First Look: Peachtree Audio Nova hybrid integrated amp/USB DAC
A product I’ve been working on with an eye toward writing a future AVguide/Playback review is Peachtree Audio’s new Nova hybrid-integrated amplifier/USB DAC ($1199). Let me say from the outset that a big part of the Nova’s appeal involves its sheer versatility.
A Multifaceted Performer
Depending on one’s needs or point of view, the Nova could conceivably play any or all of the following roles:
--80Wpc stereo hybrid integrated amplifier
--Class A vacuum tube-powered (using a 6922 tube) preamplifier with variable outputs (or solid-state only fixed outputs)
--Class A vacuum tube-powered headphone amplifier
--Solid state, “remote switching” DAC with 24-bit/96kHz upsampling and five digital inputs (1 x USB, 2 x coax, 2 x optical).
Distinctive Features
But wait, as the late-night TV ads might put it, there’s more. The Nova offers features that are not commonly seen either in hybrid-integrated amps or in high-quality USB DAC/preamps. Specifically, the Nova provides:
--A remote control that let’s you switch between inputs (3 x stereo analog, 5 x digital as outlined above), mute speakers, adjust volume levels, or—check this one out—switch between vacuum tube and solid-state front-end circuitry in real time.
--A rear panel switch that reconfigures one of the Nova’s analog AUX inputs as a Home Theater Bypass input.
--A DAC section based on the ESS 9006 Sabre DAC chip, which incorporates a patented on-chip jitter reduction circuit and which claims an astonishing signal/noise ratio of -122dB.
--A rear panel switch that lets you choose “Sharp” or “Soft” DAC filters to suit your preference (hint: Sharp measures better, but Soft sounds better).
--Transformer-coupled digital inputs to help minimize noise.
--A rear panel chamber where you can place Sonos receiver modules (or the like) to make the Nova part of a wireless audio system/
All of this would mean very little if the Nova didn’t actually sound good, but it does, though some of its operational modes are stronger than others. The DAC section of the Nova, for instance, is particularly good—so much so that you would be perfectly justified in buying the Nova purely to use it as a DAC. I spent a fair amount of time “drag-racing” the Nova vs. the critically acclaimed Benchmark Media DAC1 Pre and found that, though the two units are slightly different in overall sonic character, they are essentially very competitive with one another. This fact, I feel, helps underscore what a great value the Nova represents.
Consider this: the Nova can go toe-to-toe with the Benchmark on sonic grounds, offers more flexible inputs (3 analog and 5 digital for the Nova vs. the 1 analog and 5 digital for the Benchmark), comes with a remote control (you have to step up to the more expensive DAC1 HDR to get a Benchmark with a remote), and serves not only as a DAC/preamp/headphone amp but also as a full-on hybrid integrated amplifier—all for about $395 less than the price of the Benchmark. Even if you prefer the sound of the Benchmark (and make no mistake, a very solid sonic case could be made for either of these units), there’s no denying that the Nova offers terrific performance and flexibility for your hard-earned money. Watch for the upcoming AVguide/Playback review.
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Comments
Got me tempted. I want to buy in to PC Audio but am waiting for a few features. One is I want bidirection D/A and A to D conversion. Balanced outputs, and the ability to play 24/192 high resolution downloads. This still doesn't exist outside of one or two dacs that I know. My thoughts are to get something inexpensive and wait. This might just be the ticket. It doesn't make sense to buy CDs anymore when you can get downloads w. more convenience. But my starting point will be a HP Media Server.
Could someone educate me or steer me towards a tutorial on what this product, or similar products such as V-DAC would do for me. I currently have a modest home audio system playing CD's through a Denon DVD player and Denon Stereo Amp through old Klipch Lascallas. Used to play lots of vinyl and prefer the sound, but can't stand the pops from my old vinyl. My kids use ipods and laptop computers connected to amp via headphone out, but I find the sound thin and unappealing. Will this or a similar product turn that crap sound into rich music? And what will it do for my CD's?
jzed--
You ask several interesting questions. Let me address them:
1) This is a different animal from the V-DAC, in that it includes an integrated amp, whereas the V-DAC is purely for D/A conversion. To use the V-DAC, you'd need a digital source--not an iPod, as I'll explain below--and you'd have to connect it to your Denon Amp. To use the Nova, you can connect the amp directly to your speakers, but you still need a good digital source.
2) The laptop could be a good digital source for either this product or the V-DAC (or any other standalone DAC), but you'd want to bypass the headphone out and use a digital output--say the USB port. If you have a Mac you can use the headphone out with a TOSLink cable since the Mac headphone out doubles as a fiber optic digital out but you'd need the right cable. The reason for this is that a D/A Converter takes bits and translates them into sound, but when you use the headphone out on an iPod or a PC, you're using the internal DAC on that product rather than a dedicated DAC like this has. Better DAC = Better sound.
3) Using the headphone amp on an iPod (or a PC), you're going to encounter two problems. One, the D/A conversion is taking place on the iPod (not a bad thing in older iPod models, they have a pretty good DAC), but also you're going through the iPods output circuitry, specifically the rather crappy opamp. If you get a decent dock-to-RCA cable or a good iPod dock, you'll bypass the opamp (by going out of the bottom of the player instead of the top) and get a line level output that can be run through your amp for better sound. If you want to get a pure digital signal from the iPod to run through either the Nova, or a standalone DAC, you'll need a Wadia iTransport (which, to the best of my knowledge is the only product which pulls bits straight from the iPod), but all of that effort would likely be wasted because...
3.A) If your kids are ripping cds to MP3, or buying iTunes songs or obtaining MP3's through bittorrent, etc, you will notice a seriously diminished sound quality. A typical 3-minute pop song on a CD takes up, say, 50MB of space, but the same song converted to a lossy format like MP3 takes up, say, 3.5 MB. Where did the rest of the song go? Not in your ears, that's for sure.
4) Lastly, if you want to improve the quality of your CDs with a new DAC or something like the NOVA, you'll need a digital out on your CD player--it may or may not have one. Most modern "audiophile" players have this, even at the entry level, but your DVD player may not. Check the manual. If not, and you still want to try an improved digital solution, you could rip your CDs onto a PC using a lossless format (WAV, AIFF, FLAC, Apple Lossless if using iTunes), then connect your PC to the Nova or the V-DAC and you'll probably see a nice improvement in sound quality.
Hope this helps.
The limitation of the headphone ouput is simply the analog circuitry. Using lossless compression(no data loss, just smaller files), you can output full resolution audio, either 44.1 / 96/24 or higher through either optical or USB. In this way, the outboard DAC(digital to analog convertor) will have cleaner data to work with. Some devices even defeat the clock on the computer output leading to less time based errors. One of the nicest things about transferring your cd's to a hard drive(using a lossless scheme) is that if a cd player misses data it has to compensate(interpolate) what was supposed to be there, but a hard drive samples over and over until all of the data is present. Plus, since the rotational integrity of a hard drive is usually better than that of a cd player, you stand to get much better music. One of the benefits of the Nova is that you can transfer a cd to a laptop as well as take the digital output from your Denon and make a direct a/b comparison since you can hook up both and switch via remote control
There is a website called ComputerAudiophile.com that answers many of your questions and is very helpful for someone looking for both background and specific answers.
There'll be much more sophisticated answers to your question, but to start the process for you, this unit will:
1) replace your Denon receiver (although you'll lose the over-the-air free radio function since this unit does not have a tuner built into it).
2) replace the Digital to Analog converter in your CD player (assuming that you have an optical output on the back of it).
3) replace the D to A converters in your iPod and computer as long as you are pulling the digital signal from each one and sending it to the NOVA (through a USB cable, for example). There's a little bit of work in the case of the iPod, but very little in the case of the computer.
In the above three cases, the sound quality will be dramatically better, both because of the quality of the amplification and the quality of the Digital to Analog conversion. You'll also get a great headphone amp for private listening on headphones.
4) there will also be huge benefits if you run a whole-house audio system using a package like Sonos or Sqeezebox (I think), although I don't know the details on this last point since I don't have one set up.
Good luck.
-B
Jzed, depending on your age, it may not make a difference what so ever, as our ears don't do us any favors as
we get closer to the Promised Land. Denon makes good stuff, but I doubt that either your Denon amp nor your DVD player
will bring you anywhere near Audiophile sound, even at a a mid-grade level.
My first suggestion for CD Listening being that you LIKE the sound of vinyl that doesn't have the clicks and pops is to go toAudiogon.com and look for a Consonance 120 Linear CD Player ($500 used-$1000 new)...it is NON OVERSAMPLING and has NO DIGITAL FILTER....both
of these will bring you closer to the Analogue sound you enjoy, without the need for an outboard DAC. Or you could use your current
DVD player and look into a DAC that also is NOS and digital filterless, there are a number of units under $500, I use a Scott Nixon unit in my
second system and have been VERY happy with it.
Secondly, you might look into an upgrade of your integrated unit, but if it's an older unit it may still fill the bill. You don't need many watts to drive the Klipch's, so that can save you some money there...there are many options available that won't break the bank....but I'd start on the CDP first, as I'd be very surprised if you don't find an immediate improvement in the sound just with a different CDP.
Good luck and enjoy the ride!
Thanks to all for the tremendous information. I guess I should have known that there is no way I was ever going to get the sound I wanted from MP3's on an Ipod. And of course with all these college age kids my budget is limited. If I were to get a V-DAC to connect between the digital out on my Denon DVD player, or digital out using a USB from kids laptop, would I get a substantially better listening experience. The V-Dac is about $300, which would be consistent in budget with the rest of my components.
What I would suggest is to go to a dealer that offers both type of dacs or cdp', Upsampling/oversampling and non-oversampling/no digital filter, and see
which sound you prefer. The Scott Nixon (just google the name, his page comes up) Chibi Dac is a fine Non-oversampling option which is in the same price range as the V-dac...you'll never know which of the two you like if you don't hear them both...you could get the vdac and not like it, or vice versa.
Either option you go for, SHOULD be better than what your listening too now....and someday you won't have college costs, and oh what a relief it is!!!
This is a wonderful machine, this is one of the few true intelligent product designs and realizations one can find in market today, one that joins past and future of audio.
I am just about to buy one. I have liked this amp since I knew of it.
Doesn't the Benchmark offer 24bit/192kHZ upsampling?
Quick reply to djm....I haven't seen a DVD player that does not have digital outputs. It may not have both optical and coaxial outputs but it certainly would have one or the other. I agree with you on all other points which were very well put.
To jzed...The Musical Fiedlity V-DAC is amazing for $299. It would almost definitely improve the sound of a Denon DVD player playing CDs. Expect stronger bass and superior pace and rythm. Not a night and day difference but one that is appreciable. Expect the V-DAC to take 150-200 hours to break in before doing any serious listening.
When playing 16 bit ripped files to AIFF or WAV I prefer the sound of the Wadia iTransport VS USB out of my MacBook to the V-DAC. I am not sure if this is a jitter issue, a cable quality issue, or what but the Wadia sounds more well balanced with greater detail. Maybe I am just fooling myself since I like using a Wadia piece that only costs $379! On the other hand using a MacBook is a much better interface.
The Peachtree Audio Nova is another amazing product. I bought one of the first Deccos when they came out and the Nova is an even better value. Dave Solomon from Peachtree brought it into the store and conducted a very interesting demo. Playing a solo piano piece off of his MacBook via USB he played the file at 128kbps and AIFF. Without telling anyone which was which he asked the group what they thought was the better sounding file. Surprisingly two out of six people preferred the MP3! The rest of us nailed it and could distinguish differences between the two files but I have to say I have never head MP3 128 sound as good as it did during that demo.
If you like the sound of vinyl, I am afraid neither digital product is going to get you there. At home I use a Pro-Ject RM-6 with a Sumiko Blue Point Evo III and even this modest rig sounds better than all but the best digital products. In fact there have only been three times in my life where I have preferred a digital front end when directly compared to analog. 1) Marantz SA-1 SACD player playing an RCA Living Stereo SACD vs its LP counterpart. 2) Linn CD12 3) Ayre USB DAC playing 24/96 hi res files.
Unfortunately vinyl is expensive and good record store are not common. For raw value you can't beat the Nova. If you get your hands on one try using it with your Denon DVD player but plug the Nova into the Klipsch. I bet you would be surprised.
I have The Decco. I use a Dell 5150 Dimension running XP Pro as a music server. I go straight from the USB on the Dell to the USB on the Decco. I have a Linksys wireless router. I use tightvnc and a free domain name from DYNDNS.
I can connect to my music server from anywhere in the house using a laptop. I tried different software but I use Zune V3
The Zune has a nice interface and it does a good job ripping my CD's I have 12000 songs 60% are wav and the rest are Mp3 I have had my Decco since last August. I use JBL 3 way speakers. The Decco has worked without any problems. I have at least 100 hours on it. The 60 wpc is more than enough to run any 8 ohm speaker.
One more thing David S. is the type of person you have always wanted to deal with when you buy something. He goes out of his way to make sure you are happy with his product and answers any questions.
I don't own a Nova but If it is as good or better than Decco then for the price compared to all the other so called high end equipment you can't go wrong.
Regards
So far as I know, the only way to get a digital output from an iPod is to use the Wadia i70. I think Peachtree recommends this solution too, though I haven't tried it myself. At some - and by that I mean when my wife lets me - I'll get both and hook them up to decent B&W or PSB speakers...
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