cast zinc, tons of other visions/experiments, until we came to three pcs of handsomely extruded aircraft-grade aluminum, joined internally. Glad you like it!
How much power does the headphone output have.and it’s imp ? There are some hungry headphones like the HE6 and some high imp like HD800.
This looks like it hits a few markets. Maybe a thread to start at headfi ?
Al
Excellent thinking, Al.
If the headphone out runs off the amp (not just an add on op-amp), is sufficiently low impedance and has some grunt, this unit can easily sell to headphone types. It otherwise pushes the correct buttons.
Looks GREAT. I am old enough to remember when 50w was a lot of power, and lately have been finding myself gravitating towards fairly high-efficiency speakers like those from Zu and Tekton. With something like those, this is going to be more than enough power for most people. I would definitely buy one for a second system and recommend it to friends…
@alrainbow & @Elk Sprout has a headphone amp with a discrete output stage. Powers my hifiman HE-500 like a dream. @adminpaul any idea on the wattage?
@bob I think Sprout will power most speakers at or beyond expectations. For example in Munich next week we’ll be demo’ing them with the Raidho 3.1’s (which is pretty impressive both aurally and visually). We’ll let you know how it goes!
Very good to hear Scott. Have you tried the HD800 or HE6 ? Also have you tried any IEM,S. As some headphone amps have low level hiss with them. Please do not take offense at my questions just asking. I am sure you have your market figured for your product long ago .
al
Hello Scott and Paul,
Just want to say congratulations on a new product. It’d be awesome to have the technology and knowhow from PS Audio in a more affordable package so in that light, the Sprout is very welcome!
If I could make a suggestion, would it be possible to have a connection that works straight from an iDevice? I know bluetooth will be the medium in that regard, but I’ve always found bt connections to be less than ideal for music. (Not excluding Android devices here, but afaik, they’re not so picky.) Plus, if I have the system in my bedroom I can have it charge my phone and play music at the same time 
And to be really, really, anal about it all, I wonder if the shiny silver finish on the knob will clash with the casing which has a more blu-ish tone…
Anyhow, it’s awesome. Let me know when the project goes on Kickstarter, you have one backer ready!
p.s. Scott, the jack is a 1/4" as in “one quarter inch” jack, rather than a 1-1/4" which is a “one and a quarter inch” jack. A 1-1/4" TRS jack would look like something one finds in shops selling things of a more adult nature than hi-fi.
Looks like a tidy dual purpose solution for either an entry-level hi-fi system or desktop computer music system application. In the latter application, the headphone amplifier performance would need to be competitive with the multitude of available choices on the market.
Peachtree Audio has sold thousands of Decco units at the $1,000 price point so there is a proven built-in market for the product concept if the musical performance is engaging and I dig stuff not made in China!
I’m assuming your margins on a high-value product concept such as Sprout are challenged so volume of unit sales is paramount to justify production. Back in 1978 we all thought the NAD 3020 was a cool product and great value, and frankly it was a total POS, even though through refinement, it eventually defined the entry-level integrated value category to this day.
I wish you the best of success with your new venture.
Hello Scot,
Best of luck with the Sprout.
Please let us know when the kickstarter campaign starts.
it is typically my luck that I just put together a small system for a teenager that the Sprout would have likely served well.
Well, the next one then.
Marcus
Scott, I’m sure you’ve got this covered, but there’s an uber critical “personal audio” crowd over at head-fi.org.
You may wish to take a trip to that forum to consider the priorities of that group.
Best of Luck - looks great!
Bill
I’m in the 60 something crowd. Would have loved this piece when part of the 20-30 something crowd. When it’s available it would be perfect for my now almost 20 something son. He’s just now beginning to appreciate detail and depth that is part of great sound. Thanks Scott! Thanks, too, Paul for pointing to Scott’s efforts.
Thanks for reading and supporting!
It is imperative that we know which DAC is inside in order to make an informed decision in the preliminary stages of investigation.
@mickanger The DAC is a TI part, don’t remember which, but it is fully asynchronous, 24 bit, 192kHz capable. The USB input on Sprout is the same XMOS part we are using on DirectStream and the PWD, so from an input standpoint they are the same. Obviously it isn’t the same DAC and output stage as either of these multi-thousand dollar products, but it is an excellent sounding, hand picked DAC that really works well and handles anything you want to throw at it.
SF said RE: Kickstarter - be sure to thoroughly research *ALL* fees involved with using the crowdfunding site. I've heard of people getting surprised by the fees and falling short of their goal. I'm sure that Scott will do his homework on that and factor it in along with all the costs associated with whatever 'rewards' are offered (including the cost of shipping any tangible ones).As one who has been involved in running two Kickstarters, one successful, the other not, I have a boatload of advice on this topic:
1), yes, be cognizant of Amazon and Kickstarter fees. The latter takes 5%, the former anywhere from 2% to 5% based on credit card fees. (Amazon has separate fees as they are NOT part of Kickstarter, they just run the collections) Figure on 10% off the top in your calculations.
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For all awards, be sure to keep in mind the costs for postage, both national and international. Be sure and have the customers add the appropriate shipping fees for their country.
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Have the design all ready to go so all you have to do is go to production. In our case we wanted to fund the entire remaining production of the 6-series comic but failed on our first attempt to meet our goal because the product wasn’t ready and people would have to wait a year for it to be printed as a ‘trade’, or collection of all 6 issues in one book. On our next KS attempt we asked for funding just to complete the print run of the next issue in the series (i.e., the production of that issue was ready so all we had to do was print it) so we were able to meet our initial goal in less than 48 hours. If you have a famous person shilling for you (Think Pono: Neil Young) then you can get away with letting people wait. Otherwise keep the end-date to delivery date as short as possible.
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Have realistic pledge levels, including intermediate levels so those of us with DirectStreams will pledge something even though we don’t need a Sprout ourselves.
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Think about your stretch goals NOW, so if you do make your goal at any time you can add goodies to your backers and make them feel special for helping your launch. Pono NEVER did this (even announced their ‘stretch’ goal was to deliver on time 9 months after the end of the Kickstarter) It pissed off veteran Kickstarter backers no end (They made an extra $5M. Where is all that extra money going? What if they don’t deliver and squander all the extra on themselves? It could have severe backlash against Kickstarter for years) So if you do surpass your goal by 25%, 50%, what can you add in the box for your faithful supporters? (Power cables? Interconnects?) REWARD THEM as your successive goals are reached. They’ll love you for it. Remember Kickstarter is a feel-good game akin to bidding on ebay, but everybody wins when you reach your goal and get funded. Your backers are your friends–treat them well for supporting you.
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For the stretch goals, keep in mind the extra postage needed for EACH stretch goal so you don’t run out of money just on shipping.
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Do an intro video that is enthusiastic, compelling, and shows clearly WHY you need the backer’s help and what benefits you’ll give them with your product. We cringe at some of the lousy videos out there.
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This will be the most stress you’ll ever see during the campaign. You’ll see initial enthusiasm, then a lull as things taper off. Don’t panic. Keep people informed through the comments and updates. Respond to questions accurately, politely, and quickly. Remember this is a marketing campaign. Every correspondence will be scrutinized. Don’t get frazzled.
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At the end of the campaign if you don’t reach your initial goal don’t be surprised if people start pulling out. They don’t want to be associated with a ‘failed’ Kickstarter (even though they won’t be charged a dime for it) If this starts to happen you can pull the plug on the campaign and freeze the contributor list. This will be VALUABLE for your next attempt, as it represents the people who were willing to back you. Those are the FIRST guys you send email to when you relaunch.
Best of luck.
–SSW
I wish you the best. I will forward this link to my two sons who are rapidly becoming as bad as their dad when it comes to music and gear.
I like it.
Given that this product is aimed at the Millenials, wouldn’t a remote be considered mandatory? There aren’t many audio components around today that aren’t remote controlled. I just wonder if Millenials could be turned off by the lack of a remote. Just sayin.
I would love to see a version in black rather than just the silver!
Will this be manufactured in Boulder?
Great… this comes out just after I bought a couple other Kickstarter options… 
Best of luck with this one Scott. It certainly looks to be a winner…
Paul