I’ve ordered a PMG 512 DAC. I’d already had a chance to test it at home and found that it sounded better when connected directly to the power amplifiers than when I used the Holo Bliss as a preamplifier. Many people here on the forum have written that the PMG preamp takes the sound quality of the PMG 512 DAC to new heights. Unfortunately, the PMG preamp is out of the question for financial and other reasons. The Stellar Gold preamp, however, would be within my budget. That said, I’m not sure whether it would actually improve the sound quality compared to connecting the 512 DAC directly. Has anyone made this comparison?
I don’t own a PMG DAC but I do own the DS MKII and I prefer listening to it using my StellarGold preamp in the chain. I bought it with the idea that I could trade it in towards the PMG preamp someday. After living with it for almost a year I’ve really grown into what it does. It seems to do just about everything a great preamp is touted to do. It’s open and resolving and is really quite neutral. Took awhile to settle in but now that it has I feel less of a need to upgrade to the PMG preamp. I’m sure that the PMG preamp is probably better but the StellarGold has proven itself so good I’ll probably end up keeping it long term. It really doesn’t command the respect it deserves.
Thank you, that sounds very promising. Let’s see if I can try it out at home.
I ran mine 24 hours a day for a full week and I was not impressed. In fact I got a return authorization from PSA. Next am before I packed it up for return I decided to give it one last listen, and I’m glad I did. Over night it opened up considerably and the dry bottom warmed up a bit as well. Over the next weeks it just continued to get more resolving and dynamic. Doesn’t sound now at all like it did in those early days.
Oh, that’s great to hear. I’m on good terms with my dealer, so they should be able to sort that out for me.
I haven’t made the comparison yet …but it looks like that is in my future. I was running a PMG DAC into a Stellar Gold preamp, and from there into PMG 800 monoblocks. Everything involved has had pretty good burn-in time by now, and I can attest that the Stellar Gold preamp is a darn good preamp, and besides, I love having a big ol’ knob on the front for the volume control. But when I removed it and ran the monoblocks directly from the DAC, I felt I got an immediate improvement in SQ. Then I saw the video that Paul recently made where he said that he felt the PMG DAC sounds better when followed by the PMG preamp so I guess I need to try it (um, but when the money is available). However, if you compare what PS Audio has to say about the two preamps, it just doesn’t seem like there should be much of an audible difference. The circuit topology is similar – all class A design, balanced line circuitry from input to output so very low noise, low global feedback, DC-to-light frequency response, stepped-attenuation for volume control, same design engineer, etc. We’ll see…
Hmmmm, well, then we didn’t do a very good job of explaining the difference between the two. Yes, there are some similarities like the volume control and the basic topology, but there it stops.
I wish I had a quick image I could show you where you can see the difference. Inside the StellarGold there’s a beautiful PCB, power transformer, and all the right stuff, but, at the end of the day, it’s got a standard power supply with multiple regulators etc. - PS Audio’s advanced build for preamps.
Now, inside the PMG, holy sh*t. One look and no one would question for a moment the difference. For starters it has one of, if not the only, film-cap power supply. Once past the diode bridge/primary caps, every power supply cap is a giant film cap. That’s the first thing you see: a forest full of giant round black tubes that are these stupid expensive film caps. And from there it just gets more robust.
I’ll do what I can to snag a couple of photos of the internals and you’ll see. They are hardly the same and yes, the PMG preamp is perhaps the best preamplifier in the world at the moment. And no, that’s not bragging, it’s just a fact. From its insane noise specs to its linear frequency vs. distortion curve that extends way beyond the human hearing range (never see anything like it) and its crazy perfect square wave response….oh jeez, I should stop.
Sorry. Babbling here.
I get it’s the power supply that is a major difference in determining the sound quality between the two. It’s a matter of degrees in quality, I’m sure. Sure would be fascinating to try a PMG pre in my system. Chances are I would have to have the PMG. But not actually having two to compare it’s easy to be happy with the StellarGold.