PS Audio Stellar Phono

@ml8764ag I'd be curious how much the older Musical Surroundings stuff has changed to the III that I have. I'm probably going to dive in and give it a shot. I'm hesitant to take it home for fear I'd keep it. I'd love a Herron but I've heard Keith may be bowing away. 

@smholl ok goldnote research is now on my list to explore. I continue to hear about it so I'll be doing some digging. Possible side by side with my amateur ears and listening skills. 

J-wall...yeah...heard good things about the Herron phonos... haven't tried them...

Re. Fear of keeping....yes been there too but that went away for me pretty quickly because of the sound.

Note:. As one of the other posters mentioned...and others before...the sensitivity to interference is real...I had to be cognizant of my placement and cable routing...but once that was addressed...dead silent.

Shielding is a real issue huh? My cables are a rats nest so I guess I'll have to plan accordingly. I'll most likely pull the trigger. I read a post yesterday about the PH10 being blown out of the water by the Stellar.

The Herron phono stages are sold out. Perhaps used if you can find one right now.

A friend loaned me his Stellar. I connected it to my system, powered it up and did something else for a few hours while it warmed up. I returned, put the stylus in the groove and settled in. A few seconds later, an enormous pop in both channels and low amplitude, very distorted sound. Glad no drivers were blown.

On a positive note, PS immediately sent a pre-paid mailer and turned the unit remarkably fast (the whole cycle was less than two weeks). My friend has not had a problem since.

So I've yet to hear a Stellar.

@vinylvalet that's what I meant about Keith Herron bowing out. 

It seems like the Stellar has had some issues in terms of reliability and units blowing up. Are these early adopters or as of recently? PS audio is currently 10 days on backorder so I'd be curious if this is just parts or if they've changed some parts and have issue sourcing with all the other manufacturers.