All in Digital

PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC

PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Martin Appel
Digital

When my publisher informed me he had made arrangements with PS Audio to do a review of their latest DAC and that I would have the good fortune to do the review, I was interested. My Audiophilia colleague, Karl Sigman, is very high on their products and having heard them at his lovely abode I was looking forward to the arrival of their latest offering.

The Stellar series is comprised of the DAC and a choice of two amplifiers: the S300 stereo amplifier and a pair of S700 Mono-blocks.

As it turns out, the DAC is not only a DAC but a full function preamplifier making it the center piece of a system with remote control operation. It’s quite a package.

Comparing the DAC of the PS Audio Stellar with my reference DEQX HDP 4 processor proved to be challenging. For those of you who are unaware of what the DEQX can do, suffice it to say it offers the ability to greatly modify and alter the sound through its speaker and room correction capabilities. It also allows you to let the signal go through without any modification — that is the way I use it.

SONOS PLAY:1 Loudspeaker; 5.1 Surround Sound; Stereo Pair

SONOS PLAY:1 Loudspeaker; 5.1 Surround Sound; Stereo Pair

Anthony Kershaw
Loudspeakers, Digital, Star Component Award

It would be instructive to read my original review of the full SONOS system [PLAYBAR, SUB, PLAY:5]. 

This review will examine the addition of two PLAY:1s to that superb system. The PLAY:1 is the smallest SONOS speaker at (USD) $199.00 /each. They will be auditioned as rears converting my main floor lifestyle system into 5.1 surround sound. I'll also add my thoughts with the PLAY:1s setup as a standalone stereo pair. 

Devialet Phantom

Devialet Phantom

Anthony Kershaw
Digital, Loudspeakers

Devialet (pronounced: duv’-ē-a-lay) is the Parisian company that has created a Sonos-like stir in the audiophile world. Its ‘pizza box’ shaped, flagship product, the D200, is an amp, preamp, phono stage, DAC and WiFi card in one very thin, sexy chrome box. The audio press went wild over it. I heard one at length just recently and it casts a pretty spell on the music and is a top notch, one-stop shop. If that's what you’re after.  

Mojo Audio Mystique DAC v2.0

Mojo Audio Mystique DAC v2.0

Anthony Kershaw
Digital, Star Component Award

I usually bump into Mojo Audio’s Ben Zwickel at the industry party the night before the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver. It’s becoming a tradition. Zwickel gets us as many drink tickets as allowed then the rest of the evening is wine, more wine, dinner, and then even more wine, interspersed with stories of the year’s audio adventures. Let’s just say he’s ‘energized’.

The SONOS Wireless Music System

The SONOS Wireless Music System

Anthony Kershaw
Digital, Loudspeakers, Star Component Award

A few things have revolutionized the music business in the past decade — Apple's iTunes, mobile audio on smart phones with the headphone boom, followed this year by streaming audio. What was missing in the lifestyle mix was a quality delivery system for the home. One that worked easily, sounded great and was reasonably priced. Sure, Bose had a big lead. ‘Good’ sound for the masses but at a high price. The high price paid for the marketing, which was quite effective.

PS Audio DirectStream (DS) DAC

PS Audio DirectStream (DS) DAC

Karl Sigman
Digital, Star Component Award

PS Audio recently released (March 2014) a new DAC to replace their already top-notch, high-end PerfectWave DAC (PWD), which I reviewed about a year ago, with a follow up review using it with the PerfectWave Bridge which enables using an ethernet cable to stream the digital files from computer to DAC instead of USB. The PWD, using ethernet, has become my reference DAC ever since. So, when I heard about this new one, I licked my chops at a chance to try it out on my system and review it.