Gear
Sources: Mofi Ultradeck/ Stellar Phono and Holo Audio Red/Denafrips Pontus 15
Preamps: Stellar Gold, BHK (Ray Select 12AU7), Schiit Kara
Amp: Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra 2.5
Speakers: Dynaudio Contour 20i
Thoughts
I spent the previous week getting acquainted with the Stellar Gold preamp a friend let me borrow and getting the Contour 20i dialed in. Prior to this current chain I have been listening to my Decware Rachael amp and Omega Junior Alnico setup for a couple of months (fantastic setup).
Once I got the speakers dialed in I spent a day critically listening to digital and vinyl on the Stellar Gold/OA Ultra and loving it. The dark background and really makes the music pop and enhances the dynamics I hear in the recordings. It really makes itself apparent when listening to vinyl. The tonal density from this setup is ideal for heavier rock music. Deftones, Metallica, White Zombie, Black Sabbath, Tool, RATM recordings all benefited from the weight of the sound provided by the Stellar Gold and it’s ability to still maintain the detail in the mix and not sound congested. The Stellar Gold/OA Ultra/Contour 20i setup allows you to dig into the volume knob and not fall apart at higher volume levels 
.
Switching to the BHK loses the ultra quiet noise floor. It’s not noisy, but just not dead silent like the Stellar Gold. However, you gain a sense of air and space that really works well with vocal and acoustics music. You get a sense of the room and the decay of the instruments and vocals in the space.
With the Contour 20i I feel like the Stellar Gold doubles down on the dark nature of the speaker. It’s not too much it’s just more of the same and very enjoyable.
The open nature of the BHK brings a contrast to the 20i that the Dynaudio handles beautifully and really opens up what you’re hearing in the space and is ideal for acoustic music.
Which preamp do I prefer? Unfortunately, I can’t pick a winner. They are both excellent. With different speakers, in a different room I might have a preference one way or the other. But I can’t make that call in this setup at the moment. With either preamp in the setup it’s really hard to turn off and stop listening. As someone else mentioned in here earlier they are different flavors to suit different tastes.
Final Thought
The Stellar Gold is a more refined take on the Schiit Kara which I like a lot paired with the OA Ultra and 20i. That said, at $800 the Kara is a solid option with OA amps.