I’ve beta-tested the Stellar Gold Pre over the past 6 weeks, comparing it to a BHK Pre](BHK Signature Preamplifier – PS Audio) and to my PSA Stellar Gain Cell DAC. The SGCD now has been traded in: there really is no comparison between it and the SG DAC. I have yet to choose a new DAC, as I am a/b testing the SG DAC to a DSD Mk2, but I have decided on my new pre.
Between the SG Pre and the BHK, I have decided, surprisingly (at least to me), it is the Stellar Gold Pre, not the BHK, that will stay in my system. I went into this upgrade process sure that however good the SG Pre might be, the BHK would be even better.
But in my system (see below), with my taste in music (largely jazz, rock, and pop), and my room (smallish 10x10 listening area), the combo of the SG Pre and SG DAC came closest to recreating the sound of music played live with me in the room. In comparison to the BHK, the SG Pre pulls me into the music more, almost compelling me to follow it wherever to chooses to go. Don’t get me wrong: the BHK is terrific, and I would easily have kept it if I had not had the SG Pre to compare. But I did, and it won me over.
The SG Pre is dead quiet – almost like negative noise. Music produced through it had an airiness and crispness that the warmer BHK did not quite match. It was not fatiguing, brittle or analytical in any sense – just fresh and clean. On a track like “So What” by Miles Davis, (192/24 via Qobuz), the cymbals in the background at the start of the piece sounded more like cymbals in a club, while with the BHK the resonances seemed more muted. Similarly on tracks from Bill Kopper’s Octave Records release Ancient Rhythms (DSD 128), the music seems more alive.
My wife, who is not much into audio, also listened to the two pres, heard (without prompting) the differences, and preferred the SG Pre.
While the sound rules, there are a couple of other points that I like about the SG Pre (and the SG series overall).
After some initial beta-testing kinks were worked out, the new SG remote, while largish, is pretty comprehensive if you have a PSA stack. And as an owner of an LG display, I’m particularly grateful to PSA for including two sets of IR codes with the remote and the SG electronics so that I was able to switch to a set that does not also turn on the LG display every time I power up the audio system. Thanks to PSA for fixing a problem not of their making!
I also like the look of the SG series. My equipment is black (sorry silver supporters!), and the gold stripe looks good. To me, it harkens back to some of the earlier days of PSA’s design colors. Whether deliberate or not, it is a nice call-back.
However, depending on your needs, the SG Pre may fall short of what you want. First, unlike the BHK it does not have a built-in headphone amp. It also does not have as many inputs (2 XLR and 2 RCA) as does the BHK Pre (5 XLR. 5 RCA). I do need a headphone amp and so will add one – no big deal. And the SG Pre has enough inputs for me.
To sum up – in my book, on the basis of sound quality alone, the SG Pre is a keeper. But when you then consider it costs just over half the price of a BHK, it becomes a knockout value. I strongly suggest anyone looking for a new pre take it home and try it.
Now I just need my new FR 10s to arrive!
Bob
System Used for Testing
Pre-Amp – PSA Stellar Gold Pre
Amplifiers – PSA M1200s
DAC – PSA Stellar Gold DAC
Streamer – PSA Airlens streaming Qoboz and local downloads on a Synology NAS
Speakers – Totem Acoustic Tribe Tower
Subwoofer – SVS SB-1000 Pro
Interconnects – Audioquest Water Balanced
Power Regenerator – PSA P15 Powerplant