PS Audio Stellar DAC

PS Audio Stellar DAC

Stellar DAC brings wonderful imaging and musicality to any high-performance system at a price you can afford. Stellar DAC embodies everything PS Audio has strived for in high-value electronics. From its clean and rich tonal balance to its wickedly wonderful imaging, this DAC can be the centerpiece of your music system. Stellar DAC features a built-in Digital Lens, I²S inputs, adjustable filters, and a hand-matched class-A analog output stage that offers breathtaking clarity and musicality. Rediscover the wealth of music in your library with Stellar. Rich, sweet, and always a musical treat, Stellar DAC is our best value in bringing life to music.

The idea of building an affordable, high-performance Digital to Analog Converter that can act as the center of an audiophile's music system was at the core of our engineering efforts with Stellar DAC. At this instrument's heart is the industry-leading Sabre32 bit Hyperstream Digital to Analog converter as fed by PS Audio's own Digital Lens reclocking circuit. Once the incoming digital audio data has been accumulated and organized, the Digital Lens outputs near-perfect data without jitter for an amazingly clear and clean image. Stellar DAC features a fully balanced Class A analog output stage with multiple power supplies, DSD, I²S, and asynchronous USB. Stellar DAC is a winner in any system.

The Stellar DAC is a full-function Digital Analog Converter that can take in any digital source, from DSD to PCM, and output low distortion, high-resolution fully balanced analog. It is all you need as the basis for a reference quality digitally based music system. Add a power amplifier and a pair of loudspeakers, and using Stellar DAC's built-in lossless volume control, you'll be reveling in sonic bliss within moments. Connect a computer, CD player, streamer, AirLens, or digital source of any kind to any of Stellar's multiple digital inputs, and you've just built one of the highest-value music systems in the world.

At the heart of the Stellar DAC is its ESS Hyperstream and its fully balanced, class A gain stage. While numerous DACs employ ESS parts, no one but PS Audio surround those parts with our Digital Lens technology at its input and our hybrid class A gain stage at its output. Turns out that much of how a DAC performs and sounds is found in the way its input and output are handled. Engineers can tune an instrument's performance by varying the topologies of these two critical stages. At PS Audio, we focus our sonic efforts on imaging—helping the loudspeakers disappear— and proper, rich, tonal balance. One listen to the Stellar DAC and you'll know you're in good company.

PS Audio Stellar DAC Specifications:

• Analog Audio Output (Critical Listening Quality)
  • Connector: RCA single-ended, XLR balanced
  • Output Level High, Maximum: 4 VRMS Balanced / 2 VRMS Single Ended
  • Output Impedance: 100Ω / 200Ω
  • Frequency Response: 20Hz–20kHz ±0.1dB, 10Hz–55kHz -1dB
  • Max Output: 4V RMS Balanced, 2V RMS Single Ended
  • THD+N @ 1KHz (Full Scale): <0.003%
  • IMD: <0.004%, CCIF, full output
  • SNR: 110dB, referenced to 4V RMS
• Digital Audio Inputs (Versatility & Resolution Support)
  • I2S (2): PCM 44.1kHz–384kHz, DSD64/128/256
  • Coax (2): PCM 44.1kHz–192kHz
  • Optical (1): PCM 44.1kHz–192kHz
  • USB (1): PCM 44.1kHz–384kHz, DSD64/128 (native & DoP)
• Digital Processing / DAC / Data Handling
  • DAC Chip: ES9018K2M
  • Format: PCM or DSD
  • Sample Rates (PCM): 44.1kHz to 384kHz
  • Word Length (PCM): 16–32 bit
  • Data Rate (DSD): Up to DSD256 (11.2MHz) Native
  • Digital Volume Control: Yes
• Digital Inputs (Interface Details)
  • I2S Input:
    • Connector: HDMI
    • Format: PCM or DSD, DoP and Native DSD
  • USB Input:
    • Connector: USB "B" Type
    • Format: PCM, DoP v1.1 (DSD over PCM), Native DSD
    • Transfer Mode: Asynchronous
• Power Requirements
  • Input Power: Model-specific 100VAC / 120VAC / 230VAC, 50 or 60Hz
  • Power Consumption: 25W
• Physical (Size, Build, Aesthetic)
  • Unit Weight: 22.5 lbs [10.2 kg]
  • Unit Dimensions: 17"W x 3"H x 12"D (43.18 cm x 7.62 cm x 30.48 cm)
• Shipping (Logistics, Less Relevant)
  • Shipping Weight: 26 lbs [11.8 kg]
  • Shipping Dimensions: 22"W x 8"H x 17"D (55.88 cm x 20.32 cm x 43.18 cm)
• Cosmetic Options
  • Color Options: Black, Silver