PS Audio StellarGold DAC – A D/A converter that sets new standards
PS Audio is extremely euphoric about the presentation of the new PS Audio StellarGold DAC, as it is a D/A converter from the PS Audio Stellar Series that has what it takes to set a new standard.
- PS Audio is now expanding the PS Audio Stellar Series with a new D/A converter, the PS Audio StellarGold DAC.
It is outstanding technology that serves as the basis for the new PS Audio StellarGold DAC, is how PS Audio describes the latest addition to the PS Audio Stellar Series. The Boulder-based company promises that every effort has been made to realise a solution that sets new standards in its class.
The PS Audio StellarGold DAC is a so-called Octo DAC in combination with a pure Class A output stage, making it a solution that can justifiably be described as a state-of-the-art converter.
Octo DAC – Four parallel ESS DACs per channel
It is above all one feature that makes the new PS Audio StellarGold DAC so unique, as PS Audio emphasises, namely that the design is based on several DACs per channel, four in number. PS Audio therefore also refers to the solution as an Octo DAC.
The DACs come from the specialist ESS Technology Inc., specifically ESS ES9039Pro DAC components.
According to PS Audio, this should achieve breathtaking results, as the use of several high-precision DACs results in particularly low noise and reduces crosstalk between the channels, as well as increasing linearity, resolution and dynamic range, resulting in outstanding precision and detail.
The aforementioned fully balanced, discrete hybrid output stage, which is used in the new PS Audio StellarGold DAC and combines JFET with BJT, is of course also intended to contribute to this.
32 bit 768 kHz and DSD256
The new PS Audio StellarGold DAC is able to process signals in Linear PCM with up to 32 bit and 7568 kHz, and it is also capable of processing signals in DSD, with the spectrum extending up to DSD256.
S/PDIF, USB, I2S and AES/EBU
Of course, the new PS Audio StellarGold DAC is not lacking in interfaces; in fact, everything is available here to integrate digital sources in a wide variety of ways. The rear of the converter not only features one optical and two coaxial S/PDIF interfaces, one AES/EBU and two I2S interfaces designed as HDMI, but also a USB port, whereby this is a USB-B for direct connection to a PC or Mac.
Incidentally, both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR are available for the outputs, and in addition to 12 V trigger, PS Link is also available on the rear.
With dimensions of 43,18 x 7,62 x 30,48 cm, the new PS Audio StellarGold DAC weighs in at 10,2 kg and is available in either black or silver.
Price and availability
The new PS Audio StellarGold DAC should already be available from specialist retailers these days, and, as just mentioned, in black or silver. The manufacturer’s recommended retail price is € 4.799,-.
Getting to the point
The US high-end hi-fi manufacturer PS Audio is convinced that this is a D/A converter that is unrivalled because it delivers such fine results that have never before been achieved in its price range, with the latest solution in the PS Audio Stellar Series, the PS Audio StellarGold DAC. The company from Boulder, Colorado, even says that the PS Audio StellarGold DAC sets new standards far beyond its class.
| PRODUCT | PS AUDIO STELLARGOLD DAC |
|---|---|
| Price | € 4.799,- |
| Brand | PS AUDIO |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | PS Audio |
| Distribution Austria | Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH |
| Distribution Germany | HiFi 2 die 4 |
| More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG |
