PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC Instructions For Use Manual

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Owner’s Reference

Instructions for Use

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301

PH: 720.406.8946 support@psaudio.com www.psaudio.com 15-083-01-1

Rev A

Stellar Gain Cell DAC™

Owner’s Reference

Important Safety Instructions

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Read these instructions Heed all warnings Follow all instructions

WARNING. TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

Clean only with a dry cloth.

Do not place ﬂammable material on top of or beneath the component.

All PS Audio components require adequate ventilation at all times during operation. Rack mounting is acceptable where appropriate.

Do not remove or bypass the ground pin on the end of the AC cord unless absolutely necessary to reduce hum from ground loops of connected equipment. This may cause RFI (radio frequency interference) to be induced into your playback setup. All PS products ship with a grounding type plug. If the provided plug does not ﬁt into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

When making connections to this or any other component, make sure all components are off. Turn off all systems’ power before connecting the PS Audio component to any other component. Make sure all cable terminations are of the highest quality.

There are no user serviceable fuses inside this product.

THERE ARE NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE ANY PS AUDIO PRODUCT. REFER ALL SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL

Please contact your authorized dealer, distributor, or PS Audio if you have any questions not addressed in this reference manual.

PS Audio subsidiaries, and authorized agents.

is a registered trademark of PS Audio Inc., and is restricted for use by PS Audio, Inc., its

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Owner’s Reference

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Rev A

Introduction

Thank you for your purchase of the PS Audio® Stellar Gain Cell DAC, a high-performance instrument combining the best of two worlds: bit-perfect, high-resolution digital audio, with the purity and perfection of analog control and output.

The Stellar Gain Cell DAC (GCD) is ﬁrst and foremost a full function, standalone, high-resolution Digital to Analog Converter (DAC). Couple that with its built-in class A, pure analog preampliﬁer, and the beauty of the GCD as the center of a high-end music system becomes clear.

Stellar earns its name when it comes to performance

The low jitter, high-performance DAC built into the GCD is the work of our chief engineer, Bob Stadtherr, inventor of PS Audio’s core digital technology, the Digital Lens. Stadtherr has been designing and building high-end digital to analog converters for more than a quarter century. Elements of his design innovations have been incorporated in many of the best DACs on the market today. Stellar, his latest creation, is pure PS all the way: DSD, PCM, Digital Lens, passive analog ﬁltering, analog output stage.

Use the DAC in ﬁxed mode, or enjoy the added beneﬁts of analog control

At the heart of Stellar’s pure analog preampliﬁer circuitry is the Gain Cell, invented by PS Audio’s founder, Paul McGowan. The Gain Cell is a variable gain analog stage that removes the limitations inherent in volume controls of all kinds, including potentiometers, stepped attentuators, light dependent resistors, etc. Instead of routing the pure musical signal through one of these many devices to control output volume levels, the Gain Cell takes a different approach. The actual gain of the ampliﬁer is varied, thus preserving all the musical nuances.

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Your PS Audio Stellar GCD represents a major advancement in the art of recreating the musical event without breaking the bank. The sense of being “there” at the original performance, hearing the warmth and immediacy of the live performance is unmatched at anywhere near its price level. From the elegant physical appearance to its superb construction, your PS Audio GCD will provide you with years of musical enjoyment and pleasure.

The Stellar series is a system designed to be used together for best beneﬁt - although each of the components within that system can be used as standalone pieces.

We trust your new Stellar component will bring you many years of musical pleasure.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Introduction

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iii

Getting Started

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Front Panel View

1 2 3 4 5 6

PS Audio Logo Button

Input Selector and Setup Menu Button

Infared Remote Sensor 1/4” Headphone Jack

OLED Display

Volume Control

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Getting Started

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Rev A

Getting Started

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Rear Panel View

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Main Power Switch

AC Power Input

USB Input

TOSLINK Optical Input

RCA COAXIAL inputs

I2S Input

Balanced Right Output

Single Ended Right Output

12 Volt Trigger Output

Single Ended Left Output

Balanced Left Output

Single Ended Analog Input #3

Single Ended Analog Input #2

Single Ended Analog Input #1

Balanced Right Channel Analog Input

Balanced Left Channel Analog Input

Fuse Holder

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Getting Started

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Rev A

Owner’s Reference

Location

Digital Inputs

DoP

A good location for the Stellar Gain Cell DAC is in a cabinet or on a shelf at an easily accessible height.

The IR (infrared) receiver for the remote is located to the left of the Display Screen. A direct line of sight will help with Stellar Gain Cell DAC’s IR sensor.

The Stellar Gain Cell DAC and the Stellar S300 or M700’s were designed to stack on top of each other if they are not placed on separate shelves. To do this, carefully place the DAC on top unit so it rests on the amp. Do not remove the feet.

The Stellar Gain Cell DAC offers multiple digital input choices including: RCA, TOSLINK, USB, and I2S. All inputs, including USB, are capable of accepting high-deﬁnition digital audio signals. The TOSLINK input is capable of 96kHz, 24 bit audio. The COAX inputs are capable of up to 192kHz / 24 bit PCM., The USB can accept PCM up to 384kHz / 24 bit and up to DSD 128 DoP. The I2S input an accept PCM up to 384kHz / 24 bit and up to DSD 128.

DoP (DSD over PCM) is a standard allowing single rate DSD to travel over USB and I2S. Currently, to send DSD over USB the DSD ﬁles must ﬁrst be converted to DoP standards to travel this route. It is possible to send DSD ﬁles (without conversion to DoP) over Stellar Gain Cell DAC’s I2S inputs. Most programs, such as Roon and JRiver Media Center will automatically convert DSD ﬁles to the DoP standards on the ﬂy. There are no sonic penalties for conversion to DoP as the raw DSD data is unaffected by the process.

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Connecting the Stellar Gain Cell DAC’s Inputs

Connecting the Output

There are three methods of connecting the digital inputs of The Stellar Gain Cell DAC: S/PDIF, USB and I2S. S/PDIF is a serial digital interface available as an optical source (TOSlink) or coaxial source (RCA).

The Stellar Gain Cell DAC also has a built-in Analog Preamp with three inputs. Two single ended RCA stereo inputs and a set of balanced stereo inputs and shared, optional RCA inputs.

The Stellar Gain Cell DAC is designed to drive a power ampliﬁer directly, or as another input on a preampliﬁer. The Stellar Gain Cell DAC has two types of analog outputs, balanced XLR or single ended RCA. Be advised that most ampliﬁers and preampliﬁers will produce 6dB higher level with the balanced outputs relative to the single ended outputs. If you are using both outputs be advised they will be at different levels. Our preference for connection to a power ampliﬁer or preampliﬁer is through the balanced XLR outputs of the Stellar Gain Cell DAC.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Owner’s Reference

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Rev A

Owner’s Reference

Selecting an Input

Analog 1, 2 and 3

I2S Input

COAX 1 and 2

Optical

USB

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Press the menu select button directly to the left of the Display to select an Input. There are 8 inputs.

The Analog inputs 1, 2, and 3 are individually selectable. Selecting Analog 1 will enable the Balanced Analog input.

Input 4 is the I2S input. I2S is available through several manufacturers as well PS Audio equipment such as the DirectStream Memory Player. I2S is a parallel data connection with separate clocks and data and transferred via an HDMI cable. I2S will typically provide better performance than any serial data stream such as S/PDIF.

Inputs 5 and 6 are the Sony Phillips Digital Interface (S/PDIF) COAX inputs. They will be able to handle up to 192kHz 24bit PCM signals.

Input 7 is the Optical input. It will accept inputs up to 96kHz 24 bit PCM.

Input 8 is the USB input. If you are using USB, make sure both the computer and Stellar Gain Cell DAC are connected and powered up. USB requires a driver to operate properly. Mac computers running OSX have the driver built in. Windows based computers require the PS Audio driver to be installed. Download the driver from our website; it is the same driver used in all of our USB products. Stellar Gain Cell DAC will show up under Device Manager under a heading PS Audio USB 2.0 Audio Devices. You can obtain a copy of the Driver here:

Multiple Inputs

Adjusting the Volume

+12dB at 100

Connecting AC Power

http://www.psaudio.com/support/downloads/

You can connect one or all inputs at the same time. For instance, you can connect the USB input to your computer and the I2S input to your DirectStream Memory Player. Then you can simply choose which one to listen to leaving all of the sources connected.

The volume is adjusted by rotating the volume knob. The range is 0 - 100. If you are listening to playback through speakers the volume will stay where you leave it even after you power the unit off with the blue logo button. If you use headphones and the volume is set above 25, the volume will automatically reduce to 25 when the headphones are unplugged, protecting your speakers. If you power the Stellar Gain Cell DAC off using the rear power switch, once powered back on the volume will default back to 25.

With the volume set to 76 the Stellar Gain Cell DAC is a line level device. With the volume set 100 the Stellar Gain Cell DAC produces an output of +12dB. Bear this in mind when turning up the volume.

Once everything has been connected, use a high quality AC cable to power the Stellar Gain Cell DAC. PS Audio produces an entire line of high quality shielded power cables that are generally accepted as being some of the best in the industry. The power switch is located just to the left of the AC inlet. Turn the AC power switch in the rear of the Stellar Gain Cell DAC to the ON position. As soon as the Front Panel Logo Button is pressed the front panel will display a brief initializing screen. After the initializing screen, the display will show the volume at the default level of 25.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Owner’s Reference

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Rev A

Owner’s Reference

Menu Settings

Balance

Its a good idea to familiarize yourself with the different functions in the Stellar Gain Cell DAC’s menu. To access the Menu simply long press the menu selector button to the left of the Display. When the word Setup appears, release the button and the ﬁrst menu will appear. The menu will display for 7 seconds if no input is registered. After this the Stellar will default to the volume screen saving your settings. The ﬁrst menu you’ll see is the Fixed or Variable selection menu. In this menu you can set any of the digital inputs to either Fixed or Variable. Setting the input to Fixed bypasses the Stellar Gain Cell DAC’s preampliﬁer output and provides a line level signal without volume adjustment. Setting the input to Variable enables the Preamp and allow volume adjustment with the volume knob.

The next menu feature is the balance menu. Simply rotate the knob and the display will show the balance offset in dB. The offset is measured in 1/2 dB steps. The maximum offset is 48dB.

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Phase

Filtering

The next menu item is the phase setting. It can be set to normal or inverted by rotating the knob. This will invert the absolute phase (polarity) of the audio signal. This is the same thing as reversing the loudspeaker inputs, placing + to – and – to +. Phase reversal happens on many recordings, sometimes even within the same CD or DVD. If the track sounds a little “off ” try reversing the phase with this control.

The next menu item is the ﬁlter section. There are 3 selectable ﬁlters in the Stellar Gain Cell DAC. These ﬁlters have no effect on the analog sources. The ﬁlters only operate on PCM digital audio sources and do not affect DSD source material. Digital ﬁlters generally have a trade-off between how sharp the ﬁlter is and how much ringing results. A sharp ﬁlter allows the most high frequency signal to pass through, but at the expense of greater ringing. The ﬁlter you select will display as F- 1, 2 or 3 in the main volume screen.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Owner’s Reference

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Rev A

Owner’s Reference

Filter 1

Filter 2

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Filter 1: Slow Roll-off Linear Phase

This ﬁlter is the least sharp and has the least amount of ringing. There is a slight loss in high frequencies that may be noticeable with CDs and other 44.1KHz material. This should not be detectable at all with higher sample rate sources. Because it has very little ringing, we have found it to be the most musical sounding ﬁlter choice and we have made it the default ﬁlter for the Stellar.

Filter 2: Fast Roll-off Minimum Phase

This ﬁlter has better high frequency response than Filter 1, but more ringing as well. There is no preringing, so this is still a very musical sounding ﬁlter. Some people may prefer this ﬁlter for 44.1KHz source material.

Filter 3

Display Brightness

Filter 3: Fast Roll-off Linear Phase

This ﬁlter also has very good high frequency response. It has slightly less ringing than Filter 2, but it does exhibit pre-ringing. While this ﬁlter may actually measure the best in a laboratory, we found it be the most analytical sounding.

The next menu setting is the Display Brightness. Rotating the volume knob selects Bright, Normal, Dim or Auto. Auto will dectet outgoing signal from the DAC and turn on.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Owner’s Reference

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Rev A

Owner’s Reference

Display Time

Max Volume

The next menu setting is the Display Time setting screen. This is the amount of time the Display is on. Rotating the volume knob selects times from 10 seconds to 1 hour. Auto will turn off the display if no signal is detected.

The next menu setting is the Max Volume setting screen. Rotating the volume knob adjusts the maximum volume level from the Stellar Gain Cell DAC. Since the maximum output at 100 is +12dB you may need to put a limit on the output to protect your equipment from accidental overload depending on your speciﬁc system. This only affects the analog and balanced outputs.

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Max HP Volume

Home Theater Setup

Similar to Max Volume, Max HP Volume adjusts the maximum output from the headphone jack. Rotating the volume knob adjusts the maximum volume level from the Stellar Gain Cell DAC’s Headphone output. This feature is intended as a saftey precaution against hearing damage from listening to playback at high levels.

The next menu screen is Home Theater Setup (HT Setup). Channels are selected by rotating the volume knob. This feature allows you to select from one of the three analog inputs as a home theater pass-through input. The purpose of this function is to enable surround sound users a ﬁxed volume level when the input volume level is controlled outside the Stellar Gain Cell DAC. In some cases, home theater owners may share the front left and right loudspeakers with their home theater setup, enabling them to use the Stellar Gain Cell DAC as their 2-channel control center when playing music, then using the same left and right front channels when watching a ﬁlm.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Owner’s Reference

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Rev A

Owner’s Reference

Home Theater Setup

DAC Mode

Trigger

Long press the setting button to enter the edit screen. Here you can adjust the output by rotating the volume knob. Remember that 76 is line level and 100 is +12dB

Next up is the DAC Mode screen. This menu allows the user to enable just the line level output of the DAC by bypassing the Preamp. Rotate the Volume knob to enable or disable this setting. With this mode anabled you will not be able to adjust the volume. The Stellar Gain Cell DAC will output at line level. You should only use this feature if you have a dedicated Preamp in your signal chain.

Next is the Trigger screen. The trigger is a dual 12 Volt DC output found on the rear panel. It is intended for equipment that can be powered on with a DC trigger voltage. This screen adjusts the delay from the time the Stellar Gain Cell DAC is powered on and when the trigger output is activated. Rotate the volume knob to adjust the amount of delay in seconds.

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Name Edit

Version Screen

The Name Edit screen is where you can name the different inputs. Rotate the volume knob to select the input you would like to name. Then long press the selection button to enter the Edit screen.

Rotate the knob to move the characters horizontally along the bottom. The character in the farthest left position will populate to the name when you press the selection button. When you have named your input rotate the volume knob to the empty space. Repeatedly press the selection button to select spaces until the input name is ﬁll of characters. The Stellar Gain Cell DAC will save the name and exit the menu.

This is the ﬁrmware version screen. It displays the current version of ﬁrmware in your Stellar Gain Cell DAC. The ﬁrmware is not up datable in the ﬁeld.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Owner’s Reference

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Rev A

Troubleshooting

Unit Will Not Turn On

No Sound

Channel Imbalance

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

If the front panel lights and display are not functional, check to make sure you have the unit plugged into an AC outlet. Check to make sure the rear panel master power switch is in the UP and ON position. Press the front panel PS Audio Logo button, located on the far left corner of the preampliﬁer’s front panel.

Press the master ON button on the remote control.

If no sound comes out of the system with the Stellar Gain Cell DAC connected, there are several areas to check.

First check the Stellar Gain Cell DAC itself. Make sure you’re on the correct input. Push the select button to the left of the display. One push displays the input you’re currently on. Make certain that is the one you wish to be playing.

If you’re playing on loudspeakers, check to make sure you haven’t got a headphone or headphone jack plugged into the Stellar Gain Cell DAC’s headphone input. The preamp’s outputs are automatically disconnected when a headphone jack has been inserted.

If there is too much energy in one channel or the other, when you believe there should be equal levels per channel, check to make sure you haven’t inadvertently engaged the balance control. Be sure it is set to 0.

Volume Control is Unresponsive

If You Have Hum

If, for some reason, the volume control does not respond, it may mean you are in the HT (Home Theater) mode. You can verify this by checking the menu settings in the Setup HT menu. When in the HT mode, an HT will appear near the bottom of the Stellar Gain Cell DAC’s screen. Please refer to this manual’s section on setting the HT mode.

If you experience a hum through the speakers or the headphones this can be caused by several things. The ﬁrst is the source. If there is an excessive amount of buzz or noise from the loudspeaker, it may be caused by a ground loop, a light dimmer in the home, poor AC power, or any number of causes. The quickest way to determine where to start your search is to simply turn the Stellar Gain Cell off, disconnect the audio cables between it and the ampliﬁer, and see if the hum goes away when you turn the ampliﬁer back on. If it does, it’s most likely a a problem with you power ampliﬁer.

If you experience a hum through the speakers or the headphones this can be caused by several things. The ﬁrst is the source. If there is an excessive amount of buzz or noise be caused by a ground loop, a light dimmer in the home, poor AC power, or any number of causes. The quickest way to determine where to start your search is to simply turn the Stellar Gain Cell DAC off, disconnect the audio cables between it and the ampliﬁer, and see if the hum goes away when you turn the ampliﬁer back on. If it does, it’s most likely a problem with you power ampliﬁer. Please refer servicing questions to the manufacturer.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Troubleshooting

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Rev A

Troubleshooting

USB Not Connecting

USB – Stellar Gain Cell DAC not recognized, or no sound via USB

To play music from your computer into the Stellar Gain Cell DAC via USB you must have a driver installed that communicates with the Stellar Gain Cell DAC. On a Mac computer with OS X Yosemite the drivers are already available and the unit should be automatically recognized. You can then go and choose the PS Audio USB driver to play to by going to System Preferences->Sound and select the PS Audio Device. You can also go to Applications->Utilities->Audio Midi and select the driver as well as set the sample rate. Currently Windows operating systems do not come with appropriate USB audio driver software installed. You will need to download the PS Audio USB driver from the PS Audio website. You can also contact our support staff via email or phone or simply go to www.psaudio.com and click on the Downloads page for the download. You must then unzip the driver and install it on your Windows machine. Once installed, Windows will recognize the Stellar Gain Cell DAC and allow you to select it for playback from any program on your computer.

If you are unable to obtain sound via USB on a Windows based device it is most likely the result of a partial or incorrect driver installation.

You may have also experienced a pop-up window asking you to provide the correct driver. In any of these cases the remedy is quite simple. Remove the device and force Windows to reinstall the driver and the device. Stellar Gain Cell DAC will show up under device manager under “Sound video and game controllers” as “PS Audio”.

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Troubleshooting

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Rev A

Speciﬁcations

Stellar Gain Cell DAC Speciﬁcations

Color Options

Voltage Options

Black, Silver

Japan

Europe/Asia

Mains Power Input

Fuses

Accessories

100V

120V

230V

Line Cord(s) US (NEMA 5-15P) (all versions)

Included

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

100V

120V

230V

IEC C14

T250V-2.0AH (2A Slow Blow)

T250V-1.6AH (2A Slow Blow)

T250V-1.0AH (2A Slow Blow)

Schuko (CEE7/7) (230V version)

UK (BS1363) (230V version)

(+/- 10%)

Analog Audio Inputs

Digital Audio Inputs

Other Output

RCA (Unbalanced)

XLR (Balanced)

I2S PCM (384kHz max)

COAX

Optical

USB

Trigger Output (3.5mm 5-15VDC)

3 Stereo Pairs

1 Stereo Pair

DSD64 / DSD128

PCM (192kHz max)

PCM (96kHz max)

PCM (384kHz max)

DSD64 (DoP) / DSD128 (DoP)

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Rev A

Speciﬁcations

Stellar Gain Cell DAC Speciﬁcations

Performance

Unless otherwise noted, all measurements balanced with both channels operating, Volume set to 76 (unity gain), 1V

RMS

input.

Gain

Maximum Output

(1% THD) 20V

Sensitivity for Maximum Output

Input Impedance

RCA (Unbalanced)

XLR (Balanced)

12dB +/- 0.5dB

RMS

5.3V

RMS

47kΩ

100kΩ

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Output Impedance

Frequency Response

THD

S/N Ratio Noise

Channel Separation Input Separation

Power Consumption

RCA (Unbalanced)

XLR (Balanced)

1KHz

20Hz - 20KHz

1KHz

20Hz - 20KHz

1KHz

100kΩ

200kΩ

20Hz – 20KHz +/- 0.25dB

10Hz – 100KHz +0.1/-3.0dB

< 0.025%

< 0.05%

>110dB (max output)

<-90dBV

> 90dB

12 Watts

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Rev A

Speciﬁcations

Stellar Gain Cell DAC Speciﬁcations

Performance - Headphones

Output Power

S/N Ratio

(1% THD)

300Ω

16Ω

1KHz

Noise

THD 1 V

RMS

Out

1KHz

300Ω

16Ω

Output Impedance Spacer

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

300mW

3.25W

>95dB (max output)

<-80dBV

< 0.05%

< 0.06%

< 4Ω

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Rev A

Speciﬁcations

Mechanical Speciﬁcations

Width

Height

Depth

Weight

Shipping Width

Shipping Height

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

17.0”

2.8” (not including feet)

3.25” (including feet)

12.0” (chassis only)

13.0” (including connectors and knobs)

13.5 lbs

22”

8”

Shipping Depth

Shipping Weight

17”

17lbs

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Rev A

Warranty

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

Limited Three Year Warranty

Should I Register My Product?

• Registering your product validates the warranty start date.

• If you do not register your product within 30 days of service, a copy of your purchase receipt from an authorized PS

Audio dealer may be used as a proof of purchase to establish the warranty start date.

• If no proof of purchase from an authorized PS Audio dealer or registration is provided, the production date of the product will be used to determine the warranty start date.

• Registration can be completed online, by phone, by mail, or by email.

• You may wish to sign up for PS Audio’s monthly newsletters, specials, product updates, and/or Paul’s Daily Posts.

What Does this Warranty Cover?

This warranty covers defects in material and workmanship for products purchased from PS Audio or its authorized dealers and agents.

What Will PS Audio Do to Correct the Problem?

In the event your product fails your sole remedy under this limited warranty shall be to return the product to PS Audio or an authorized PS Audio repair center. The product will be repaired without charge for parts or labor, replaced, or the purchase price refunded through the original point of purchase, at the option of PS Audio.

What is the Period of Coverage?

This limited warranty is in effect for 3 years from the date the unit was ﬁrst purchased from PS Audio or its dealers and agents.

Who Pays for Shipping?

You are responsible to pay for the safe and proper shipment of the warrantied product to PS Audio or its authorized repair center.

PS Audio or it’s authorized repair center will pay the cost of returning the repaired or replacement product to you under this warranty.

What Does this Warranty Not Cover?

• This warranty does not cover damage due to: Accidents, carelessness, improper transportation, misuse, neglect, or abuse

• Failure to follow the operating instructions that are provided by PS Audio in the owner’s manuals (available for download at psaudio.com)

• Use in any manner inconsistent with PS Audio’s operating instructions (available for download at psaudio.com)

• Lack of routine maintenance

• Connection to an improper voltage supply

• Alterations or modiﬁcations to the unit

• Improper or unauthorized repair, including repairs not authorized by PS Audio or a PS Audio authorized repair center

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Rev A

Warranty

• Fire, lightning, ﬂood, “acts of God,” or other contingencies beyond the control of PS Audio

• Products purchased through an unauthorized source (if you have questions as to whether or not a dealer is

authorized, please contact customer support at psaudio.com)

• Products with a factory-applied serial number that has in any way been altered, defaced, or removed

Limitations on PS Audio’s Obligations Under this Warranty

• In no event will PS Audio’s liability to you exceed the original purchase price of the unit.

• This warranty does not cover the cost of custom installation, customer instruction, setup adjustments, or signal

reception problems.

• This warranty does not cover consequential and incidental damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.

• In the event your warrantied product cannot be repaired, PS Audio will replace or refund the unit. We reserve the right to replace any out-of-stock, discontinued, or limited edition products with a comparable product. Discontinued products may not be available for warranty replacement.

How Can the Warranty be Transferred?

This warranty is for the beneﬁt of the original purchaser of the product. The warranty may be transferred to a subsequent purchaser during the 3 year warranty period. To do this, you must contact PS Audio directly to set up transfer of registration.

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

How Do I Get Warranty Service?

To locate an authorized PS Audio repair center, for service assistance, or for help with the operation of a product or just for information, please contact PS Audio customer support.

Warranty Service Within the US

• You must ﬁrst obtain a Return Merchandise Authorization Number (RMA#) to receive warranty service and prior to returning any item. Contact PS Audio or an authorized PS Audio repair center to receive an RMA#.

• You must put the RMA# on all returns. If it is not clearly marked, PS Audio will return the package back to you, freight collect.

• You should include a description of the problem, along with the RMA# inside the packaging.

• Original packaging should be used for the safe transit of your PS Audio unit to the repair center. If you do not have

the original packing, PS Audio can sell and ship to you replacement packaging.

• You are responsible for the cost of shipping the product to a PS Audio authorized repair center. You should insure the product for its full retail cost in the event it gets lost or damaged in transit. PS Audio is not responsible for damage incurred in products sent to us.

• Shipping your product in non-PS Audio packaging may void this warranty. PS Audio reserves the right to charge you for new factory packaging to return your product after a repair.

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Warranty

PH: 720.406.8946 support@psaudio.com www.psaudio.com 15-083-01-1

Rev A

Warranty

How State Law Applies

This warranty gives you speciﬁc legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

Warranty Service Outside of the US

PS Audio has authorized distribution in many countries of the world. In each country, the authorized importing distributor has accepted the responsibility for warranty of products sold by that distributor. Warranty service should be obtained where the product was purchased.

Changes to Our Products

PS Audio reserves the right to modify the design of any product without obligation to purchasers of previously manufactured products and to change the prices or speciﬁcations of any products without notice or obligation to any person.

PS Audio Inc. 4826 Sterling Dr. Boulder, CO 80301 Phone - 720.406.8946 Fax - 720.406.8967 Email - support@psaudio.com Web - psaudio.com

Owner’s Reference Stellar Gain Cell DAC

4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 Warranty

PH: 720.406.8946 support@psaudio.com www.psaudio.com 15-083-01-1

Rev A

Notes

PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC Instructions For Use Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual