PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamplifier

Description

Stellar Phono is a triumph of performance and value that you’ll instantly recognize from that first needle drop, as music emerges from a velvet blackness, filling the room as if there were no speakers.

When PS engineer Darren Myers set his sights on building the best phono stage our company has ever produced, he had his work cut out for him. With the advantage of modern upgraded FET semiconductors and a fresh approach to the art of phono preamplification at his side, Darren wiped the tradition slate clean by hand-fashioning a new approach to the challenge of amplifying and preserving all the magic trapped in the grooves of our records. The results are breathtaking. Music that might once have been locked into the confines of our loudspeakers is suddenly free. What you hear fills the room with a rich tonality that has always been vinyl’s promise, but rarely fulfilled to the degree Stellar has achieved.

Stellar phono features dual inputs that can support either a moving coil or moving magnet cartridge, or a two-tonearm set up to enjoy the best of each at the user’s discretion. Cartridge loading and gain options are easily adjusted from your listening position via the supplied remote control.

Phono preamplifiers at anywhere near this price range are almost always integrated circuit based, but not Stellar. Input to output, Stellar is a fully discrete FET design with extraordinarily low noise and high overload capabilities so even the wildest dynamics from the punchiest cartridges sail through Stellar with no limitations or compromise whatsoever.

• • Moving Magnet and Moving Coil preamplifier
  • Fixed and variable cartridge loading adjustable from remote control
  • Up to 70dB of ultra low noise gain for MC cartridges as low as 0.15mv
  • Two inputs for two tonearms selectable from remote control
  • Single ended and balanced outputs
  • All discrete FET design
  • Class A analog circuitry throughout
  • No ICs in signal path
  • Up to 20V rms output for unparaleled headroom and dynamics
  • Passive RIAA curve for seamless performance
  • Hand selected premium discrete components
  • DC coupled from input to output for unfettered bass
  • Ultra low noise discrete pre and post voltage regulation stages
  • Low internal feedback for increased transparency and openness
  • No complimentary FET transistors for lifelike performance
  • High current oversized power transformer
  • Remote control
  • Front panel standby button

SPECIFICATIONS

Unit Weight: 21.6lbs. (9.8 kg)
Unit Dimensions: 17”W x 13”D x 3.25”H
(43cm x 33.02cm x 8.255cm)
Shipping Weight: 25.1lbs (11.4 kg)
Shipping Dimensions: 22”W x 8”H x 17”D
(55.88cm x 43.18cm x 20.32cm)
Color Options: Black
Silver
Voltage Options: Europe/Asia/Australia/New Zealand 230V
Mains Power Input: IEC C14
Idle Power Consumption: 26W
Accessories Included: Power Cable
Remote Control
Audio Inputs: RCA (Unbalanced) MM,MC
Audio Outputs: RCA (Unbalanced) 1 Stereo Pair
XLR (Balanced) 1 Stereo Pair
DC Trigger: 3.5mm 12VDC (2)

Performance
All measurements are with both channels operating,
gain set to low, and balanced outputs.
Input frequency is 1kHz.

Gain: MM: 44dB, 50dB, 56dB
MC: 60dB, 66dB, 72dB
Input Loading: MM: 47KΩ (100pF)
MC: 60Ω, 100Ω, 200Ω, 47KΩ, Custom 1-1KΩ
Output Impedance: Unbalanced <200Ω
Balanced <200Ω per leg
Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20KHz +/- 0.25dB
THD: 0.5V out @ 1kHz: <0.01% Maximum Output: @1%THD: 24VRMS Overload Margin: @1kHz: >22dB
S/N Ratio: MM: >82dB A-Weighted
MC: >74dB A-Weighted
Interchannel Crosstalk: >74dB
Power Consumption: 26W