Audiophilepure

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2021/7/16/ps-audio-stellar-strata

I relied on the assumption that the version available on streaming services came from the same master as my CD. Ohio is impeccably produced and sounded great through the analog outputs of the Yamaha, just as it always has. But switching to coax instantly via the remote was a revelation. At first I thought the Stellar Strata’s DAC must somehow add more gain than analog inputs. Even after playing around with volume matching the sound was bigger, bolder and warmer. It’s not that the Yamaha was missing anything outright, the Stellar Strata’s DAC just created a sound with real meat on the bones. Streaming the album gave the same overall presentation as playing the CD through the DAC. Slightly less realism, perhaps, but close enough that without an A/B comparison they would be indistinguishable. Why exactly they sounded different is beyond me but the experiment was a victory for both the DAC and streamer

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