Finally!!! In the past few months, I have been through products from Rogue Audio, Premaluna and Schiit. I received my PS Audio Stellar DAC and S300 amp today, and out of the box, I’m blown away!
I realize that this needs some time to break in, but I am finally getting the sound that I have been longing for. Simply amazing, and musical. Natural, 3 dimensional, and just great.
This one’s a keeper!
I know what you mean. Excellent sounding gear right out of the box. They only get better with a few hundred hours on them.
What speakers/subs are you running?
Pretty Humble system. Paradigm Monitor 11 V7 speakers, no sub yet. ProJect Debut Carbon Esprit turntable.
I always liked Paradigm speakers. Those 11 V7’s look good. Nice specs too. Also, not a bad TT either. I used to have the same one several years ago, in white. Upgraded the 2M Red to a 2M Bronze which I still have and use on my Music Hall MMF 9.3.
Great news about your new Stellar gear! I’ve had my GCD and M700s for less than 2 weeks and I’m very pleased thus far. However, I’m getting quit a bit of variation in sound depending on the interconnects used and whether they are balanced or single-ended. What are you using for interconnects between your GCD and the S300? It’s great that the Stellar components are revealing enough to highlight characteristics in recordings and associated gear, but pinning down the ideal interconnects between amp and preamp may turn out to be challenging for me.
Have fun with your new gear!
Thanks for letting us know! More and more people are discovering just how musical Stellar gear is and we appreciate the kind words.
I am so glad to hear how much you are liking the setup mine is on the FedEx truck for delivery today I can’t wait to set it up.
What interconnects have you tried thus far?
I’ve been using XLRs from Anti-Cable for the past few months and I love the combination.
Congrats on the new gear! Keep us posted on how things go once you get them set up 
Thanks all. Can’t wait to do some listening this weekend. As far as interconnects, I’m using Pinetree Audio Iso-Braid Balanced XLR Interconnects 1ft Red from Reverb.com.
Oo those cables look sharp, I like it.
Haha reverb is a dangerous place for me… Too many guitars all in one place.
Just curious, which Schiit products did you audition and what did you find lacking?
Wow, those interconnects look very interesting - and very inexpensive. Have you used them with other components in the past?
I’m just beginning the interconnect search - at least in terms of balanced cables. The only balanced cable I’ve tried thus far is a BJC Belden 1800F, which is too bright in my system. My speakers are Thiel 2.2s, which are sublime with good recordings but can be pretty unforgiving with poorly recorded music. After the initial drama of the Belden ICs, I’ve gone back to the single-ended Straightwire Rhapsody II RCAs I used with my pre-Stellar gear (Bryston preamp and Adcom power amp). The GCD and M700s are sounding great with the Rhapsody ICs, but I’m going to try to find an even better balanced cable if I can. I’ve got 3 balanced cables coming on loan from the Cable Company on Monday: Cardas Parsec, Shunyata Venom, and a Synergistic Level 1 Core cable recommended by the Cable Co.
I haven’t tried the Anti-cables, but I have explored their website a bit. Which XLRs are you using from Anti-cables, and do they have a particular sonic signature?
I’m running Anti-Cable’s Level 2 XLRs. To my ears, they’re detailed with just the right touch of warmth and smoothness. I’m quite sensitive to brightness and they haven’t bothered me at all. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on any clarity or resolution, and I can listen for long periods without any fatigue.
Thanks for the info. Getting the balance of detail and warmth/smoothness just right seems pretty system-specific, but it looks like your XLRs are working out well for you. I like your comment about no listening fatigue as that seems to be a sign of a good cable-system match. I will definitely look into the Anti-Cable XLRs if my demo cables don’t work out for me next week.
Yeah, there are two sides to the coin - too much detail and you get fatigue, not enough and you get bored. So far the Anti-Cables strike a good balance with my system.
Keep us posted how the cable shootout goes! I’m sure the info will be quite helpful to other Stellar owners.
I will keep you posted, though I’ll probably start a new thread to continue that discussion in the Cables subforum.
I’m using the Schiit Mani phono preamp, and I love it. What a great value.
My issue was when I was trying a Primaluna amp, I was using a Schiit Saga pre. It was fine, just basic, but it wasn’t a good match with the amp. So when I decided to give the PS Audio Stellar units a shot, I returned the Schiit Saga. I also have a Schiit Modi 3 DAC that I used with the Primaluna and the Rogue when I was trying them. I will probably end up selling that, 'cause the Stellar DAC seems pretty great.
I agree about Reverb, I like guitars too.
I have an Audioquest interconnect as well. I may give that a try too, just to see how different it would sound.