Stereophile’s Products of 2020 Analog Component of the Year

Analog Component of the Year

PS Audio Stellar Phono phono preamplifier ($2499; reviewed by Michael Fremer, January 2020, Vol.43 No.1 Review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)

AMG Viella Forte Engraved Turntable ($25,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, September 2020, Vol.43 No.9 Review)

Lyra Atlas Lambda SL phono cartridge ($12,995; reviewed by Michael Fremer, April 2020, Vol.43 No.4 Review)

Rega P10 turntable ($5695; reviewed by Michael Fremer, March 2020, Vol.43 No.3 Review)

Sutherland Engineering Phono Loco phono preamplifier ($8200; reviewed by Michael Fremer, December 2019, Vol.42 No.12 Review)

VPI HW-40 Anniversary Edition turntable ($15,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, January 2020, Vol.43 No.1 Review)

Another triumph of a high-value component and the second straight victory in this category for a phono preamplifier. (Last year’s winner was the Sutherland Engineering Little Loco.) What set the Stellar Phono apart from the crowd was the fact that it’s fully competitive with far more expensive phono preamplifiers, and almost as good as the very best, at a fraction of the price. Fremer deployed the Stellar Phono in the context of a $200,000 front end, with more than $200,000 in amplification and $100,000 speakers, and put it up against phono preamplifiers costing more than 20 times as much, including the Ypsilon VP100 (silver edition) phono preamp with the MC16LSUT step-up transformer and the CH Precision P1 phono preamplifier with its matching X1 power supply.

And it held its own. “The midrange on this phono preamp is as open, uncongested, transparent, and revealing as that of any phono preamp I’ve heard at any price,” Mikey wrote. In midrange terms, the Stellar is “the darTZeel of phono preamplifiers.”

“I recommend a listen to the Stellar to anyone in the market for a new phono preamp, regardless of price,” Mikey concluded. “I don’t think I’ve ever written that before.”

About the Vote
In another lopsided win in a strong category, the Stellar, like the amplification-category winner, appeared on four-fifths of all final ballots, and in fact got exactly the same score. A clear second place went to the Rega P10 turntable. The VPI HW-40 Anniversary Edition turntable also did very well in the voting.

NEXT: Digital Component of the Year »

ARTICLE CONTENTS

Page 1
Amplification Component of the Year
Analog Component of the Year
Digital Component of the Year
Headphone Product of the Year
Accessory of the Year
Loudspeaker of the Year
Budget Component of the Year
Component of the Year
Editors’ Choice

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