Hey PS Audio Family & Fans ! I’m actually new here. I’m Dwayne from Saskatchewan, Canada. I now have a PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamp. I know this must be asked many times, but I’d like to know what the burn in time is for the Stellar Phono ? Is suppose to improve sound quality when it does ?
Here has been my new setup now, hopefully the pictures will show up. Basically I have the Technics SL-1500C Turntable (With AT33PGT/2 Cart). Funk Firm’s Achromat, Houdini, Cobra headshell and 4 Suspension legs. Creative’s SoundblasterX G6 Dac & PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamp as the new update. I’m “sort of” an audiophile … But I am going after better audio quality and watched a lot of Paul’s videos on YouTube as well He has great info and very kind man along with the PS Audio Family that I haven’t met yet. I love to do vinyl rips from time to time of rock & electronic music (alot from 80’s & 90’s). My search for a high quality preamp has led me to Darren’s Stellar design @ PS Audio. So here I am, hello everyone
My experience was that I didn’t notice any difference after 30 hours. I came to this conclusion after comparing vinyl rips on DVD data discs made using a GCPH and the Stellar Phono stage.
I also recently purchased the Stellar Phono Preamp. I heard from Caleb (@calebc) , one of the PS Audio customer support members, that the break-in period is about 100 hours.
Thanks mycrowave in that case mine still has some mileage to go yet. Thinking maybe I could play some kind of recurring noise or sound through the input. Not sure if that would work to speed up the process while I sleep.
I wouldn’t recommend it. The phono inputs are not the same as standard aux jacks on a stereo and playing something other than a turntable through it will sound terrible and probably won’t be a good way to break it in.
Thinking about it, I still haven’t completed the break-in yet, going by what PS Audio told me, but honestly, I have not heard any sound quality improvement since about the 30-hour mark, as stated above. So, I recommend you just use it every night for the first week and all day long on the following weekend, and you will be in good shape.
I’ll do just that, I’ll let it naturally burn in as I play it every night and part of the day as well. I do leave the main power on. The back switch at the back.
Welcome @dwayner, stay away from this forum if you can, make your wallet a favor!
My SPP sounded glorious just right out of the box and had little incremental improvements almost for a few weeks, yes 100 hours could be a reasonable amount of burning in time but with subtle and constant steps if memory serves me well.
I love the sound so natural and engaging of the SPP and found it very sensitive to:
fuses (first SR Purple, then M-1)
power cords
interconnects (Iconoclast UPOCC XLRs are highly recommended)
isolator feet (I use IsoAcoustics Ore Bronze)
So many pros, just one con: you are always remote control dependent (I had an issue with infrared sensor for a while, so it was impossible to use the SPP without the remote control).
Enjoy your SPP (until your next upgrade of course)
Thanks luca, so 100 hrs give er take. It has alot of singing to do until it will make its way there. It sounds pretty cool. Been using it more today, gonna try to solve this low noise sound. Some records have more music put in with lower volume. So I have to increase the record volume on Audacity, again a slight noise.
That’s what I found also with new cartridges, they have subtle changes like when I used the AT-VM540ML. Still a sweet sounding cart but wanted to see how much better I can get my set up to sound with the AT33PTG/2 To pair with the preamp. I have to also take into account that cartridge is new as well. Both will need some time.
Which cables are you using from SPP to Pre? And from TT to SPP? Grounded with separate cable dedicated? I would start investigating with cable management, moving these to find out if noise changes or not.
I had Techincs SL 1200 GR and now a belt drive Gold Note Mediterraneo, the SPP needs to adapt a little bit, I use low level with Donatello Gold cartridge MC and personalized settings.
Having said that a little noise (from speakers) like subtle white noise IME was always present a few inches from the speakers.
Just embarrassed to say… ehm ehm… No I cannot find the courage to predict a future digital destination to a new member who is enjoying a brand new Phono Pre, it’s horrible!
So as an “upgrade” on the horizon I prefer to think about tweaks of the SPP, cartridges or a new Perfect Wave Phono Pre I’m awaiting from Darren since a few years, it reminds me the AirLens in some way…
He has great info and very kind man along with the PS Audio Family that I haven’t met yet. I love to do vinyl rips from time to time of rock & electronic music (alot from 80’s & 90’s). My search for a high quality preamp has led me to Darren’s Stellar design @ PS Audio. So here I am, hello everyone 
