The Stellar M1200 monoblock power amplifier combines the rich warmth and musicality of vacuum tubes with the jaw-dropping power and seemingly infinite headroom of a 1200 watt high-performance output stage. This extraordinary hybrid amplifier knows no limits. From the subtlest musical whisperings to the loudest crescendos an orchestra or rock band is capable of, Stellar M1200 never flinches. Regardless of your speaker’s power demands or limitations, enjoy the once unachievable uncompressed effortlessness afforded by this design. Pure musical bliss for any loudspeaker made, from the smallest to the biggest. Stellar.
DESIGN
APPLICATION
Technology
OVERVIEW
The Stellar M1200 mono amplifiers solve a classic problem with nearly every power amplifier made: sonic compression. When the orchestra gets loud and complex, or the band really starts to rock it out, most power amplifiers get out of their comfort zone and we hear their stress and strain as compression. The M1200 was designed to play any music into any loudspeaker with zero compression. Rated at 600 Watts into 8Ω and a whopping 1200 Watts into 4Ω, the M1200 combines the best of two worlds: ultra-linear, high-current, ICE Edge Class D technology for the output stage; and a discrete, Class-A vacuum tube for the all-important input stage. The M1200’s rich, warm, and beautifully nuanced reproduction of music comes first from the zero feedback, class A vacuum tube input stage. Here nothing is lost in its hand-selected 12AU7 vacuum tube, fed from its own analog power supply.
THE VACUUM TUBE INPUT
The power amplifier is technology always present in stereo systems. Yet, despite the fact everyone uses them, few appreciate the power amp’s critical role in preserving music’s nuanced details because most amplifiers fail to preserve them. Overtones from plucked instruments, subtle cues defining placement, depth, soundstage width, and transient decays are often lost in the power amplifier. The M1200 loses nothing because of its vacuum tube input stage. In the M1200 a zero feedback class A vacuum tube input stage captures every whisper of music while preserving intact the most dynamic crescendos and quick rise time transients with zero loss. The listening experience with the M1200 is nothing short of a revelation. Where most amplifiers do their best to preserve dynamics, they fail to present them as if they were live. The M1200 eliminates the tendency of nearly every power amplifier to change its sonic character as the music gets louder.
OUTPUT STAGE
The Stellar M1200 has a massive power supply and ultra-linear, high-wattage power amplification stage based on a modern Class D ICE module. Class D output stages provide near-perfect linearity, low distortion, and high efficiency. Modern Class D amplifiers, like the type used in Stellar, extend high frequencies to about 50kHz. Human hearing limitations are 20kHz, though most listeners rarely have hearing exceeding half that. Providing excellent frequency extremes, low distortion, high efficiency, high damping factor, and a generous and powerful output of 1200 watts into the most common loudspeaker loads of 4Ω, the M1200 is nothing short of breathtaking. The massively powerful nature of the M1200 works well with any loudspeaker—big or small—providing huge amounts of headroom and effortless sound quality for even the most demanding orchestral crescendos.
Stellar M1200 Mono Amplifier |
|
| Unit Weight | 27 lbs [12.2 kg] (each) |
| Unit Dimensions | 17”W x 3.75”H x 12”D (13″D w/connectors) 17”W x 7.5”H x 12”D (Stacked) |
| Shipping Weight | 29 lbs [13.15 kg] (each) |
| Shipping Dimensions | 22”W x 8”H x 17”D (each) |
| Color Options | Black Silver |
| Vacuum tube type | 12AU7 |
| Voltage Options (Factory set only) |
Japan 100V North America 120V Europe/Asia/Australia/New Zealand 230V |
| Mains Power Inputs | IEC C14 |
| Idle Power Consumption | 27W |
| Power Factor | >0.9 @ rated power 4Ω |
| Accessories Included | US (NEMA 5-15P) (all versions) Schuko (CEE7/7) (230V version) UK (BS 1363) (230V version) |
| Audio Inputs | RCA (Unbalanced) XLR (Balanced) |
| Speaker Outputs | Copper base nickel plated binding posts (2 pair) |
| DC Trigger Input | 3.5mm 5-15VDC |
| Warranty | 3 years parts and labor |
Signal |
|
| Gain | 30.5dB +/-0.5dB |
| Sensitivity for rated output power | 2.08V |
| Signal to Noise | 1kHz@1200 Watts > 112dB |
| Input impedance | Unbalanced 50KΩ Balanced 100KΩ |
| Output Impedance | 50Hz, 2.8VRMS <0.007Ω |
| Damping factor | 50Hz. 2.8VRMS 8Ω >1100 4Ω >550 |
| Frequency Response | 2.8VRMS into 4Ω 10Hz – 20KHz +/- 0.5dB 10Hz – 45KHz +0.1/-3.0dB |
THD & IM |
|
| 1KHz, 1W/4Ω | < 0.005% |
| 10-20KHz, 1W/4Ω | < 0.01% |
| 1KHz, 150W/4Ω | < 0.02% |
Output Power |
120vac mains, 1kHz, 1% THD |
| 8Ω | 600W minimum |
| 4Ω | 1200W minimum |
| 2Ω | Stable for musical transients |
the abso!ute sound
Jacob Heilbrunn
Stellar M1200 proved itself to be one hell of an amplifier when it was delivering the sound of all the pianos I auditioned.
What HiFi
Roger Hargreaves
