Hegel Rost VS PS Audio Stellar S300 + Gain cell DAC - Which ones my favorite? Quick summary

[@Jayiyagi]

I provided my honest opinion in this video. This video was not sponsored by any brand. I have no financial interest in this video. FUN FACT: If a video is sponsored; by law I must declare it in the video or I can get in legal trouble Also for the extra skeptical peeps out there... I don't think it's wrong to make money for the work I do so I have no intention of hiding if I get sponsored (in fact, I would be proud)

[@javiers.3433]

Great move sporting a New Order sweater during the reviews !!!!!

[@chrisvinicombe9947]

I watch Paul's channel and the sound you describe from the hegal is more what he's aiming for than his own Stella stack delivers by your impressions. Hegal seems to be the go to integrated solution these days.

[@Jayiyagi]

@@chrisvinicombe9947 they are very similar. Like I said. Both great products

[@chrisvinicombe9947]

Yes its interesting that the performance is close considering the wealth of difference between them. It just amused me that the notable difference was dynamics and soundstage , the things Paul talks about most with regards to his products.

[@kortam6065]

does the rost have enought power to drive the r3? thanks

[@TheMaestro335]

Hello, I am using a Steller 300 with a Schiit Yiggy through Revel Performa 206s. I guess what you saying about the intimate sound stage is a result of the Steller DAC and not the 300 Amp. The combination of the Yiggy and 300 amp presents a huge sound stage with depth depth and width? I do notice on certain recordings that vocals sound more in your face. This depends on the piece of music. Regards, Jeff

[@sherpadelgatos]

hegel seems like my kinda sound signature with that midbass

[@gtric1466]

Jay, Great review. Interesting I've been looking at amps and the Class D seems to have more bass punch but not as wide soundstage. While the Class A/B seems to have more dynamics (mid-bass) and a wider soundstage. I'm sure this isn't the case across the board, just my findings so far.

[@claudec2588]

Interesting. Question: Is it fair to compare a 75W RMS to a 300W RMS ? Would this difference in power account for the difference in sound stage you experienced?

[@mattydevine1]

Can you show us some footage of you either setting the units up into your system, or listening or anything else for some visual stimulation..As you said that sweater has been seen enough hehe

[@Jayiyagi]

You are gonna see a few more... Cuz I shot few more videos in that sitting...xd

[@mattydevine1]

@@Jayiyagi I only came across your channel yesterday and I'm very happy I did. Thanks for your hard work. I'm in Edmonton.

[@Jayiyagi]

@Fat Rat lmaoo

[@mur_80]

Hi Jay, If you had to choose at the end of 2022 between the Hegel 190 and the PS Audio Gain Cell DAC + S300 AMP (same price for both systems) which would you choose? Or the Hegel 120 for a little more than half the price of the equipment mentioned above...

[@okosbokos1491]

I have Sonodyne active speakers and PS Stellar combo , its good but a bit too sharp, how can I soften up the sound , do you have an advice ? As you said , bit in your face, my ears are tired after one or two hours Thank you

[@dandonna852]

what about PS audio M700 mono block vs Emotiva XPA HC-1 High Current Monoblock Amplifier

[@Pete.across.the.street]

What about it?

[@marcusaurelius2988]

PS Audio. No contest there.

[@mrpmj00]

yuck Emotiva. I had a Emotiva BasX-A3... sold it!

[@montycaps8235]

Do you or anyone have any experience pairing the S300 with other pre amps? I’m think tube gear and Rogue especially if anyone has any experience. Cheers

[@scifctn]

Did you end up going that route?

[@montycaps8235]

@@scifctn I didn’t. I ended up just using an older Parasound amp. I upgraded speakers and turntable since. But I think I’m closing in on a Atoll power amp.

[@scifctn]

@@montycaps8235 are you still considering an s300 for your new amp?

[@montycaps8235]

@@scifctn not at this time. Going a different direction for now. I bought a pair of JMR speakers and going to pair them with and Atoll amp. I’ve read good reviews on synergy. I still want to own some PS audio gear in the future though.

[@jeffadams9699]

How about I just get them both? :) I already own the Rost and am now going to get the PS Audio. Have monoblock Class D amps that I’m going to use with the PS Audio.

[@qgregoire0376]

Hi, I'm considering doing the same. Are you happy with this combo ?

[@warrenwillis6477]

Jay, can the DAC’s be upgraded by the manufacturer in either of these over time?

[@billwillard9410]

The PS Audio GCD is not upgradable via software upgrade. I’ve had the main chip replaced but that was because the Mute function didn’t work. Now it’s been returned because inserting a plug into the headphone jack will not terminate the main outlets.

[@marcusm5127]

The PS Audio Direct Stream is software upgradable but it's very expensive. I hope to hear it one day.

[@drewrobertson6286]

If you want an upgradable dac, look at the Schiit Yggdrasil... not cheap by any means...

[@HoomanR17]

Jay, first let me say, I appreciate your videos and this comment is in support of you and these videos, but I must say this as I did with the Audio Excellence review I'm left entertained yet not satisfied with the review.. here it goes: (a) How do you know if what you are describing with adjectives like "intimate", "forward", "wider", "dynamic" , "black background", etc, are not just attributed to the internal DACs of these two systems? (b) If you can't, then it makes sense to have the same exact source played into these units in order to see how they truly handle a given speaker/load because while each has a DAC, they are analog tools (c) As example, if you connect the Denefrips Ares DAC into the Hegel and PSAudio analog input, only then will you know how they truly handle a given speaker, how they image, how clear they are, how black their background is, etc.. (d) once you've established the base line of performance then you can change your input to USB in and talk about their respective DAC, but to talk about these two system and not speak about their DAC, is not doing either of the two devices justice. I'm not a "fan-boy" of either one of these two brands/devices, but given that you have access to such great array of devices, we/I as your audience appreciate the vantage point you have and hopefully you can provide some of us who are more precise/anal about all aspect of this hobby a clearer insight about these devices. Ultimately if someone listens to this review and purchases one or the other system and they hook up a turn table to it, they may be disappointed because everything you described was not applicable to the analog input but more towards the DAC. I trust these two systems are equally good, After this video, I just don't know how they are similar or different other than they have different DACs. Thanks for considering this. (P.S. I recognize that source and system synergy plays a factor and even my recommendation /suggestion my be flawed)

[@Jayiyagi]

Thank you for your comment. First of all, I did test them with their respective internal dacs and also with a lumin t2 dac. The performance was much closer with the lumin t2 dac. But overall sound description was the same. The reason I left this out is because I am not interested in comparing these two for each of their dac. Preamp. Amp capabilities. It is an integrated and most ppl buying wants to know how they perform as an integrated. As always I try my best and will continue to improve. Thank you

[@HoomanR17]

@@Jayiyagi Thanks for sharing that extra detail. I for one, appreciate knowing how you did your tests and both tests are important specially for us more sophisticated viewers. Very few reviewers take the time to do that, perhaps except for John Darko. Also as a Hegel integrated owner, I use it for all it has to offer, digital(internal DAC) but also its analog inputs. In fact I'm considering upgrading the DAC to the Ares which means using its analog inputs.. plus a phono pre-amp .. I'm sharing this so that you would consider the full possibility of how integrated systems are used among your viewers. Happy holiday.

[@nnaaeee]

@@HoomanR17 to be fair, when the video is comparing integrated amp with amp+dac+preamp stack, you are talking about a solution, about producing sound as a package. breaking them down into how well its dac, preamp, amp perform separately is kinda out of scope. you have your point though, but for your needs, its better that you avoid integrated amps and go for separates like Hegel H20 etc.

[@HoomanR17]

@@nnaaeee Its a semantic thing, and its about precision in presentation. The video did not specifically state that it was comparing the DAC-to-pre-to-amp aspect of these two devices, Jay simply stated system(a) compared to system (b) without stating how the test was performed. An integrated as the Hegel and the PSAudio are not meant to be simply used as DAC sources because if you like the "Hegel sound" its a lower cost solution to go with their integrated and used the preamp section along with the DAC (assuming its a pleasing DAC to you) than to go with the Hegel separate solution which is close to 2x the cost. In PSAudio land, the gain cell DAC isn't just a DAC but its PSAudio's only "budget" preamp, so if you want or like the "PS Audio sound" or appreciate the brand and want to use the preamp, then this is your only solution. At the end of the day I trust reviewers will do whatever makes sense for them in the moment and ultimately doing a test of the DAC is Jay's prerogative .. I was simply making a point that some of us pay close attention to these reviews and the details about how the review are done matter and if they are left out then it creates confusion for us who are not just watching to kill time but because we're down that path/journey with these brands and these details will ultimately shape our buying decision.

[@nnaaeee]

@@HoomanR17 Well, fair enough about his choice of words. For the part about DAC-pre-amp, one can infer with reasonable confidence that from the title and the product that he is comparing, he is doing a DAC-pre-amp comparison. Anyway, as per his title, this is actually just a quick summary of a more in-depth 30 min 2-part video he did on another channel, which Jay should really provide a link to in case of confusion (just search for rost vs s300). You are however right that he can be more in-depth, but only if that is what he wants. I think an in-depth review to the degree that you wanted will probably be at least 30 minutes long, which looking at his other videos, doesn't seem to be his forte.

[@borlach321]

Can the Hegel handle hard to drive speakers? The Rost seems underpowered.

[@buttonman1831]

Depends on what you consider hard to drive. I drive 3 speakers that are considered hard to drive the kef ls50, Thiel cs.2.4, and Polk SDA 1c. The Kef excellant, the Thiels terrible, and the SDAs phenominal. The Thiels I beleive are just a little too much for the H90, but the SDAs are considered really.hard to drive by many at the H90 made them sound exceptional.

[@robrozek9265]

Thinking about getting a mackintosh c 47 right now I have a ps audio stellar gain pre amp I just listen to vinyl only and I use a very high end phono stage would the Mac be a up grade my amp is a 152 Mac with Klipsch fortay

[@robrozek9265]

3 speakers thank you very much enjoy the channel

[@JM-du4np]

Great review. How do you feel about the PS Audio Stellar S300 gain cell DAC as a preamp on its own? I am considering the PS Audio preamp but not the AMP. My budget allows for this PS audio Preamp or the Parasound P6 preamp but leaning twards the PS Audio preamp and match it to an AB amp. Hope to hear from you. Thanks

[@juliangst]

If you want to use the DAC of the Preamp forget about that. It measures absolutely terrible and is easily outperformed by 100€ DACs.

[@billwillard9410]

JM Kinda late to this thread, but I’d be hesitant to spend a lot of money on an all-in-one solution, especially one that includes a DAC. You can usually bypass an internal DAC and add an external one, but you have to use up another input, and you can’t sell off the internal DAC separately. I bought the Topping D90 and am going into my amp which sounds a bit better than through the GCD, but I can’t switch sources easily.

[@philipdaniels6584]

You should have ran with the same clothes intro!

[@fabiovasconcelos511]

Diferent tecnologie Class A/B and Class D

[@dougg1075]

I only have one hat.. my hat:)

[@Jayiyagi]

Hell yea

[@drewrobertson6286]

A lot of Martin Logan speakers have cones.... just sayin’

[@Jayiyagi]

Martin logan montis was the one I listened to. I apologize for not mentioning the models.

[@drewrobertson6286]

The Next Best Thing Studio, the reason I mentioned it is the way you worded the sentence, you stated a cone speaker, an electrostatic (montis) and a ribbon speaker. This implies that the electrostat doesn’t have a cone in it, which the Montis does have! Not everybody might know. On a side note, the very first expensive speaker I ever lusted for was the 10k US dollar speaker The Montis! How do you like the sound? The Martin Logan’s are built about 2 hrs north of me! Love the videos!

[@AC-wl7ve]

measurements for the grain cell are horrendous. how can that be?

[@kennigt]

Funny fact. Hegel sounds like morden class D.

[@Alpha-1111]

Huh?

[@user-ed2rq3mb6x]

Don't recommend buying anything from PS Audio other than their power conditioners. Everything else they make are overpriced, fairly mediocre and forget resale values.

[@60zeller]

Interesting,how much time did you spend listening to it and with what other equipment?