PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC Instructions For Use Manual - page 7
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®
Owner’s Reference
Stellar Gain Cell DAC
Owner’s Reference
4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301
Owner’s Reference
PH: 720.406.8946 support@psaudio.com www.psaudio.com
15-083-01-1
Rev A
4
+12dB at 100
Connecting AC
Power
Selecting an Input
Press the menu select button directly to the left of the Display to select an Input. There are 8 inputs.
Adjusting the
Volume
Multiple Inputs
COAX 1 and 2
Optical
USB
Analog 1, 2 and 3
The Analog inputs 1, 2, and 3 are individually selectable. Selecting Analog 1 will enable the Balanced
Analog input.
Input 4 is the I
2
S input. I
2
S is available through several manufacturers as well PS Audio equipment such
as the DirectStream Memory Player. I
2
S is a parallel data connection with separate clocks and data
and transferred via an HDMI cable. I
2
S will typically provide better performance than any serial data
stream such as S/PDIF.
Inputs 5 and 6 are the Sony Phillips Digital Interface (S/PDIF) COAX inputs. They will be able to handle
up to 192kHz 24bit PCM signals.
Input 7 is the Optical input. It will accept inputs up to 96kHz 24 bit PCM.
I
2
S Input
Input 8 is the USB input. If you are using USB, make sure both the computer and Stellar Gain Cell DAC
are connected and powered up. USB requires a driver to operate properly. Mac computers running
OSX have the driver built in. Windows based computers require the PS Audio driver to be installed.
Download the driver from our website; it is the same driver used in all of our USB products. Stellar
Gain Cell DAC will show up under Device Manager under a heading PS Audio USB 2.0 Audio Devices.
You can obtain a copy of the Driver here:
http://www.psaudio.com/support/downloads/
You can connect one or all inputs at the same time. For instance, you can connect the USB input to
your computer and the I
2
S input to your DirectStream Memory Player. Then you can simply choose
which one to listen to leaving all of the sources connected.
The volume is adjusted by rotating the volume knob. The range is 0 - 100. If you are listening to
playback through speakers the volume will stay where you leave it even after you power the unit off
with the blue logo button. If you use headphones and the volume is set above 25, the volume will
automatically reduce to 25 when the headphones are unplugged, protecting your speakers. If you
power the Stellar Gain Cell DAC off using the rear power switch, once powered back on the volume
will default back to 25.
With the volume set to 76 the Stellar Gain Cell DAC is a line level device. With the volume set 100 the
Stellar Gain Cell DAC produces an output of +12dB. Bear this in mind when turning up the volume.
Once everything has been connected, use a high quality AC cable to power the Stellar Gain Cell
DAC. PS Audio produces an entire line of high quality shielded power cables that are generally
accepted as being some of the best in the industry. The power switch is located just to the left of the
AC inlet. Turn the AC power switch in the rear of the Stellar Gain Cell DAC to the ON position. As
soon as the Front Panel Logo Button is pressed the front panel will display a brief initializing screen.
After the initializing screen, the display will show the volume at the default level of 25.