I used to own a Stellar Stata, and am wondering about the new version. What improvements and or changes were made on the MK2 model?
Been using mine for a few days now. So far I can say the sound is greatly improved. I’ve used it with my Magnepan LRS+ and KEF R3 Meta’s and both sound better with the Mk2. My REL T/5x subwoofer integrates much better, more seamlessly with my LRS+ speakers than with any other amp I’ve tried. Haven’t tried the phono stage yet but I expect good things.
I’m curious about this also. Did the DAC carry over or was it updated?
My understanding is the streamer was removed and phono stage was added for the Mk II. Darren Meyer also tweaked most (maybe all) of the circuits for better sound.
I’ve had mine for close to a month and have to agree with DavidF’s description. There is no streamer and the phono stage is very impressive with a noticeably richer sound compared to the DAC, though the DAC is quite impressive as well. Overall beautiful sounding amp. Speaking of no streamer, I’m using a BluSound Node / Qobuz for that and have had issues with it being stuck on 44.1/16bit and never changing off that no matter what resolution the source is. The amp will most likely go back for PSA to troubleshoot - could be a new product teething issue.
I’m using it to drive a pair of FR10s and it is more than up to the task.
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Welcome!
being stuck on 44.1/16 bit and never changing off that no matter what resolution the source is.
I have the same issue with a iFi Zen Stream.
At this point, I don’t know if it’s just a display bug, or if the signal is being downsampled somewhere.
I was able to resolve this in my setup. I’m using a Blusound Node as my streamer, Qobuz and Spotify as sources. The issue turned out to be that your source choice (Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz etc.) needs a Connect option if you want to use their native app and select the streamer - and it turns out that Qobuz does not have the Connect feature. In this case it needs to be selected through the Blusound OS app and then played from there, using BluOS to navigate my library. Going that route gives me the full 192/24 range, if available, while accessing the streamer via the Qobuz app defaults to CD quality 44.1/16.
The problem occurs for me regardless of the source. Specifically, when playing a known Hi-Res file, the streamer reports the correct bitrate, but the Strata MKII only shows 44.1/16. This issue doesn’t occur when I use the USB input with the same file and streamer; in that case, the display shows the correct bitrate.
A new review of the Stellar strata Mk2 here: Strata Mk2
The phono stage seems to be well regarded.
Also, anyone care to comment on Strata Mk1 vs Strata Mk2 sound? I believe it uses the same ice module, but there is a reported sound difference.