Is it worth it to go for Stellaris Special?
I purchased based on my love for prior versions of the amp and for the speaker outs. I haven't regretted it. The transformers and caps do make it sound slightly different.
But you'll get 99% of the sound from the 'standard' Stellaris. If you're at all concerned about cost-to-performance ratio ( i.e., you're a rational person without money to throw around,) I don't think the SSpecial is worth the step up. The Stellaris is a fantastic amp as it is.