Oh! For some reason, I was thinking it was like 60 or 70 pounds! 30 pounds I can deal with, so I’ll ask Donald about that one, too - thanks for the info!!
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Question for Stratus owners. What is a reasonable cost for decent tubes for it? I’m debating which DNA to put my deposit down on, either a Stratus or Starlett. Leaning towards a Stratus, but worry i’ll have to spend as much or more on tubes as the amp costs! pricing for the Stratus tube types are all over the place so i’m not sure what a realistic price is for a decent tube. also don’t know how new production 2a3 sound vs vintage tubes, if it’s worth NOS pricing. Excited to get my name on the list for a new amp! just gotta decide which one to get. If anyone has directly compared the Starlett and Stratus, how different are they? Do you feel the Stratus is worth the price increase?
Stratus is worth the price increase due to the Audio Note transformers. It is closer to Stellaris than Starlett.
Prices on tubes are kind of mixed. 5U4G range from $50 → $700. I am running a NOS RCA 5U4G that costs $50 bucks and its great. EML Mesh 5U4G is great too and its like $300. Elrog has a $720 5U4G. TBH I don’t think you need more than the $50 NOS tube.
For 2A3, it is a bit pricier. Believe most of the matched pairs start around $200-300. I would highly recommend the Linlai E2a3 or the Acme 2A3. They are new prod tubes and highly regarded and very good tubes. They cost around $500 for the matched pair.
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I think for a full set, I paid about $600-ish? The 2a3’s were 90% of the $. They were all separate purchases, so I’m guesstamating here.
Edit, let’s say $700. That sounds a little better. All the damn shipping costs.
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Great info, thanks! I’m not familiar with those tube types, are they fairly robust in terms of lifespan? Or do they die quickly? Trying to get an idea how often they’ll need replacing. one thing i love about the 1626 tubes in my ovation is they’ll go for a few thousand hours without issue supposedly.
I’m leaning heavily towards the Stratus as i know if i go with a Starlett i’ll be wondering “what if”. I’m stupid like that. Those prices aren’t cheap on the tubes, but not too too bad either, especially compared to some of the 300b tube prices i’ve seen.
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They should go for a couple thousand, I would suspect with normal use for the tubes to last around 4-5 years.
I would recommend the Stratus if you can swing it, the 2a3 tubes do magic versus the Starlett tubes. Starlett gives you the sound, but 2a3 magic is 
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Thank you, that’s not too too terrible. I’m not a huge tube roller, once i find a decent sounding tube i tend to just stick with it and be done. i much prefer changing the amp’s response via impedance changes. I like how DNA and A&S have multiple output impedances.
to swing it i’ll have to sell my Ovation, which i’m so nervous about doing. But i had a Sonett 1 amp briefly, and something about that sound (also a SET amp) really resonated. So i’m likely going to be purging my A&S amps to fund a new Stratus. worst case i’ll grab a used Ovation later if the Stratus doesn’t work out.
One aspect to keep in mind is the deposit for a DNA amp is only a percentage of the entire price and is refundable if you decide not to go this route. You have a year before you’ll receive the Stratus, so you would have time to save rather than sell the Ovation immediately.
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I’d agree with @dncnexus appraisal of tube costs. A relatively maxed out set could run about $1500. Its always possible to get a bum tube, thats a risk, but you should get years out of tubes. You do need to figure maintenance costs in with tube amps.
Im similarly wired. I get as good as I can get within my price range. Tubes are a bit different as there is always variability in performance, especially with NOS. But the NOS market is drying up so new production is where a lot of us are going to be going down the line. Good ones are expensive but at least there should be be more consistency in performance and reviews should be more able to guide your choice.
EML, Linlai, Psvane, KR all make decent 2a3 of various performance levels and prices between them all. The driver tubes are still cheap and plentiful NOS stores are still out there I think. Rectifiers are really variable in price, good NOS 5U4g can be had for relatively cheap still and even top end NOS 5U4g can still be purchased for a few 100 if you luck out.
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I’ve been emailing back and forth with Donald for weeks, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. All of this is GREAT info for those of us considering, so thank you all for sharing. Donald should pay you all commission. 
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Get the new stratus. 2a3 tubes aren’t as costly as 300b and you can get great new production tubes such as the Linlai Elite and Psvane ACME line and will likely last a couple of years.
Studio B is the only amp I’ve heard that made a noticeably expansion in sound stage width. I’d love to spend more time with the utopia on this amp. It made the focal sounds much wider which is often cited as a concern for some. I rolled some tubes to make it more neutral but tonally it is warmer than my Starlett. Both are great match for my verite but I slightly prefer the drier EC for verite as it is inherently a wetter sounding hp. For the utopia it’s a tossup.
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Mine came stock with the cheapest PSVane 2A3 tubes, and quite honestly they are decent tubes, you can do better, but they aren’t a need to replace kind of tube. I have LinLai Elites in mine ATM, and I had PSVane Acme’s before it, both are a clear step up from stock for $500-$600, but the 2A3’s aren’t the tube I’d rush to replace.
The Winged C Rectifier it ships with is REALLY slow, and it’s by far the best initial investment in rolling, mines running an NOS RCA 5U4G ~$70, there are good new rectifiers, but they tend to get expensive EML, KR etc.
Though I am just testing a KR Anniversary Edition 5U4G in my WA33, and I am wondering what it will sound like in the DNA.
The input tubes AFAIK have no direct western equivalent (though I think people have rolled other tube in there), they are cheap, plentiful and with no real variation.
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That’s exactly why I’m leaning toward Stellaris. The way I figure it, in my twisted sick little mind, is if I get the Stratus and I don’t love it I’ll always wonder if the Stellaris would have been better, and if i get the Stratus and I do love it, I will wish I had gone all in and gotten the Stellaris. lol I’m glad to know we have the same sickness. 
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Thank you everyone for the excellent info and perspectives. I have a deposit going down on aStratus! It’s the top of my budget so Stellaris is out of the running. Super excited, though the year wait send quite daunting. genefurit made a great point that I don’t have to sell my Ovation now since I have a year to pay. I’ll go with the stock tubes and learn the amp before any potential tube rolling. Though I will probably grab a new rectifier as many here and elsewhere have said it’s the weak link in the lineup. Can’t wait to get it!
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Congratulations, the year is daunting having gone through it myself. It will be cycles of excitement, annoyance, and indifference. Then repeat a few times. Listen with the stock tubes, even the stock rectifier is not as bad as some have stated. I made the mistake of buying tubes about 4 months before my amp was read, and regrettably a few were bum tubes from respectable dealers.
The other good thing about a 12 month wait, you can send Donald payments whenever you wish so that when the time comes for delivery there is no remaining balance.
For those who stated they fear “what if”, DNA amps hold amazing value and if anyone has noticed any of the current line do not stay up for sale long.
Myself, I will never sell my stratus as it has special meaning. I will buy a Stelllaris at some point, having had my Stratus for a little over two months and having heard a Stellaris, it does not leave me longing for more anytime soon. Get the rest if your chain up to par, DAC matters, and headphones used matter.
Go Team French Racing Blue
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Hey BoardmanGetsPaid! Well, I’ve been reading enough about this for months, so I just contacted Donald last night about getting an amp from him, and no, I do not mind waiting a year or so. I don’t know whether to go with the Stratus or Stellaris; I think I’ll tell Donald more about the rest of my gear and what kind of music I listen to and ask for his advice - what a very nice fellow he is!
Interesting with EC and Utopia - yes, it’s not an Sennheiser HD-800 in sound stage width, but since I added in the Holo May DAC, it’s way wider than it was with the Chord gear, and the bass sounds superb - it sounded rather bass-shy with the Chord stuff, too. With the Holo May, I prefer the sound of the Utopias to that of the VO’s, especially the bass, which many regard as a weak point in the Utopia - it CAN be, but it doesn’t have to be. Still need to come up with something that will feed the Susvaras the amount of juice that they really want - I’m driving the Ferrari on the highway, but I’m not on the autobahn yet!
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To be honest I think Donald was more than happy with how he got the new Stratus sounding. Will the Stellaris sound better, yes. Do you need the Stelllaris, dunno. Stratus is no slouch. Even Starlett with good tubes is pretty stellar.
The Holo May with the Starlett and Utopia is amazing, leaves me with no feeling to upgrade anything, doesn’t mean I’m not, just that the combo is tremendous, so cranking it up even to a Stratus will put you in a great audio space. The Strat and Stell run the same tubes and output the same power so its just deciding on how much performance you wish to eek out, also, as I stated before, the Stellaris can be modified to allow XLR connections and such. Just have to ask what the options are and what the price is. Donald doesnt skimp on the parts - he has a singular vision of what he want his amps to sound like.
That’s a good question to ask him, he’ll be honest as to whether he thinks an upgrade to a Stellaris vs Stratus will be noticeable enough. When I was considering a purchase with him he was very straight with me about what I could expect.
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Thanks so much for all that insight, Perogie! I even told Donald that I have hearing loss especially in the upper registers, and I wear in-hear hearing aids with my headphones, so I likely would not notice any slight performance differences. At first I was just going to automatically go with the top, but maybe the Stratus might be more appropriate for me, even with price not being that much of a consideration.
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There are a few in here who have heard the new Stratus and the Stellaris, they may be able to chime in with a better elucidation of the differences. It is more than just top end performance but I’d be more speculating about exact differences.
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