I felt this way, too, initially. But I put down the deposit just to secure my place in line and then kept exploring other options AND considering carefully whether I really wanted to spend that much on this amp. Over the next year, reading everything I could find on DNA amps and comparable alternatives, I became ever-more convinced that Stellaris was in fact the amp for me. By the time my amp was ready (about 18 months) I was so ready for it I didn’t even hesitate when it came time to put my money where my ears are (so to speak ).
My advice: it can’t hurt to put down the fully refundable deposit. You’ll have plenty of time to decide whether you want to back out and go a different direction. If you keep looking for a comparable alternative with no wait time I honestly doubt you will find one.
That is a beautiful story. The fact that you waited 18 months is just incredible. The anticipation and excitement must have been driving you nuts at some point.
When I got my Pathos Aurium I had to wait 3 months for it and I was dying. Lol.
Like you. Patience is a virtue and I bet both of our sound systems have never been better for it.
Well, my Stellaris showed up today. Probably due to the current economic times, Donald reached out to me pretty much 11 months to the day that I put down my deposit. So I imagine the wait will probably decrease a bit more for the next couple of years anyway.
Congrat’s on your new Stellaris! Glad to hear that the wait times for a DNA headphone amplifier have decreased, as I waited 18 months for my Starlett. Enjoy!!
Actually yesterday, but yeah, I’m getting time in speed rolling to figure which tubes deserve going to the front of the line.
Yesterday Takatsukis, today EML 2.5v 300b mesh.
Oh my the mighty Japanese tube flagship. Wow.
Also John. As I recall you’ve been quite busy in the sales department and unloaded a few really terrific amplifiers to make room for the DNA.
Certainly this peaks my curiosity even more for how much you end up adoring this amplifier. Maybe it will be your new #1.
I don’t think it will be going anywhere for a while.
At some point, I’ll probably get something that pairs better with Planars as an add not a replacement, but not in the near future.
I’m working on an upgrade to my 2 channel next.
That makes a lot of sense John.
Currently I have 3 headphone amps on my mothership rack, but they are all different and they all have unique strengths.
I still can’t believe that some people say or think all amplifiers sound the same.
Those people are using headphones that aren’t capable of showing the difference between sources & amplifiers. Or they are just too stubborn to admit what they’re hearing.
So one thing I didn’t see coming was that this amp has such incredible synergy with the OG Utopias. It’s so good, I haven’t broken out my VOs yet, I’m waiting for my Elrog rectifier to get here, tune the amp around that for the Utopias and then try other cans.
I’ve run the Meze Elites a bit, but that’s it.
No wonder @andris loves this amp so much.
So, I’ve been experimenting and analyzing… my head knows that Stellaris (2A3 tubes, rated 1.8W max, but likely more like 3W max) should not drive Susvara very well. But for the life of me my ears can’t hear any failing. Sus gets QUITE loud enough for even what most would call “loud listening” with plenty of headroom to spare, and even with bass-heavy modern electronic music which should theoretically be where it fails, Susvara never falters and sounds only minimally less precise & impactful than on solid state (which I would attribute to the character of the amp, not the power supplied to Susvara). I would be really interested to hear from any other DNA amp owners who also own Susvara? Donald confessed when I was in the inquiry phase that his amps would drive “just about anything short of Susvara”, but I’m here to tell you I think they drive Susvara EXCELLENTLY.
And not just that, combining the class leading staging & holography of Stellaris with the class leading resolution & imaging of Susvara is nothing short of jaw-dropping. I’m genuinely shocked - I went in to this accepting that Sus would probably not work with my tube amp, but I am very pleasantly surprised.
Yeah, it’s not bad at all IMO. I ran the sus off the Stratus and it was still pretty good. Softer than a ss amp with proper power and current but still enjoyable. I found if you listen to more acoustical music then it’s pretty good. If you want EDM and you really like bass, then ss to squeeze out that last bit of slam. But I agree, it’s definitely not bad off the DNA.
FWIW, many like the Sus off the WA23 Luna and it’s around the same power as the DNA from what I’m seeing.
Another thing could be the Bliss. I found it was a little more rounded off/softer than something like the MJ3. Maybe that’s making the comparison feel a little closer. I found the envy was a better match vs the bliss and typically all you hear is how the sus needs ss.
I typically use 2v with the Utopia and you can bump it up to 6v for the harder to drive headphones.
I don’t have the Sus atm but I use the 6v into the MJ3 and it pushes the Tungsten fine.
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