It is difficult to tell from the picture, but if you move the right toggle downward, you’ll be at -6db which would give you more knob.
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On single ended output there’s a -6 db switch beside the volume knob that you could flip if it get’s too loud. But the balance output is a bit more tricky.
With 2v out and depending on the song, sometimes I can barely get pass 1. Mostly on modern recordings like pop and hip hop. If I tune it way down low, less than mid way between 0 and 1, it will result in a bit of channel imbalance so I resorted to digital attenuation from my dac in order to give more play. Not ideal but am not that bothered since I notice no sound degradation from the digital attenuation. But I’ve heard the step attenuator having more play than the standard pot so that is probably something I’d discuss with Donald if I do decide to go with the Stellaris in the future. I’d recommend sticking with SE out unless your cables are all wired to 4pin like mine.
Note this is from my Starlett.
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Welcome to team blue!!! 
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I did use the low gain -6 switch. It helps but I’m still very low on the dial with the Atrium, maybe 2.5ish. Thankfully no channel imbalance so I can live with it. I do wish Donald had used a stepped attenuator, it’s my only minor complaint. Justin uses them on the Ovation, and with that amp on the 300ohm tap I would be around 11 o’clock (no numbering system like DNA). On the Kenzie OG Rev 2 which uses a non stepped unit, I’m barely passing 8 o’clock, which is close to the starting point.
Other than that minor issue the amp rocks. I stayed up way too late last night with it. After testing my entire headphone lineup I went back to the Atrium and spent a good 2 hours just enjoying the music. That combo really resonates for me.
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The stepped tkd is only an option for the Stellaris so I’m not sure if it is available for the Stratus. Also just to be clear the channel imbalance only occur when the knob barely passed mid point between 0 and 1 which means you’ll almost never be affected. This happens with all stereo potentiometer. Keep it around 1 and we are good to go. Quote from an exchange I’ve had with Donald a few years back. “The TKD potentiometers actually have excellent channel tracking down to around -40dB attenuation, which translates to around the 1 setting”.
The Atrium synergy with DNA sound is uncanny. Right up there with the Utopia and Verite. I have a slight preference towards a drier amp with the ZMFs but the Atrium pairing with DNA is one I found myself going back to time and time again. Simply a marvelous pairing.
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Yeah, you can get it, but it’s so expensive, it would be a bit silly on the Stratus. That said, maybe you’d be able to convince Donald to install one that isn’t his own proprietary stepped attenuator he developed with TKD at a lower cost.
All of that said, I had the demo stratus with my Utopia, and never had any channel issues and thought it sounded glorious, even down below 1. Sounds like you’re not having issues either, and if so, just enjoy that life around 1 
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You can get some rca in-line attenuators if it really bothers you. I used some rothwell xlr attenuators when I used my amber 3 since it has hot outputs. Helped a bunch.
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There’s no room in the Stratus chassis to fit the TKD stepped attenuator.
I can only offer it as an option on the Stellaris because the output transformers are mounted on top, freeing up space inside.
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On my Stellaris “normal” (the Special is elsewhere), I was playing Atrium at around 3 in the “low” setting until recently. Now I have the Stellaris after a Holo Serene pre so that I can control the Stellaris or its alternate (a Ferrum Oor) with a remote and have both at the same output level (I used a 1kHz tone and multimeter to check this). The volume knob on the Stellaris in this configuration is at 9.5.
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With my LCD2 Closed I can go to 3!
Yeah I’m accepting life around 1 is going to be the norm with the Atrium. It sounds so good I could care less at this point what the volume knob is at haha. I wish I still had my VC to try, I think it and the Stratus would also be an excellent pairing.
Another headphone that has really good synergy was the DT 700 Pro. It was good on the low impedance output, but really came alive on IEC (both on low gain), which was really surprising. But it caught me off guard how good it sounded. I would have thought it would be underdampened, but nope, it was impactful and precise, and musical as hell.
I tried my HE6 SEv2 and was surprised how well the Stratus pushes them. It’s definitely underpowered, but off all the tube amps I’ve owned, this has the most power. I still prefer the Jot 2 due to the power output, but I didn’t think the HE6 sounded bad at all. I was expecting it to sound like crap. It definitely takes the HE6 in a different direction sonically. It slows it down, blooms the bass, and really mellows it out. But it wasn’t so so bad as to make me want to take them off immediately. But again, IMO a powerful solid state amp works to the HE6’s strengths better.
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Awesome!
Just make it to the bathroom first 
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Congrats, it’s exciting news.
I want to ask you what you want to do when you’re bummed out, but also don’t want to know.
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Lift it with your legs, its a bit beastly.
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I’m trying to decide if I want the TKD stepped attenuator upgrade for my Stellaris. Thoughts?
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Donald talks about it as being a great upgrade so I’d say go for it.
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I have it, but it’s not like I was able to compare to not having it, sooooo 
It’s a very pricey volume knob, but if you want to feel like you’re squeezing the most out of the amp, then you’ll feel better for having included it. It’s tough, because I’m not sure anyone other than Donald will have heard two otherwise identical Stellaris amps, side-by-side, one with and one without.
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Not sure what the alternatives are but one thing to consider with stepped attenuators is that sometimes you’d like it to be between two steps and that’ll drive people like me insane lol
That’s why I preferred the smooth pot on the gsx mini for example. Just something to think about if it’s even relevant or completely ignore me if not.
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I’m a new Stellaris owner who chose the standard volume control. I took a leap to spend on the Stellaris over the Stratus, and didn’t want to leap any further. I usually have the volume set between 1 and 2 (out of 10) on the knob with my Utopia headphones, so a stepped attenuator probably would not have worked as well for me. Channel balance is generally better with stepped attenuators, but I would have lost too much fine-grained control of the level. Just something to think about if you’re using sensitive headphones like me.
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Right. There are a couple of considerations, as I see it:
- Sound quality
- Ability to adjust volume precisely
It’s a $2000 option and I wonder how much it really helps with the sound. After all, they are two different resistors in a sense, right?
Regarding precise control, the reason that’s kind of important is you are looking at the range below the 1 mark when coming from the Holo May’s balanced output (5V) – feeding into the Utopia. So, if I go with the stepped one, I might have to add an inline attenuator (such as a Goldpoint SA1X). And that would degrade the signal (however minutely).
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