My new Stellar S300 is astounding.
At first listen the sound was definitely different than the B&K ST-140 solid state amp I was used to. The more prominent mid-range was what I first noticed. After a few days I decided it was better than what I had, but not $1500 better. To be fair to PS Audio, I decided to log as many hours as I could to burn it in before my 30 day trial was up. By the 3rd week I knew this was a keeper.
Lots of detail in the music emerged, with no harshness. What was apparent, and impossible to miss, was the huge soundstage this thing was projecting. On many recordings, whether classical, jazz or pop, the soundfield extends 3-4 feet beyond the outer edges of the speakers, right up to the walls. Individual instruments are clearly defined and have their own physical space. (I had read about this phenomenon, but this is my first time to experience it.) Some CDs that I had set aside as having poor dynamics or soundstaging now sound wonderful. There are some CDs that remain dull and lifeless, but I guess the amp can’t bring out something that’s not there.
The best benefit of having this amplifier in my system is that I am deeper into the music. I highly recommend giving the Stellar S300 a try. It worked for me.
The rest of my system is relatively modest: Marantz CD6006, NAD T-163 preamp, ESS AMT 3 Rock Monitors, all connected with sub-$100 cables.