Has anyone heard the new PS Audio Strata, Integrated Amp/DAC/streamer?
Paul just posted a new video about the strata: https://youtu.be/V_uSUal3Lsc I'm on the list for a possible beta trial. The beta program is said to be materializing towards the end of this month. |
Hilde45, you have a good point. The newer separate DACs & preamps are software upgradeable. Whether or not they can pull that off for different parts of an integrated, at a affordable price is not known, yet. In my field, digital production printing, we can put firmware on a USB drive, and using the control panel on the press, initiate the installation of upgrades on the print engine and all of its optional accessories. But that's a $300,000 system, not a $3,000 system. |
Thanks, @mwinkc . And I really have positive feelings about PSA — mostly from watching videos and reading reviews. My sense is that they realized that there's this price point that they're not fielding a full enough set of products; they realized that they were on to something with the Sprout in filling the all-in-one niche, but needed to do it at a more mid-fi or audiophile-attracting price and quality point. From my perspective, just getting into the hobby, I realized that once one goes above about $2.5k, there are some very good reasons to separate the streamer from everything else, or, perhaps the streamer and DAC from the power sources. This is due to upgrade-ability. But perhaps they have a good point — which is that this will be a really good piece of gear that will hit the swath of the market that would likely never buy, say, a deHavilland preamp or a Pass amp (etc.) and that folks will be happy with it — and will feel safe to try it with their 30 day money back and their trade-up/trade-in program. And what about the audiophiles, then? Well, for those who *really* want/need to keep the price point at $3k or under, well, where are you going to find 200 wpc of good quality with all that other stuff? You'd likely be hard pressed. (Though I do wonder who really needs 200 wpc and also what Parasound might be doing with the HINT line.) |
P.S. As just one example of what the Strata might encounter, here's the Naim Uniti Atom, on sale, 1 year old. Similar type of unit as Strata, similar price, 8/10 condition, and already 30% off. https://tmraudio.com/components/integrated-amplifiers/naim-uniti-atom-stereo-integrated-amplifier-da... |
