Donald North Audio Stellaris - The Experience

There's potentially an Elrog in my future, which I'm now extra curious about

 

@earnmyturns Are you able to hear a persistent low level hum with the Stellaris/Takatsuki 2a3/Utopia combination? My replacement pair has started to have some noise and I'm wondering if it's worth sending back.

 

No hum on Stellaris/Tak/various ZMF headphones. Have you adjusted the pots on the Stellaris to minimize hum? Can you zero the hum with other 2A3 tubes?

 

The null pots don't mitigate the hum. I only can discern the hum with the Utopias (none with the hd800/650s), and have confirmed from two other Stellaris users that the Taks hum specifically with the Utopias. I've found luck using the herbie dampers, but haven't been able to get rid of it completely. I suspect since the ZMFs have a lower sensitivity it's a non issue for you.

I get absolutely zero hum with Linlai, Acme 2a3.

 

If anyone is looking to reduce the gain a bit and get more use on the knob, check out the 6CG7 input tubes. (Donald recommended). I tried both a Tungsol and a Sylvania. I prefer the Sylvania which is a bit warmer with more low end. The Tungsol is a very neutral tube.

Both are insanely quiet...by far the quietest input tubes I have for Stratus. I'm sure this would be similar on the Stellaris, but you would need to try for yourself. Thankfully they are pretty damn cheap tubes, like less than 20 bucks each.

 

The 6F8G is even lower gain right? I just got a bunch to try on my ZDS. First one that has come in the mail has a lot of buzz. Unfortunately the most expensive one - a “super rare” type of Tung Sol

 

Sorry, damn phone switched some numbers around. I meant 6CG7 variants. That is used as the 9 pin input tube. I believe the 6F8G you mentioned is a 6s97 equivalent and wouldn't be used in a Stratus or Stellaris.

 

Oh cool I have a bunch of these from experiments with my Liquid Glass. I’m assuming all of these work?

6CG7
6FQ7
6GU7

Would you mind sharing what adapter is needed to use these tubes?

 

I am only sure that 6CG7 is compatible. Might want to check with Donald on the others. No adapter is needed.

 

First of all, thanks to all the impressions here and there on the other DNA owner thread, quite a lot learned after crawling though all the posts in the past several days.

As a current owner of a V2 Stratus, I am wondering if any experienced DNA owners have had direct listening comparisons of Stellaris vs Stratus V4(AN OPT) vs Stratus V2/V3?

To my understanding, the transformers are just as important, if not more, as the tubes sonically, but I couldn't find it out myself sadly out there chances are rare to demo the DNA amps.

 

I'm am currently comparing a Stellaris to a V3 Stratus, you have excellent timing with this question. I'm finding the Stellaris brighter and not as full-bodied as the Stratus. So much that I don't like the tuning of the Stellaris. Obviously my taste on this doesn't seem to match most of SBAF (at least those that have heard the Stellaris) so take it with a grain of salt. I also need to do some tube experimentation to see if that helps but I doubt that would change the character of the Stellaris enough to sway my strong preference for the V3 Stratus. That said, if you're into resolution the Stellaris is a treat, so much detail and nuance that I didn't know existed. Definitely the most resolving amp I've heard, I'd recommend pairing with super resolving headphones to get the most out of it.

In case this helps with your comparison, I also don't like the tuning of the Eddie Current Aficionado nor Studio B but I do like the Zana Deux and Black Widow.

 

Thanks for the impressions, sounds like I might fall in love with Stellaris tuning more. Not a good signal for my wallet ugh.

Mind sharing what tubes you are using on both? I hear people mentioning a good tube combination on Stratus(non AN OPT) might just be mediocre on Stellaris, but I doubt the difference would be day and night... Thanks again.

 

In another thread it was mentioned that we need to be careful with posting about some tubes with good pricing to prevent dealers noticing and jacking them up. Apparently they sometimes trawl forums to do this. Once I've finished trying some combinations I'll send you a DM with my thoughts.

Also if you don't get a DM in the next 3-4 days feel free to send me a reminder DM.

 

Just an aside, but maybe there's an opportunity to open a thread in the member's forum to quietly discuss tube rolling without negatively affecting the market for specific tubes? We've all read the Sylvania Bad Boy 6SN7 idiocy that (IMHO) started a bunch of the rocket-to-the-moon pricing on certain tubes that aren't necessarily very special.

 

Despite my tuning preferences, I strongly agree with all the recommendations for the Elrog rectifier for either the Stellaris or Stratus. It’s very resolving, clean, neutral, and the least fatiguing option I tried in the Stellaris. Same for the Stratus outside of the fatigue comment since fatigue is not an issue for me there. The Elrog is my favorite rectifier in either amp though my other Stratus favorite is a very close second and is a much cheaper vintage option.

 

SBAF has long been my reference for headphone-related info, ever since the OG Utopia came out. Given the plentiful coverage that headphone got here, I seem to have lucked out on an easy upgrade path for said headphone, which remains my favorite to this day. The way it pulls me into the music, the dynamic characteristics and ability to portray depth, are things that are most important to me.

As I've gotten older and a bit more financially stable, I've proceeded to go up the chain of amps for the Utopia. Started with a still lovely Luxman P-1u, moved to the even better Luxman P-750u, moved to the Ferrum OOR, and then to the Eddie Current Studio Jr. (with upgraded Elrog 300B Mo tubes). Each of those amps left an imprint on me, but while as a whole they were upgrades, it did seem to feel like I was leaving out things that the previous amp did well in favor of the new amp doing a few more things better. In short, better yes, but with compromises.

The EC Studio Jr. was excellent in its own right. If I had to describe it, it had a solid-state sound, with tube sensibilities, particularly with the ability to project depth, staging and tactile images. That said, the more I used it, I was pining for some of the more natural warmth of the Luxmans, especially with things like voices. There was also a hardness to note edges that while impressive upon a few minutes of listening, can get a bit tiring over the long haul. It was like applying the sharpness filter to images just a tad too much. I am guessing the Elrogs were a bit too good in the resolution department, and the matching with the already dry SJR was not optimal for longer sessions.

I'm 35 years old now, with a wife and son. Things progressed so fast that when I stopped by to think about it, I kinda wanted to put things behind me, the endless upgrade-itis to this hobby being one of them. And so with that in mind, a year ago, I finally decided to email @Donald North to hopefully finish this headphone journey. Enter Stellaris.

Never have I been so excited to get an amp. Even without listening to it, I've always loved the Smurf blue color of the DNA amps. I've always leaned towards brighter colors, with distinctive design charms, and this amp has IT. It's something I'm proud to show off to friends, with the build quality to match its striking looks. Donald has clearly put a lot of love into making the amp. Each part feels very solid, polished and built to last; something that clearly screams "I'm worth that $9000 you spent, AND MORE!" This is one impressive piece of kit, possibly the most beautiful piece of audio jewelry I own.

Enough of the rambling. How does it sound? Getting this out of the way first. The differences between the Stellaris and SJR were very apparent upon first listen. There couldn't be more opposite directions a tube amp can go to than these two. There is clearly a flavor each amp leans toward; not that any is better than the other, but if you lean towards a more neutral, faithful listen, the Eddie Current will be right up your alley. The Stellaris has a more romantic, bold, colored sound; like an Instagram photo dabbed with a bit of a filter, but in a positive way. While the SJR conveys things in an upright manner, the Stellaris conveys the feeling of things, the message of the song and the emotions of the artist.

It's so hard to put things into a technical score here, because when I listen to the Stellaris, things don't flow in terms of treble, mids, bass. I'm concentrated on the music as a whole, not in terms of parts. I suppose, it doesn't really scream I'm the best at this one thing, but put all of the things together and I'm the most expressive, soulful, musically involving amp you will ever own. I remember a comment here about the Stellaris being able to render inflections and changes in pitch in voices. That is very much true of this amp. I've never listened to an amp where the emotions of the artists were as easily accessible as with the Stellaris. Again, it really isn't about bestest in technical awards here, and while it can go toe to toe in that regard, the ability to portray and to communicate the point of the music stands out.

There is a fatness and wetness to the sound of the Stellaris that meshes extremely well with the Utopia. It's not a particularly airy amp, but that also plays off well here. There's just enough shimmer up top without being overdone. The bass is certainly on the thicker side, and some people may not love how it's done here, but I feel quite comfortable with the lows. There's other amps that are tighter, and reach lower, but in terms of overall synergy, this bass works quite well with the Focals. Yet, despite all of this, the Stellaris still feels quite nimble and absolutely in control. It's like a 300-lb super heavyweight wrestler, with the speed of a cruiserweight. It does things it shouldn't be able to do. Macro and microdetail retrieval are the best I've heard the Utopias on, and while the Stellaris absolutely shines with vocals, it's also easily as capable of instrument separation in the background. There's a calm and ease to the sound that belies the large images it throws out. And because it's on the warmer side of the spectrum, I feel that the metallic Beryllium tinge of the Utopias is perfectly subdued here. I'm not saying they are on the same level, but at least on this aspect of Beryllium metal taming, it reminds me quite a bit of the Feliks Euforia here, but without the detail smearing involved. In terms of staging, I would rank it right up there, at least with the Utopias. It doesn't cast a particularly defined outline of the space, but it's similar to being right in the middle of the venue, but not having any feeling that you're listening to the music through a pair of drivers. It's not what you'd call a traditional headphone stage, but I do appreciate how it makes me feel like there's no metaphorical borders in my head and ears while listening to the music.

I guess I've rambled a bit too much here already, but getting this amp has sort of been a life chronicle of some sorts. I wanted to get this amp to put a stamp on my headphone life. @purr1n said it best. There's no point to sidegrades when you've reached the mountaintop. Given that SBAF hasn't failed me with the amp recommendations with the Utopia over the years, I felt very confident in making the huge leap, both psychologically and financially, to owning a Stellaris. Thank you everyone for the knowledge, the write-ups, the reviews and the honesty over the years. It feels very good reaching the summit and what a view it is -- a very nice Smurf blue view.