Sprout represents our vision of a simple, elegant means of playing music at home. We created it for those of us who want quality sound without the hassles that sometimes come with it. Sprout features a phono preamplifier for vinyl, a Bluetooth receiver for music streamed from smartphones, a high-quality hi-res DAC to handle anything stored on a computer, enough power for any speaker, and a headphone amp that drives even the toughest loads. Roughly the size of a large novel, Sprout100 is a source of music for those who want quality sound without the hassles that come with it.
DESIGN
APPLICATION
Technology
OVERVIEW
Sprout is a simple, elegant source of music for those who want quality sound without the hassles that come with it. Sprout was designed by PS Audio’s Scott McGowan as an answer to the complexity and cost of Audiophile systems. Appealing to the eye and ear, solid and reassuring to the touch, Sprout’s ease of use makes it appealing and accessible to music lovers around the world. It features a phono preamplifier for vinyl, a Bluetooth receiver for music streamed from smartphones, a high-quality hi-res DAC to handle anything stored on a computer, enough power for any speaker, and a headphone amp that drives even the toughest loads.
INPUTS
To ensure the best possible vinyl reproduction, we engineered a brand-new hybrid circuit design that incorporates a JFET input stage, to lower noise and increase headroom, and a passive high-frequency RIAA circuit, for extended and nuanced high-frequency response. Optimized to the cutting edge of digital playback, Sprout100 also employs an ultra high-resolution ESS Sabre DAC (9016) with USB-B input that accepts resolutions up to PCM 384/24 and DSD128: bit-perfect playback for your high-rez computer audio, video, and gamin applications. An optical (toslink) input allows you to incorporate a TV or other modern digital device with your new system. Bluetooth offers versatility, convenience, and one-touch access to a world of content.
POWER
Equiped with bleeding-edge ICEpower amplifier technology, the Sprout100 offers 100 watts per channel, with peaks of up to 135 watts per channel. The Sprout100 also features a built-in subwoofer output (mono RCA, variable), allowing you all the rumble you want with the powered subwoofer of your choosing. With one of the finest headphone amplifiers made, the Sprout100 honors and respects the music with a low-impendance z-feedback circuit that is capable of driving virtually any pair of headphones you can throw at it with perfect transient impulse response. Slewing at an unheard of 1,300-volts/microsecond, the Sprout100’s headphone amp produces lucid spatial detail and acute tonal retrieval.
Physical |
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| Unit Weight | 2.9 lbs [1.3 kg] |
| Unit Dimensions | Width 6.2″, Height 1.9″, Depth 8.2″ (chassis only, not including knobs) or 9.2” (including connectors and knobs) |
| Shipping Weight | 5lbs [2.2 kg] |
| Shipping Dimensions | Width 10.5″, Height 5″, Depth 14″ |
Power requirements |
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| Voltage Options | 100-240 VAC, 50-60Hz, Auto-Detect |
| Power Consumption | 280W Maximum |
| Mains Power Input | IEC C14 |
Phono Audio Input |
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| Connector | 1 Stereo Pair, Phono RCA |
| Cartridge type | Moving Magnet |
| Cartridge Output | 3mV-10mV (5mV recommended) |
| Cartridge Loading | 47KΩ (100pF) |
| EQ Type | RIAA |
| Gain | +40dB |
| S/N ratio | >84dB A-weighted (analog output) |
Analog Audio Inputs |
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| Connector | 1 Stereo Pair, Line Level RCA |
| Maximum Input level | 2.1VRMS (+6.44dBV) |
| Input impedance | 10KΩ |
Analog Audio Output |
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| Connector | 1 Stereo Pair, Line Level RCA |
| Output level, maximum | 3.0VRMS (+9.5dBV) |
| Output Max Gain (using Analog Inputs) | 8.45dB |
| S/N ratio | >105dB (3VRMS ref) |
| THD (Analog) | <0.01% (1VRMS, 1KHz) |
S/PDIF Digital Input |
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| Connector | Optical (Toslink) |
| Format | PCM (96KHz max), 24 bits |
USB Input |
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| Connector | USB “B” Type |
| Format | PCM (384KHz max), 24 bits, DSD64 (DoP), DSD128 (DoP) |
| Transfer mode | Asynchronous |
Bluetooth |
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| Antenna | Built in |
| DAC | Uses Sprout’s built in asynchronous DAC over S/PDIF (ESS Sabre 9016 DAC) |
Stereo Power Amplifier Output |
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| 8Ω loudspeakers connected | 50 watts per channel, both channels driven |
| 4Ω loudspeakers connected | 100 watts per channel, both channels driven |
| THD (Speaker Output) | <0.01% (1W, 1KHz into 4Ω) |
| Frequency Response | +/- 1dB (1VRMS out, 20Hz – 20Khz into 4-8Ω) |
| Signal to Noise | >100dB at max power into 4Ω |
Headphone Output |
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| 32Ω headphones connected | 500mW |
| 300Ω headphones connected | 125mW |
| THD | <0.01% (1KHz, 50mW into 32 Ω) |
| Signal to Noise | >105dB at max power into 300Ω |
Future Audiophile
Andrew Dewhirst
The Absolute Sound
Julie Mullins
Based on my experience, if you decide to buy the PS Audio Sprout100 and the ELAC Debut 2.0 speakers, I can safely extrapolate from that…
Twittering Machines
Michael Lavorgna
It could welcome new folks to hi-fi and greet them with enough quality to keep them in the freakin’ game. The Sprout100 is certainly hi-fi, and as far as New Record Day is concerned, it’s one of the most thorough examples of what hi-fi should and can be.
It’s a no-brainer. It’s a no-brainer!!
New Record Day
Ron Brenay
Zero Fidelity
Sean Fowler
Positive Feedback
Steve Lefkowicz
Audio Bacon
Stereophile
Herb Reichert
Home Theater Review
Sound & Vision
Al Griffin
I think I have a Sprout100 in my future.
Like many in our generation, I fulfilled my audio needs with receivers….But now, having tried the Sprout100, I’m reconsidering. The Sprout100 isn’t a receiver, but an integrated amplifier in a small size that packs quite a punch. 10.5 inches across, 5 inches high and 14 inches deep, it weighs in at under 3 pounds. But in the aluminum box with a wood veneer top is up to 100 watts of speaker output per channel, more than enough to drive my big floor speakers to room-shaking loudness (I cranked it up when the Mrs. was out on an errand). I’m not an…
Tech 50+
Bill Stoller
The Shoestring Audiophile
Michael Laurance
Home Theater Review
Steven Stone
A Sprout, you say? Indeed, I’m speaking of PS Audio’s gateway drug into high-end audio, the venerable Sprout integrated amplifier/DAC/phono preamp. It seems that receipt of a Sprout has become something of a coming of age moment in my family. My daughter got the first generation sample I reviewed when she was a junior in college, having moved out of the dorms and into a place of her own with a bunch of other collegiate ladies.
…Ultimately, as with the original Sprout, I had to conclude that one of the best attributes of the Sprout 100 is that it serves to bring generations of people…
Part Time Audiophile
John Richardson
I began this review by stating that PS Audio was once considered the poor man’s budget audiophile gear, and the PS Audio Sprout100 continues that tradition without reservation. Providing a large soundstage with excellent dynamics, a great tonal balance and musicality sufficient to tame the occasionally edgy SABRE DAC chip, while able to drive anything from the most sensitive of IEMs to reference quality planar magnetics, the Sprout100 has earned a place as one of my three favorite DAC/Headphone Amplifiers under $1,000, and is only bested by the Modwright/Oppo DAC, as an ESS based DAC.
The…
Headphone Guru
Gary Allen Barker
…to see how the Sprout100 can handle these very serious speakers that cost $15K per pair, with a frequency response down to 29 Hz. We jumped right to it and played Bela Fleck’s classic cut Flight of the Cosmic Hippo. The Sprout100 drove them well, displaying more depth, more bass, more presence and shaking my couch. Of course they did not yield the sound quality that the Celesta shows off with when paired with my 700 W per channel reference mono blocks, and peripheral reference equipment—but confirming that a $599 Sprout100 can drive these speakers was a revelation.
At the mere price of…
Audophilia
Karl Sigman
I pulled out about $6,000 worth of amp and preamp and stuck the $599 Sprout between a pair of Legacy Classic speakers on the output side and about $12,000 worth of MC cartridge, tonearm, turntable, phono cable and phono stage on the input side of the Sprout using the analog input. Not a fair test at all. I was setting up the Sprout to fail. It was surprising easy to listen to. Very non-fatiguing. Not grainy or crappy at all. This $600 unit held its own.
This is the new vintage integrated amp. And with Bluetooth and all those other features this could be the entry level integrated that you…
Record Collector News
Jim Kaplan
Dagogo
David Blumenstein
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2019 Recommended Component Award from Stereophile
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2019 Sprout100 Golden Ear Award from The Absolute Sound
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2019 Sprout100 Exceptional Value Award from Tone Audio
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2018 Sprout100 Product of 2018 from Audio Bacon
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Sprout100 Writers’ Choice Award from Positive Feedback
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Sprout100 Brutus Award 2018 From Positive Feedback
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Sprout100 Best of 2018 Award from Home Theater Review
