Review and Measurements of the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC

[q3cpma]

Well, good for you. I never said or meant that a scientific background implied intelligence, only experience with the scientific method, by the way.

But yeah, I looked at no reviews (well barring see if there are lot of people complaining about something like hiss or a broken functionality) at all; it always smelled fishy, especially since outfits like WhatHifi, Stereophile or whatever came first in the web search almost never say something bad about any reviewed products.

 

[Cortes]

Well, good for you. I never said or meant that a scientific background implied intelligence, only experience with the scientific method, by the way.

But yeah, I looked at no reviews (well barring see if there are lot of people complaining about something like hiss or a broken functionality) at all; it always smelled fishy, especially since outfits like WhatHifi, Stereophile or whatever came first in the web search almost never say something bad about any reviewed products.

yes, in the hifi rewiew industry any product you choose is far above the mean. Only politicians are able to do that type of miracles.

 

[watchnerd]

The reviews are nothing short of mind-blowing for me. I still had some residual confidence in professional critics but now there’s no point in even reading them. This is terrible news for the hobby and industry. Even if the intention was 100% integrity (of course it isn’t) it shows the subjective impressions and floral language are merely wasted pixels of creative fiction writing.

I once got offered a product for review by a manufacturer on the condition I post it to Head Fi.

I reviewed it, as promised, but I put in absolutely ridiculously florid descriptions, bordering on audio porn, thinking of it as a troll and that the audience would see it as a bit of satirical writing.

To my surprise, the manufacturer was pleased and the audience took it sincerely.

 

[MediumRare]

The wise one was Socrates, though.

Socrates never wrote anything; Plato put the words in his mouth.

 

[AudioSceptic]

I once got offered a product for review by a manufacturer on the condition I post it to Head Fi.

I reviewed it, as promised, but I put in absolutely ridiculously florid descriptions, bordering on audio porn, thinking of it as a troll and that the audience would see it as a bit of satirical writing.

To my surprise, the manufacturer was pleased and the audience took it sincerely.

Classic Poe (Nathan, not Edgar Allan).

 

[watchnerd]

"Integrated" used to mean pre+power amp in one box. Is this also a streamer + DAC? I can only think of a Linn Majik DSM, but that would be > $3k in the US.

There are at least half a dozen "super integrateds" I can think of that offer pre/power/dac/streamer/phono in one box, although most are above $3k.

 

[confucius_zero]

So Ps audio is the new Schiit!

 

[AudioSceptic]

That's not wrong, but not entirely true either. Someone intelligent but completely ignorant of a field will still smell the bullshit from miles away. But yeah, "naive" might be more appropriate in this case.

The problem is that people might be very knowledgable and highly intelligent but lack critical thinking skills. There are many examples of this but I'll just give the example of Arthur Conan Doyle and the Cottingley Fairies <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies>.

 

[Jinjuku]

Are we allowed to season a dish that has been served to suit our taste?
Even when it is prepared by a masterchef ?

This ^ is the first misstep. Master Chef? There's the chef at my local Cheddar's and then there is Gordon Ramsey.

 

[ahofer]

Are we allowed to season a dish that has been served to suit our taste?
Even when it is prepared by a masterchef ?

But would you apply the same seasoning regardless of the dish or chef?

 

[AndrovichIV]

Everyone else > Schiit > PS Audio > GD Audio

 

[typericey]

Amir, get a small porcelain RCA Nipper, decapitate it, and use that in your PS Audio reviews moving forward.

 

[RichB]

Maybe kind of like this?

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/ps-audio-stellar-gain-cell-dac-sound-quality

https://www.dailyaudiophile.com/ps-audio-stellar-gain-cell-dac-review/

Edit. . . There’s more and more and more. . . So I’ll just post one more here:

https://www.headphone.guru/ps-audio-stellar-gain-cell-dac-a-new-era/

Here is a quote from the Daily Audiophile:

Let me just cut to the chase. The Stellar exceeded my expectations for sound quality in nearly every respect. The digital inputs produced gobs of detail, great dynamics, proper soundstage, and excellent extension. Ripped CDs and hi-res downloads sounded astoundingly good via USB input played by my player of choice, Channel D’s Pure Music, on my Macbook Pro. Plus, the analog inputs sounded clean, full, and lively. Exactly like I hoped they would!


PS Audio uses the word “lush,” among others, to describe the Stellar’s sound. I disagree. I’d describe it as “accurate,” and dead center in the hard/soft, fast/slow, and cold/warm spectra. There is lots of fine detail, but there is also palpability. Could I use a little more meat on the bones? Sure, but now I’m wishing the Stellar designers deviated from neutral just to benefit my system (horns and solid state). Bad reviewer!

The term Audiophile is no longer a compliment

- Rich

 

[watchnerd]

The term Audiophile is no longer a compliment

- Rich

Was it ever?

 

[SIY]

"Integrated" used to mean pre+power amp in one box. Is this also a streamer + DAC? I can only think of a Linn Majik DSM, but that would be > $3k in the US.

Yes. It’s a really slick package and I’m hoping that this lottery ticket is a winner so I can keep it.

 

[digicidal]

That last sentence rather derails the argument. Something so rare is news, simply by definition.

You are correct, however my contention is that it would still be considered less inherently newsworthy than a three-time convicted felon committing murder again... because "if it bleeds, it leads". If there is nothing shocking, or if it's the last 3 minutes of the show... then someone saving a kitten from a tree or volunteering at a community center gets some coverage... but only if there's not a currently breaking tragedy to supplant it.

It's similar to what I have often encountered in my career. I tend to just keep my head down and work like a dog - so I've been much more likely to be handed ever expanding amounts of work... but because I wasn't constantly complaining to upper management about compensation - they would forget my reviews or promote loud "problem employees" - and then look baffled when I turned in my resignation and left. When I made my own company I was the opposite - a employee that just pitched in where needed would get 4 or 5 increases in one year... and anyone that refused to help with something "beneath their position" - would be replaced with that employee (and they'd get another increase).

I think similar (but actually the inverse of the HR example) problems exist in a majority of the "established brands" in high-end retail audio. They exist in a bubble where glowing reviews are handed out like participation trophies... largely because the reviewers themselves are incentivized to do so. Write an honest review about a great brand's under-performing product - and suddenly you're not getting as many samples for free (or kickbacks from generated sales). So that leads more of those brands to release inferior products without fear. In reality almost all of the "audiophile press" is nothing more than a PR firm for the companies they supposedly review. Considering the broadcast news is now mostly a social media recapping service - I guess that shouldn't be surprising at all.

Consider another industry that's oddly similar: fashion. Does everyone wear the same clothes because they're what everyone prefers, or is it simply because the consumer doesn't know how to make their own clothes (or have the time) and that's all the stores/manufacturers provided that season? And to push that analogy a little further, if a brand's name becomes the primary selling point of the product - is there any need to strive for excellence any longer? I've had $100 designer T-shirts fail just as quickly as $20 generic versions... so I'd say no, in most cases.

Regardless of market, traditional retail is failing not just because Amazon and other ID options provide greater convenience (although that's a big part of it). It's also because finally the determined consumer has an avenue to pursue products that actually deliver far greater value - despite not having the fancier brand name. Companies willing to provide that are able to quickly build a reputation for themselves, without needing the massive investment required to break into traditional retail channels.

 

[BillG]

There are at least half a dozen "super integrateds" I can think of that offer pre/power/dac/streamer/phono in one box, although most are above $3k.

The Klipsch PowerGate would be another that would fall under that category. However, they blew it with the DAC - I've bypassed it on mine by using its analog inputs where applicable, and am satisfied with it, since I caught it on sale at $150USD...

I think Peachtree Audio manufactures some that would fit the category for ~$1K USD. They do as I just checked:

https://www.peachtreeaudio.com/decco125-sky-amplifier-with-dac.html

The Yamaha WXA-50 would be another, coming in at ~$500 USD. It was reviewed here and found to be a competently designed product:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...urements-of-yamaha-wxa-50-streaming-amp.7964/

 

[BillG]

The Klipsch PowerGate would be another that would fall under that category. However, they blew it with the DAC - I've bypassed it on mine by using its analog inputs where applicable, and am satisfied with it, since I caught it on sale at $150USD...

I think Peachtree Audio manufactures some that would fit the category for ~$1K USD. They do as I just checked:

https://www.peachtreeaudio.com/decco125-sky-amplifier-with-dac.html

The Yamaha WXA-50 would be another, coming in at ~$500 USD. It was reviewed here and found to be a competently designed product:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...urements-of-yamaha-wxa-50-streaming-amp.7964/

NAD manufactures one that could considered super integrated at ~$700 USD:


https://nadelectronics.com/product/c-338-classic-digital-dac-amplifier/

 

[Krunok]

It was very proper listening test. Double blind. Controlled. Hash code so you can tell the output was not edited, etc. Levels were at whopping -120 dB which people say "can't be audible due to room noise." Well, it was. So don't go there.

You have a very uphill battle to claim that device is transparent. I post my listening impressions in review of that thread with music. It was not as rigorous as test tones because it was a real-time test. But directionally shows the issues. And psychoacoustics indicates the same.

Remember, transparency needs to be for all people, all content and all listening conditions. If you relax that, I can prove to you that MP3 at 128 kbps is transparent if I get to choose the music, listening conditions, etc. Heck, we had a third-party conduct a test with WMA codec at just 64 kbps and showed that most people could not tell the difference between that and the CD! That doesn't make that universally true.

I didn't say that it was not a proper listening test, I said that it was done with a dubious test file (single sine tone, level at -120dB). I'm also not claiming this device is transparent.

What I proposed is that you do a DBT with normal music file played at normal listening level.

 

[amirm]

What I proposed is that you do a DBT with normal music file played at normal listening level.

What I propose that you all start doing some work too and not keep putting things on my plate. Start by running some double blind tests of lossy compressed music and keep lowering the rate until you get positive results. Then I can tell where you are coming from.