PS AUDIO STELLAR GAIN CELL DAC

The Stellar GainCell DAC combines the benefits of an exceptional analog preamplifier and a full-featured DAC. It's affordable excellence.

The analog preamplifier is the heart and soul of any high-performance audio system. It’s the point in a system where music’s magic can be won or lost. For more than 45 years, PS Audio has been building preamplifiers that honor the music and preserve the magic. The Stellar Gain Cell DAC is no exception. It features fully balanced class A analog circuitry from input to output, along with a state of the art DAC that ensures perfect symmetry between analog and digital. Rediscover the wealth of music in your library, with Stellar. Rich, sweet, and always a musical treat, Stellar GainCell DAC is our best value in bringing life to music.

Inizio modulo

DESIGN

The idea of building a no-loss analog preamplifier with its own built-in cutting edge DAC was the basis of the Stellar GainCell design imperative. At this instrument's heart is the analog GainCell. Rather than using additional sonically-degrading elements inserted in the signal path to control volume, the GainCell eliminates this problem without additional circuitry in the signal path by varying its gain in response to front panel controls. Based on industry leading Sabre32 bit Hyperstream architecture, Stellar DAC features a fully balanced Class A analog output stage with multiple power supplies, independent jitter-reduced inputs, DSD, I2S, and asynchronous USB.

APPLICATION

The Stellar GainCell DAC is a full function analog preamplifier featuring a state of the art built in Digital to Analog Converter inside. It is all you need as the basis of a reference quality music system. Add a power amplifier and a pair of loudspeakers and you'll be reveling in sonic bliss within moments. Connect a computer, CD player, or digital source to any of Stellar's multiple digital inputs, or a Stellar Phono Preamplifier to its analog ins, and you've just built one of the highest value music systems in the world.

Think of the Stellar GainCell DAC as a complete analog control center with an exceptional performing DAC at its heart. All the features and functions you’d ever want in an analog preamplifier and modern DAC are right here in Stellar. A zero-loss, fully balanced, pure, analog signal path combined with DAC features rarely found at any price level: pure DSD, asynchronous USB, Digital Lens technology, I²S to connect to our best transport, balanced throughout. Replace your preamplifier, your DAC—or both—and be stunned at the level of improvement when the full and rich tapestry of music surprises and delights your senses. Together, or separately, they create an extraordinarily rich, full-bodied musical experience few standalone products can match. The Stellar Gain Cell is the perfect foundation for those unwilling to compromise sound quality. Rich. Lush. Powerful. A music lover’s answer to spiraling cost-no-object equipment without sacrifice. In the more than forty years of PS Audio’s design innovations and breakthrough products, Stellar’s groundbreaking level of performance as our gateway standalone DAC and preamplifier is unmatched for price and performance by their standalone competitors. Taken together, we’re willing to bet you’ve never heard anything quite this good at anywhere even remotely close to this price.

Features

CLASS A BALANCED ANALOG PREAMPLIFIER

FULL FUNCTION DAC

CLASS A HEADPHONE OUTPUT

FIXED OR VARIABLE DAC MODE

ANALOG GAIN CELL STAGE

BALANCED XLR OUTPUT

HOME THEATER BYPASS

DIGITAL LENS TECHNOLOGY

THREE SELECTABLE DIGITAL FILTERS

CPLD (FPGA) INPUT

HIGH-CURRENT OVERSIZED ANALOG POWER SUPPLY

ESS HYPERSTREAM

NO CAPACITORS IN OUTPUT SIGNAL PATH

HIGH CURRENT CLASS A HYBRID OUTPUT STAGE

SINGLE AND DOUBLE RATE DSD

DSD DIRECT THROUGH I2S

Specifications