Which would YOU get first?

Audio Components
1

I will soon be purchasing either a Stellar Phono Preamplifier or Stellar PowerPlant 3. I was going to be purchasing whichever one I could find in the refurbished section but that seems to be empty at the moment. Now that I will be buying new which would you get first?

My current system is:

  • PS Audio Stellar Strata

  • PS Audio Aspen FR5 speakers

  • Schiit Mani Phono Preamp

  • Pioneer DJ PLX-500 Turntable (which I plan to upgrade in the near future)

  • Onkyo DX-C390 CD player (might upgrade sometime)

2

It may help get responses if you gave an idea of what if any power treatment you are using now and what phono preamp you are using now. Just a suggestion.

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3

Thanks for the suggestion, edited my post.

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4

Stellar PowerPlant 3

5

Previously used a Mani with my turntable and replaced it with the Stellar phono preamp. The Mani was actually pretty decent but can’t compare with a proper phono stage like the Stellar. Could not live without the ability to play with cartridge loading on the fly with my MC cartridge.

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6

I would get a Power Plant. But something bigger than the P3. Maybe a used P10 or P15.

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7

If you play a lot of records, I recommend starting with the phono preamp.

If you play a mix of things and records is not your primary then follow @Boom_Boom recommendation, because the power plant will improve the performance of all your equipment. I also agree with @RonP that a bigger powerplant would be better.

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8

If you can’t swing a power plant I’d suggest getting a Puritan 156 line conditioner. Incredible bang for the buck in power conditioning.

9

That’s a tough call. The P3 would help most or all the components but not sure how hard you run the Strata. With all components operating and playing loud that could hit the limit of the P3. The Stellar Phono is a nice piece, I have one, and would be a good purchase if you listen to vinyl a lot. You could try calling PS Audio and talking to them, they are quite helpful and will gladly help you spend money!

Now having said that, you may want to think about this for a few weeks. We’re coming up on the shopping season and since both those components have been on the market for a while there could be a nice offer coming soon. I have no inside knowledge, just many years of being a member of this community. Good luck!

10

I think I’ve had the time to think about it and I’m most likely going with the phono preamp first.

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11

Just discovered the refurbished section is back up and found the PowerPlant 3 for $999 ($1,112.28 after tax and shipping) so went with that.

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