Phono Preamp Reviews

What I heard at home more or less confirmed what I heard at RMAF (though the home experience was considerably better than the already fine performance I heard under typically lousy show conditions)—that is, once the "whining, beeping, buzzing" issues had been solved. That's not a product indictment! It's more about Myers's "no compromise" design philosophy, which is well documented in the instruction manual: As I immediately discovered, and as Myers and Leebens also heard, the Stellar is extremely sensitive to grounding, ultralow-capacitance cables, RF, and other kinds of interference.

High-quality, well-shielded cables and careful cable positioning and grounding solved every issue I encountered, including an alarming "whistle" when I tried Luminous Audio's super-low–capacitance interconnects (which I really like!) between the VPI HW-40 and the Stellar Phono. (Substituting Analysis Plus Silver Oval, which I also really like in spite of its being less open on top, solved the problem.) I also encountered motor noise pick up using the SAT CF1-09 tonearm's hard-wired cables—adjusting cable placement cleared that up—and buzzing that I solved by running a ground wire from the VPI's ground lug to the Stellar Phono's. My point: If you audition this phono preamp and run into these issues, don't fret and don't blame the Stellar. They are solvable.

But is it worth going to all that trouble?

As I mentioned above, what I heard at the show was confirmed by what I heard at home: The midrange on this phono preamp is as open, uncongested, transparent, and revealing as that of any phono preamp I've heard at any price.

How's that for a "pull quote"? But it's true, not hyperbole, and I stand by it. In the midrange department, the Stellar Phono is the darTZeel of phono preamplifiers. Considering the price differential, that's saying a lot!

Because of its openness, transparency, and freedom from midband congestion, the Stellar did tell me some things I didn't already know, on many recordings. Small, subtle-though-significant things that surprised me. Sure, it could have just been slight frequency anomalies compared to my reference electronics. (John Atkinson's measurement will be interesting, footnote 1).

As I played more favorite records, I kept hearing familiar things with a slightly different twist—like putting the accent in a different place on a familiar word or seeing a familiar object from a slightly different perspective. Not what I was expecting from a modestly priced phono preamp.

At RMAF, I played the test pressing of the first movement of the upcoming Bruckner Symphony No.7 recording with Bernard Haitink conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, and the crowd sat through the entire movement, clearly enthralled (despite the noise outside the room) by the recording's insane transparency, three-dimensionality, textural delicacy, and airiness. The string sound is to die for, and the Stellar captured and unleashed all of it.

At home, using the Ortofon Anna Diamond cartridge on the SAT arm, the result was sensational and fully corroborated Myers's claim that his design was "innately transparent and present(s) the music with a correct display of tonal balance." It did that and more. The brass on the Bruckner was equally glorious, sacrificing none of its "bite" in service of string tone.

Nor was transient performance diminished. Through the Stellar Phono, the Dave Rawlings Machine's all-analog, string-driven (acoustic guitars, mandolin, fiddle, and string section) Nashville Obsolete (Acony ACNY-1512LP) delivered all of what I assume producer David Rawlings intended, especially in terms of the clean, shiver-inducing acoustic guitar transients.

The Side One closer, "The Trip," is a very long, "Desolation Row"–like (or "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands"–like) downer tune that climaxes with a furious (though intensely pleasing) onslaught of acoustic strings that the Stellar delivered with full transient clarity and instrumental separation while never turning it mushy or hard. It got this just right. I wish Mr. Rawlings could hear his production through this system, with this phono preamp. The RMAF attendees did, and one came up to me and said, "That was long, repetitive, and seemed to go on forever, but once 'locked in,' I couldn't not listen." Exactly.

Yet when I switched to Joel Ross's new mallet-driven Blue Note release, King Maker (Blue Note B003046301), the vibraphone's round, bell-like transients weren't softened or diminished in intensity, nor was the decay shortchanged.

When Darren Myers visited my home, I played him some things that he was unfamiliar with, like the Move's rousing "Tonight," from the UK compilation California Man (Harvest SHSP 4035), which features masses of strummed acoustic guitars, electric slide guitar, joyous vocal harmonies, and a rousing, slamming finale. Through lesser phono preamps it can sound congealed, confused, cacophonous, and "meh"—or worse, it can sound harsh, as the hard strums can turn edgy. Not so through the Stellar Phono.

I also played, for Myers and Leebens, "Transfusion" from John Renbourn's Sir John Alot . . . (UK Transatlantic TRA 167), which features one of the most transparent and pristine recordings of a glockenspiel you'll ever hear, along with finger cymbals and various exotic drums accompanying Renbourn's guitar, all set in three-dimensional relief against a black background. "Insane!" Myers exclaimed. And that it was, though through lesser gear it can sound bland and very sane, or disappointingly coarse and edgy.

This is one of the records that, upon hearing it for the first time through the original SAT CF1-09, got me to drain the bank account for that very expensive tonearm. The $2500 Stellar Phono did not diminish the experience.

Dynamics and bass extension
The Stellar's portrayal of microdynamics, the small shifts in volume that let music breathe, left little to be desired. The Stellar got that part so right, especially noticeable on the aforementioned Bruckner.

The Stellar gave way somewhat on macrodynamic expression and "slam," yielding to the far costlier phono preamps here (costing up to 20 times as much) on ultimate bottom- end extension and grip—something you'll only notice and/ or miss if your system has full or near-full bottom-end extension and grip. The Stellar's bottom end was, however, very well-extended, well-focused, forceful, and not at all wimpy.

While I thoroughly enjoyed through the Stellar the double 45rpm Mobile Fidelity "One Step" edition of Monk's Dream by the Thelonious Monk Quartet (UD1S2-011), especially Charlie Rouse's jagged sax riffs, when I switched back to one of my references (the CH Precision P1/X1) I heard the slam, crackle, and sizzle of Frankie Dunlop's drum kit that the Stellar somewhat diminished—but not to where I noticed it until I made the change.

Even on Tyler, the Creator's highly entertaining and well-crafted album Igor (Columbia 19075965221), where the synth bass is probably wider than it is deep, the Stellar lost a bit to the far more costly references, more in terms of weight than extension. But until the swap I didn't feel as if anything on bottom was lacking.

I could cite a half-dozen more references to jazz, rock, chamber, and symphonic music I listened to through the Stellar Phono over the weeks I had it in the system, using it with the Continuum Caliburn turntable/SAT CF1-09 tonearm, the HW-40 turntable/Fatboy tonearm, and, at the very end, the Air Force One Premium/Graham Elite combo—all far beyond the Stellar's pay grade. But, rather than go through that list, I'll just reiterate and certify as true what Myers said in his manual note: "(The Stellar is) innately transparent and present(s) the music with a correct display of tonal balance."

Conclusion
I spent a great deal of time listening to and enjoying this $2500 phono preamp—not enjoying it "for the price" but just enjoying listening to music, oblivious to its price and that of the product it stood in for, be it the Ypsilon VP100 (silver edition) phono preamp/MC16LSUT step-up transformer combination or the CH Precision P1 phono preamplifier/X1 power supply combination, both of which cost more than 20 times as much.

I left the Stellar Phono in the system far longer than needed for me to draw conclusions, because I found listening to it pleasurable, particularly its midrange clarity, transparency, textural and tonal richness, and accurate and generous spatial performance. It's a preamp you want to listen to.

With up to 72dB of gain, >74dB A-weighted S/N ratio, and unlimited loading options, the Stellar should partner well with any MC cartridge out there now and probably ever.

Aside from the aforementioned areas where it falls somewhat short of the best out there, were there any other sonic areas worth criticizing? I have to reach to find anything, but I'll say that the midrange might be slightly over ripe, though its transparency and freedom from congestion mitigate that as an issue. In the PS Audio room, using a cartridge that would normally load at 60 or 100 ohms, we found 200 ohms sounded best, and that's what I found at home as well. I'd say unless you like really rich and ripe, you're better off pairing the Stellar with a neutral or even a lean, not-rich– sounding cartridge. Myers used among his references the Ortofon A90—one of my favorites, so I used that for some listening and found it to be a fabulous combo (loaded at 200 ohms)—but so was the Stellar Phono when paired with the Lyra Atlas SL and with less costly cartridges like the $1800 Goldring Ethos.

I recommend a listen to the Stellar to anyone in the market for a new phono preamp, regardless of price. I don't think I've ever written that before. Like darTZeel's clever engineer Hervé Delétraz, Myers designs using a deft combination of technical knowhow and careful listening, more interested in the sonic outcome than in getting the absolute best measured performance. In my view, that's a winning approach.

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Footnote 1: As you can see in the measurements section, JA called the RIAA response "superbly accurate."