![]() ![]() The analog out to speakers is now via solid metal (gold colored) banana adaptors included no more cheap plastic. The 100 back is very different-the power cord plug is on the right side, the speaker outputs are now on the left, and (as mentioned above) there is no power switch anymore. (And because of the new side grills, you can also see some green light inside when powered on.) It now has an LED indicator light (above the volume knob) so you know if it is powered on/off or muted if the bass booster is enabled, then it shines white, blue otherwise and when muted the lights are less bright.It has lower THD, 105dB (versus > 90dB in the original).But, perhaps at low volumes it can be useful.) (I found that I always keep it disabled sufficient bass is realized with the new 100W per channel. A bass-booster mode (filter) can be enabled or disabled it ramps up bass if you so wish when you have speakers attached, not headphones, and gets automatically turned off if you attach a subwoofer.(As before, the power plug on the back allows you to use your own power cord.) It now has a universal internal power supply you can use it internationally without worrying about voltage.Makes for selecting finer volume levels and for allowing use of the remote. The power knob is now an infinity knob, it keeps turning, and is solidly made.It no longer has a power switch on the back one can power the unit on/off using the volume knob (press it), or using the remote.It now has a well-made brushed aluminum remote control (optional to use) for on/off, volume and mute (a new feature)–I keep it on the door of my metal refrigerator when not using it explanation later.It has a redesigned headphone amplifier with double the output as the old (now it is 32 Ohms: 500mW 300 Ohms: 125mW).It has a redesigned RIAA phono stage (the phono stage is meant for moving magnet only, with loading at 47K Ohms, 100pF).This can be used to input many other things such as a TV, etc. In addition to USB, it has an optical (TOSLINK) digital input instead of the coaxial one that was in the original.It has a dedicated separate output for a subwoofer (one had to use the 3.5mm analog output before).It now has line level RCA for analog input (it always had that for vinyl, but otherwise one 3.5mm input, and one 3.5mm output).The new DAC chip also increases the quality of the Bluetooth mode because as before the Bluetooth implementation it uses pulls the raw data from the Bluetooth module and passes it directly to Sprout’s DAC chip. It can now play DSD and do so up to double rate (128), and PCM now up to 24/384 (original was only up to 24/192).It is endowed with a new and better DAC chip: the ESS Sabre 9016 (versus a Wolfson WM8524).That is certainly a serious change, and the sides of the unit now have grills as do the bottom to facilitate cooling. Why the ‘100’ in the name Sprout100? Because its amp outputs 100W per channel 4 Ohms, 50W per channel 8 Ohms (versus about half that in the original). The dimensions and weight of the Sprout100 are essentially the same as for the original Sprout, 1.9” (H) x 6.2” (W) x 8.2”(D) 2.9 lbs., and the minimalist looks are very much the same, but technical changes abound a serious rebuild/redesign was implemented throughout. ![]() As I will try to convey in this review, some serious thought by McGowan was clearly given to this new version, and by drawing upon the expertise of PS Audio’s engineer Darren Myers, PS Audio has produced a product of exceptional value-and substantially better than the original. I ran into McGowan recently at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in October 2017, where he pulled out a prototype of the Sprout100 from his backpack at the hotel restaurant for my perusal my eyes lit up at what I saw-and hoped to hear soon after. Now we step forward 3 years to the second generation for review here: the Sprout100-at only $599. It was a powerful, small, simple to use stereo integrated amplifier with DAC, analog preamplifier, headphone amp, phono stage, Bluetooth receiver and more I was dazzled by its performance at $799. In February of 2015, I reviewed the original PS Audio Sprout, the brainchild of Scott McGowan. ![]()
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