AVA Digital Preamp or PS Audio Stellar Gold? I think they would sound very similar, I have a hard time hearing any differences between DACs, but there are differences. Teasing out the differences takes about a week of listening. Bass may be lower and tighter but if you don't have a sub then you won't notice. Imaging and depth of field with one DAC might be a WOW! but if your speakers are not set up perfectly you may not notice that either. Which is why you should do a test run with each DAC in your system.
I have listened to the AVA Digital preamp in my system and the PS Audio DirectStream MK2 at a friends homes but never together. My impression is both are very clean and precise sounding. All PS Audio gear sounds clean and precise.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=188579.msg1974481#msg1974481"A friend brought over his DVA Digital preamp. The DVA is a clean sounding preamp and DAC, if you like it depends on if you prefer the sound of a standard DAC that does all the processing in the chip or a non-oversampling DAC like my Holoaudio May.
"One of my tests when I hear a new piece of equipment is "do I have to have it" or "that was interesting". For me, the DVA Digital preamp falls into the "that was interesting" category. It's about synergy, the Fet Valve CFR preamp sounds great with the Salk HT2-TL speakers which can edge toward analytical if everything isn't right. The HoloAudio May KTE DAC is a true non-oversampling R2R DAC, it's sound is never sharp or digital unless the recording is. I also upsample all music to DSD256 using HQPlayer. I prefer the HoloAudio/HQPlayer sound to all the other DACs I have heard, not that the other DACs are bad, it's just what I like."
I also mentiond the DVA Digital Preamp in a review of the Salk BePure speakers
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=189729.msg1984959#msg1984959"A review of the
DVA Digital Preamp in Part Time Audiophile said:
"There were a few times when I felt that the DVA almost stripped too much of the dirt and the junk from the music, causing a slightly lean quality that simply wasn’t there with the FET Valve CFR. But the DVA compensated by being more exhilarating."
"My exact feelings too. Perfect sound was hit and miss, it depended on the recording. I prefer the warmer quality of the FET Valve CFR preamp. With the DVA preamp it was too easy to slip into analytical mode thinking "Wow, listen to this" instead of relaxing and listening to the music as a whole.
"I wrote about the Fet Valve 600R back in 2022:
"I own both the SET 400 and the previous model, the Synergy 450. The sound is very close but the SET 400 is a little more balanced, smoother and does a disappearing act. A friend brought over his 600R, it doesn't have the warmth of the SET 400 so it appears to have more upper midrange and treble, it definitely has greater headroom but I never play music that loud except for demos."
"As you can tell I have mixed feeling about the DVA Digital preamp and Fet Valve 600R. My thoughts are about pairing these electronics with the Salk HT2-TL speakers and the BePure 1 monitors. The DVA Digital Preamp and 600R could be a perfect match with older, less revealing speakers like my previous Von Schweikert VR2's or speakers that have a silk dome tweeter. Not that the DVA and 600R are bad with the BePure's per se, but a different pairing would let these speakers really bloom. Perhaps different tubes in the 600R would bring the highs and midrange in better balance. Jim Salk recommends the McGary Audio SA1E with the BePure speakers."
