Woah! Colour me flattered
@ogodei
Good memory!
Yeah I had both the AB-1266 (the original version, pre-Phi) and Stellaris #2. I don't know if Donald has made any change to the Stellairs as he did make periodical updates/upgrades to the Stratus.
I can't recall reading anyone having an issue with one of Donald's amps UNLESS it was something like user related like damaged a tube socket or it was the tubes themselves that caused the issue. His amps use very high quality (read: go though a lot of QC before delivery) then he personally tests each amp. The amp construction it self is "simple" in that it is all point to point wiring and all hand made. Basically, what I am trying to get at, if quality is a concern, you literally cannot do better than a DNA amp and issues with his stuff seem to basically unheard of.
He's also a super nice, stand up guy.
I know I wrote something about the Abyss+Stellaris combo but I couldn't seem to dig it up. It has also been a few years now (boy, time flies!) so my memory won't be 100%. From what I do recall the pairing was really quite good but I also felt that both the Stellairs and the Abyss would be better served with other pairings. For example, the strengths of the Stellaris (as ogodei pointed out) do shine through more on things like a HD800/HD6X0, Utopia, AK-1000's. The strengths of the Abyss as better played with other amps - specially big 'ol Class A stuff that have the grunt. If memory serves I did preffer the Abyss with the Studio over the Stellairs, but I also preferred the Abyss with a Pass amp over the Studio.
Anyway, this has basically just devolved into me rambling and probably isn't of much help... I listen to a lot of classical, acoustic, jazz and blues so the Stellaris + modded HD800 was my jam: it is a really outstanding combo. If you are more of a rock guy, the Stelliars may not have the grit that goes so well with that.
Ultimately there are all really fantastic amps and the Abyss are really fantastic headphones. Putting any of them together is going to sound great. It just may not be ideal for you and personal tastes.
Happy listening.