PS Audio Stellar S300 in 2025

[kemmler3D]

Amp discussion aside, the LS50 Meta is a pretty solid choice, I'd also have a look at Ascilab or Ascend stuff. Probably harder to hear in person but considered really excellent among passives.

 

[Chrispy]

I chose the Denon for sound, not features. I auditioned it in person and I simply preferred the presentation especially for low to medium volume listening. It had the tone, dynamics, and refinement I was after. I already have a full headphone setup on my desk, so this 2 channel system is strictly for SACD, CD, vinyl and some near-field listening. For my use case, the PMA-1700NE’s feature set is more than enough.

I’m not trying to build a home theater receiver disguised as a stereo amp. I wanted an integrated that’s clean, understated, matches my DCD-1700NE, and doesn’t need a ton of digital bells and whistles.

In the end, I just preferred it over the other amps I had available to test. The others were the Yamaha A-S801, NAD C368, Rotel RA-1572 MKII, Audiolab 7000.

Isn’t that what it’s about? Finding the sound that connects with you, not just what measures best on paper?

I doubt your Denon has a particular sound (I own several Denons fwiw). More depends on source/speakers/room in any case. Feature set is what can be of value, and this integrated amp has primitive 2ch setup.