Hello everyone.

I have scored a Project Polaris, second hand from Kanuck Audio Mart, In excellent condition and with a few extra Resistors and LEDs. I would like to share my experience with it, including setting up.

I have figured out, eventually, where the jumpers would go, with the exception of the Power Led, which I have only realised it was missing after turning on the Unit. In fact, I thought there was something wrong with it at first. I went back to the Manual and it became evident what that sole remaining jumper was for. Silly me!

I would prefer the LED to be RED, as I generally find Blue Leads too bright for my taste. But I saw that Trim Pot close to it and have realised that it could be usefully dimmed. I have set it to lowest brightness. I will eventually change the LED for a RED one, which the seller has also included.

As for the attenuation module, I have simply set it as Off, even though the labelling isn't too clear. I have figured out that WO probably meant Without Attenuation. And I was thankfully right.

I have set Bandwidth to High, to keep the output as extended and neutral as possible and Gain to High as well. As for Output Impedance, I have set it as Low, to ensure the widest compatibility, as well as raw power output. And by golly, is it Powerful! Even with a relatively hard to to drive Vintage DT 990/600 Ohm (1985) I have power to spare and then some! I may try the Medium Gain and see if it is adequate for these and other vintage pairs in my collection. I have to say that I like to listen loud, and my ageing ears are probably contributing to that preference.
EDIT: Medium Gain proved to be plentiful for even hard to drive Vintage High Z and HIFIMAN Planar Magnetics. Very impressive indeed!

As for the Sound, it is indeed VERY good, meaty, punchy, yet still providing perfectly adequate levels of detail. I was pleasantly surprised that I couldn't ear the supposedly high levels of distortion published by Armin on ASR. I don't doubt what he has measured, but it does not appear to be audible. Which is a big plus for me. And it pairs especially well with High Impedance, Vintage Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic!

I have other amps, with which I'm more than happy with, but for now at least the Polaris is a rather nice alternative to the others, providing a somewhat less clinical, less technically orientated performance, but very strong on Musical satisfaction. And that is the most important factor, all things considered. I'm very happy with this addition to my Headphone listening!