PS Audio Stellar S300 power amplifier

Clipdat

I logged some time earlier this evening listening to my stereo system with the new PS Audio Stellar S300 amplifier in place. This is my third time listening to it since I hooked it up last Saturday. I typically hesitate to write about my experiences with new gear this soon after trying them out, but I have some initial observations which I feel are poignant and impactful.

To put it simply, I'm very impressed with this amplifier. I really like what I'm hearing, and it sounds quite good for being brand new with under 10 hours on it. PS Audio quotes a 200 hour break in time. If that's the case and it's going to get even better from here, then I'm in for a real treat.

To compare it to the outgoing Bryston 3B ST which was clean, this is even cleaner. This is evident at lower volumes, but especially when playing in the 75db range. I hate to use the simple term "better", but the S300 simply sounds better at these higher volume levels. My theory is that this is because it is technically more accurate. Because it is more accurate, it's therefore more true to the source - more true to the music. And because it's more true to the music, there's more emotion there as well.

So, if you value accuracy over other elements, then it could be "better" than your current amplifier. Personally, I love accuracy and detail so it sounds damn good to me.

That being said, there is no harshness, brightness, or fatiguing quality to it's sound. There's nothing that's inherently evident about it's sound signature that would lead you to believe it is Class D, such as a lack of musicality or a digital glare. I'm confident that if you listened to this amplifier without knowing what it was and what it's topology was, you would probably guess typical A/AB SS or tube. It just sounds "good".

The first day I tried it with RCAs going from the preamp to the S300. I noticed a quiet ground loop style buzz could be heard coming through the speakers when no music was playing. Additionally, when I turned on my Cambridge Audio CXN V2 I could hear a slight static-y interference and random modulating noise coming through the speakers as it communicated over WiFi. Again, this couldn't be heard over the music, but it's clear that the SE RCA hookup wasn't ideal, and that maybe the shields on the cables were acting as a sort of antenna as well.

The next day I decided to try XLRs running from the preamp to the S300 and all the noises were gone. No more faint ground loop buzz and no more WiFi noises. Great! But it gets better. The soundstage got wider AND taller, dramatically so. Midrange also felt fuller and lusher. I'm aware of how sometimes the volume increase from going from RCAs to XLRs can be perceived as an improvement, but that's not the case here. It was much more substantial of a change versus just a rise in gain. I verified with my db meter that I was playing at the same levels that I typically listen at. Clearly, if you have the PS Audio Stellar Pre/DAC and the S300, they are designed to be hooked up with XLRs.

Going back to it's fit and finish and overall performance. It's a fairly plain enclosure that won't win any beauty contests, but that's because they focused on what's inside. There are some niceties like two sets of rhodium plated binding posts though! Another thing I appreciated is how there is no power on or power off transients/thumps heard through the speakers. It also runs remarkably cool, getting just barley warm to the touch after several hours of listening.

On the amplifier front, I've now tried a NAD 316BEE integrated, a McCormack DNA-125, the Dayens Ampino Monoblocks, and the Bryston 3B ST. I feel that the S300 outperforms all of them. It's just smoother and more coherent top to bottom. It also has great dynamics and rhythm. It presents a huge amount of musical information in a perfectly coherent package. No one single sound overshadows another. Everything is just held out in front of you, ripe for the picking.

You can pick and choose what individual element to get lost in, or enjoy the performance as a whole. The detail, clarity, top to bottom even frequency response, and rhythmic drive are fantastic. I highly recommend you take a listen to an S300 and change your whole perception on what Class D can sound like. I know I just did.

I'm enjoying it so much that I'm actually hesitant to swap in some new SCs and ICs that I have on deck, for fear of changing what I'm hearing right now. Desire to tweak fading, desire to settle in for a while with the Stellar Pre & S300 combo growing. Now for someone like me who likes to try out a lot of different gear and cables, that's really saying something.

kharp1

Thanks for the review, Drew. If memory serves you picked up the Gain Cell Dac/Pre as well didn't you? So far, I've heard nothing but good things about this pairing. Looking forward to future insights about your setup.

displayname

Thanks for the review! I seem to constantly see good feedback on these, but I'm glad you compared to a few other amps in that price range. I'm a little surprised to hear that you prefer it to the Ampino Monoblocks. It seems like everyone who tries the Ampino stuff feels it's generally something special for its price class. And if I was going purely off of design principles I would expect the Ampino monos to be superior. Guess that emphasizes the importance of listening.

joecoulson

So am I, @jdjohn is bringing one this Saturday to our meet and I am excited to hear the combo as I have the stellar pre.
Drew what a great setup now, Ruby-CXN-Stellar-S300-PMC’s. That’s a stunning end game midfi system in my book.
Looking for more thoughts as everything settles in.

jdjohn

Good to have confirmation from another owner. The PSA Stellar Pre/DAC has some new owners around here, so good to have a second opinion on the S300 power amp as well.

I couldn't agree more on the accuracy. I think it brings the mids out front more compared to typical A/AB, which may contribute to hearing more detail. Also, and I may be alone on this, I don't detect any harmonics with the S300. We all know that tubes add harmonics, but A/AB do as well. I had never really noticed harmonics myself before on A/AB until doing critical listening tests between the S300 and my McCormack DNA-125. Very cool that you were also able to directly compare those two pieces.

Clipdat wrote: »

Everything is just held out in front of you, ripe for the picking.

I like that metaphor. I have called it being more forward, but I think we're describing the same quality.

I have not tried XLRs yet, but clearly need to! I haven't had any noise issues with my RCA connectors, though. My I/Cs are DIY Furez from Doug with the directional shunt connections, so maybe that helps ground any RFI/EMI present. The noise floor is just so low with this, you don't really know if it is on upon initial power-up. You can turn up the volume without a signal, but don't expect to hear any hiss or hum at all.

And all of this in a 13lb amp! You can basically carry it under one arm like a big book or laptop. The pairing of these two PSA units makes a nice tidy stack for sure.

Anyway, congrats and enjoy!

halo

Great write up Drew! Thanks for making me want gear I can’t afford lol

Clipdat

kharp1 wrote: »

If memory serves you picked up the Gain Cell Dac/Pre as well didn't you?

Yes, that is correct. I've just been using it's preamp functionality for now, which IMO is well worth the cost of the unit. Haven't even explored the built in DAC yet.

jdjohn wrote: »

I have not tried XLRs yet, but clearly need to!

Definitely give them a try, the improvement was dramatic!

steveinaz

Good to hear that you're liking the S300.

joecoulson

And to add here - my comment "mid-fi" is no stab at all, in my opinion, only a couple folks on this forum skirt into high end. I typically consider high end $250k and up for a system. Others have their own opinions about what high end is, but a $15-100k system to me is midfi

displayname

joecoulson wrote: »

And to add here - my comment "mid-fi" is no stab at all, in my opinion, only a couple folks on this forum skirt into high end. I typically consider high end $250k and up for a system. Others have their own opinions about what high end is, but a $15-100k system to me is midfi

In that case our friend Skip isn't even into high end yet. Lots of dealers don't even showcase $250k systems as their "statement" systems.
I don't know where that line exists, but based on these numbers I've heard more mid-fi that impressed me than high end systems I've heard.

joecoulson

I agree with that, and again it’s just my opinion about the numbers. To each is own.

joecoulson

And I think skip’s $100k system could be considered high end. Depends on the circles.

rooftop59

joecoulson wrote: »

And to add here - my comment "mid-fi" is no stab at all, in my opinion, only a couple folks on this forum skirt into high end. I typically consider high end $250k and up for a system. Others have their own opinions about what high end is, but a $15-100k system to me is midfi

So what is a system between $101-249k??? Upper midfi?!? 😂

maxward

Uh oh.

joecoulson

I was trying not to upset our skipper is all. Didn’t want to spit on the spettro’s

displayname

Well, for all of us living in the mid-fi world (wherever that line lands) I'm just glad there is currently such a wealth of products focused on the under $5K category. So many good options for every part of the hobby these days.

joecoulson

I agree, and like you said, nothing in the hi end that I have heard personally (admittedly only one system at $400k) completely blew away some of the $20k systems that I have heard

joecoulson

I'm sorry to have made a comment that most likely will derail this thread. It was an opinion from me only - not a reference challenge.

mhardy6647

Looked up a photos for those (e.g., me!) who might be curious.



FWIW, I've never (well, not since I was college-age) considered price a very good marker for degree of 'fi'.

displayname

We'll get back on track. The whole Stellar series seems to get a lot of buzz for the price point. I know they are working on Stellar speakers and a Stellar phono preamp as well. I wouldn't be shocked to find out that they have a Stellar streamer in the works too.

It'll be interesting to see how it all comes together. If PS Audio starts making interconnects and speaker cables they might become one of the very few companies that can truly build a system a system from the outlet to your ears. If they can do that with a range of products that all stick in the under $3k/piece bracket, they might have a strong foothold in that market.

joecoulson

The only issue I have with that company is how they seem to treat dealers. The undercut them and make it very hard to make money. That’s not good for the customer who wants a dealer he can shake hands with.

displayname

joecoulson wrote: »

The only issue I have with that company is how they seem to treat dealers. The undercut them and make it very hard to make money. That’s not good for the customer who wants a dealer he can shake hands with.

As someone who previously sought out a dealer, I completely agree with this. I really like the way they market, but once I saw their generous trade in program I understood why it's so hard to find a dealer. It's just unfortunate because I'd prefer to hear stuff before buying it, and I'm willing to pay a little more to get it from a dealer to do that.

Clipdat

It's hard for me to adequately explain how good things are sounding with the Stellar pre and S300 combo.

I was getting tons of 3d stereo imaging effects earlier and absolutely loving it.

Incredible performance!

msg

Clipdat wrote: »

It's hard for me to adequately explain how good things are sounding with the Stellar pre and S300 combo.

I was getting tons of 3d stereo imaging effects earlier and absolutely loving it.

Incredible performance!

Really cool, Drew. This 3D stereo imaging is quite striking for me when it occurs. I've only ever experienced it in near field listening, but there's height and depth, and it can sound like you're hearing things out to the side and behind speakers, like a thrown voice. It stops me sometimes in a bit of disbelief, as in, how can this be?

Clipdat

msg wrote: »

Really cool, Drew. This 3D stereo imaging is quite striking for me when it occurs. I've only ever experienced it in near field listening, but there's height and depth, and it can sound like you're hearing things out to the side and behind speakers, like a thrown voice. It stops me sometimes in a bit of disbelief, as in, how can this be?

This part I marked in bold is exactly what was going on. It gives you a sensation that makes you want to look to the right or look up to see where the sound is coming from.

msg

Haha, yes, exactly that
I can imagine how it would look to someone watching me listen. Probably look like a dog perking up at a sound

Clipdat

I heard it previously on occasion with these PMCs, but nothing as regular and often as it's happening now after switching to the S300.

Clipdat

I actually thought my single wire speaker cables plugged into the lower binding posts, with the 703 jumpers linked to the upper posts, were limiting my performance.

Clearly that is not the case.

halo

Clipdat wrote: »

I actually thought my single wire speaker cables plugged into the lower binding posts, with the 703 jumpers linked to the upper posts, were limiting my performance.

Clearly that is not the case.

Are you still listening to the 703's?

audioluvr

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Interesting they don't have a traditional power supply.

mhardy6647 wrote: »

FWIW, I've never considered price a very good marker for degree of 'fi'.

Totally agree here. Anything beyond box store sonics to embetter ones musical enjoyment should be considered Hi-Fi. The pursuit of "Higher" fidelity should be attainable by all. Regardless of what the price point is. What you may consider as junk, may be Hi-Fi to others just as what you may be listening to right now may be considered junk to someone else.

Just my opinion. Don't ban me...

Clipdat

halo wrote: »

Are you still listening to the 703's?

No. Just using their jumpers.