PLAYBACK: Peachtree Audio Nova Hybrid Integrated Amp/USB DAC
An Integrated Amp for the New Age
Home Theater/Multichannel Audio
Portable/PC Audio
TV / Displays
- DISH Network ViP®722 HD DVR and TurboHD Package
- Samsung UN46B7000 LCD HDTV with LED backlighting
- Sharp XV-Z15000 1080p DLP Projector
Two-Channel Audio
Source: Playback
SONIC CHARACTER, AMP
Based on my listening tests, the Nova would hold its own quite nicely in comparison to like-priced integrated amplifiers—even if it didn’t include a killer onboard DAC. Three sonic qualities define the Nova’s sound. First, its tube-driven front end confers a gentle (but definitely not sloppy-sounding) touch of organic warmth and harmonic richness that make the Nova sound much more “alive” than many of the solid-state-only integrated amps I’ve heard. The Nova also sounds good in solid-state only mode, but with a presentation that, while very clean, is somewhat less rich, three-dimensional, and involving than when the tube circuit is engaged. Second, the Nova has a remarkably focused and well-defined character, and handles low-level details very well. As a result, imaging and soundstaging details are conveyed with the sort of precision and solidity that remind me of far more expensive integrated amps. Third, the amp’s bass sounds very tight and well controlled, exhibiting none of the looseness I’ve observed with some all-tube integrated amps. In short, the Nova, like many hybrid-integrated amps, is a best-of-two worlds design—one that marries tube warmth and harmonic richness with solid-state tautness and control.
The only drawback I noted, and it seems almost unfair to mention it, is that the 80Wpc amp does not have quite as much dynamic “grunt” or low bass punch as some higher-powered amps in its class. But don’t get me wrong: the Nova offers good dynamics and bass with the limits of its power envelope. It’s just that certain speakers require a bit more wattage than the Nova has on tap in order to really clear their throats and sing. But to put things back in perspective, remember this: virtually none of the Nova’s higher-powered competitors can match its versatility.
SONIC CHARACTER, DAC
The strengths of the Nova DAC parallel those of the Nova amp, and one of the first qualities you might notice about the DAC would be the strikingly clear, delicate way in which it renders low-level sonic details. If you listen carefully to the decay of percussion instruments through the Peachtree, for example, you’ll hear the shimmer of cymbals or the shudder of bass drums trailing off for a much longer period of time than through most DACs. Similarly, the Nova let’s you hear instruments reverberating within recording spaces long after other DACs would have buried their sounds in background noise—a quality I attribute to the Peachtree DAC’s excellent claimed signal/noise ratio. On paper these might sound like subtle or potentially hair-splitting distinctions, but in practice they mean that the Nova lets you enjoy noticeably more nuanced and finely shaded renditions of your favorite recordings. The sensation is the equivalent of finding sonic buried treasure; the Nova is your “all-access pass” to valuable layers of detail that simply weren’t audible before.
I was also mightily impressed by the Nova’s ability to convey a flowing, expansive sense of dynamic “bloom” whenever the music called for it. Some DACs seem to handle dynamics in a relatively crude, “color by numbers” fashion, but not so the Nova. It faithfully renders both subtle as well large-scale shifts in dynamic emphasis (and all points in between), making good recordings sound unusually expressive and vibrant—almost as though you can feel the music breathing. At more than a few points when listening through the Nova DAC, I found myself thinking (put on your best Dr. Frankenstein accents, now, please), “It is alive…”
Performance tip: For best sound, Peachtree’s Jim Spainhour recommends “at least a 72 hour break-in period due to the organic caps (capacitors) in the DAC.”
Sharp and Soft DAC filter switch settings: I tried flipping back and forth between the Nova’s “Sharp” and “Soft” filter settings and found the Soft setting gave consistently superior results. The “Sharp” setting, while pleasant enough for casual listening, dilutes some of the signature liveliness and harmonic richness of which the Nova is capable. The “Soft” setting, by comparison, yields a noticeably more detailed and dynamically responsive sound.
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Comments
I pretty much agree with everything in the review. For the price this unit is pretty hard to beat and is a great way to get into hi-fi without spending a fortune, and retains enough usefulness to last a long time (as DAC, as headphone amp, as amp for a secondary system). I really liked the headphone section with my AKG K701 and the amp didn't seem to have any trouble driving Synchrony Ones at sane volumes.
One minor complaint I had about the DAC portion, however, is that it can cut off the beginning of audio when used with some sources. I don't know if it has to do with how it acquires a lock or what, but when using it with my Squeezebox or Oppo DVD player (I think it's the DV-971H), the first 1/4 seconds or so of audio is cut off, often causing some music to miss the first beat. When connected to my PC sound card, I didn't experience this issue. Similarly, I didn't have this problem with the analogue inputs.
I emailed David Solomon to see if he could comment on the issue, but haven't heard back. I also posted a bug on the Slimdevices bug tracker to see if there was anything that could be done from their end.
In the end I'm going to be returning my unit because the money could be spent on some other stuff like furniture for my new house, but once I'm in the market for a second system this will be high on the list.
The clipping of the first note can be attributed to the Oppo player (not the DAC): See the comments section here: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/universal-players/234-a-secrets-dvd-player-review.html
Maybe Oppo has fixed the problem with their latest firmware? -Scott
its not just an oppo problem. i am also having the same problem with a rotel cd player digital co-ax to the dac
Hi All,
Thank you for all of the comments and feedback.
We were able to recreate the problem of the DAC ramping up too late to catch the first note of a song w/a few components and found the cause.
Most of the Novas are unaffected, however, If you are having a problem with the dac ramping up into the first beat, we do have a fix by opening the DAC input parameters. Please give a call to David Richardson @ 704-391-9337 for an RA.
Best wishes,
David Solomon
Peachtree Audio
Feel free to give us a call or drop a line any time
When will audio reviewers learn to review digital devices properly? A lot of devices tout USB interfaces but the bit rates are never specified nor are the audio reviewers savvy enough to run high bit audio files and proper playback tools. They tend to get stuck wth iTunes and a whole slew of 16/44.1 files somehow downrezzed into FLAC or whatever. God forbid they try to use VLC or Foobar with a nice 24/96 WAV file.
Now then.... what is the sample rate supported by this box over USB? Will it do 24/96 files? Will it require a driver installation? Does it support ASIO drivers?
Also, going forward, 24/192 and like bit rates are beginning to ship. I think the makers of these consumer boxes have been too long stuck on Red Book and are failing to jump ahead. What are the chances that this box will be upgraded to 24/192?
My last comment is on the hole for the add in box. Is there a chance to have an alternate plug in module with something like Firewire?
I would like to run the VA Mozarts off of a Sonos system via the Nova. Thanks.
Howard
I'm primarily interested in this and the Benchmark as a headphone amp (other features welcome bonuses.) I'd like to know which you prefer for head-listening and how both compare with similarly priced (or cheaper) heaphone amps.
Thank you Chris, interesting review.
I was following Nova news for some time. Do you know whether Peachtree sells Nova's from their site already?
And can you list what equipment you used for the review?
Sergey.
I've had my Nova for a couple of months now. I believe I was one of the first people to alert David @ Signal Path that the Nova was clipping the opening notes of certain songs (compressed or uncompressed) I played via USB from my iTunes/MacBook Pro laptop setup. As soon as they had confirmed the problem they had a software fix ready to go three days later. They issued a call tag, I sent my unit back at no charge to me, they upgraded the unit's firmware in about 30 minutes and got my unit shipped back to me the same day they received it. In total, I was only without my Nova for 5 business days and it cost me nothing. The customer service I received from both David Solomon and David Richardson at Signal Path was outstanding. It's a terrific company and it's why I owned a Decco and ERA D5 monitors, then upgraded to the Nova and a pair of Usher Be-718's in my home office. Their products sound great and provide incredible bang for the buck.
Regarding the question about the USB input, it's 16/44 only. It's completely plug & play with Mac, no drivers needed. If you want/need to use the USB output from your computer, like I do, yet want to enable true 24/96 playback of files so encoded I suggest purchasing the Bel Canto 24/96 USB Link. It has a USB input and a BNC output with an accompanying short BNC/RCA cable so you can use the coax input on the Nova which does support 24/96 decoding. I just received mine yesterday so I don't have any feedback to provide just yet. However, despite the recent thrashing of USB by Alan Taffel in the latest issue of TAS, I think the jitter reduction employed by the Nova helps it avoid a lot of the shortcomings he illustrated. We'll see how much the Bel Canto 24/96 USB link actually improves the sound through the Nova. As I'm sure you know, he also reviewed this Bel Canto unit in the recent issue of TAS and has some positive things to say about while using it with his specific range of gear.
In terms of how the Nova performs, my comments would merely mirror those in Chris' review. I found the headphone amp section sounded excellent when listening through my AKG 702s, it's not just a feature added on as an afterthought. When you consider this unit's strengths as a killer DAC and headphone amp with a very good integrated amp thrown in and all its flexibility with the digital and analog inputs provided, you cannot touch it with any other combination of components out there for under $5K. It's a deal, it's a steal!
In terms of upgrading, at some point, should my job and the economy allow, I would look at incorporating a different amp (I have my eye on a First Watt F5) and see what that might do in terms of changing/improving this combo's sound but until then, I am extremely happy with this gear and have enthusiastically recommended it to all of my friends as a great entry into the world of true high end audio.
Chris Johnsen
Music Fan / Gear Fan
I had the Bel Canto and for the money I would stick with the Nova if all things were equal.. I had the full range of Bel Canto product - replaced by parasounds jc2, a21 and the nova as my dc feeding maginepan 1.8's and am very happy thus far. however the volume knob on the Naov does not work manually as it tends to slip. Id like to find out if this is a part that can be hard cheaply. zit seems to be stripped.
Any thoughts on the Nova driving Paradigm Studio 100s w/ 80 wpc? Perhaps an outboard amps is the way to go? Looking for a setup that supports digital music, sonos without having to shell for an outboard DAC...
Not to deafening levels, or as well as a seperate power amp, but I am doing just that while I wait for my VTL MB185s to arrive. At which point I will put the Nova back in my office and use those and the TL 5.5 pre to drive the studio 100s. They are an efficient speaker.
It was able to drive a set of magnepan 1.6's albeit not to the point ot which they like to sing but at lower levels i was pretty amazed by the current it put out - if that helps.
Ah now that I got my keyboard fixed I can type without looking like a complete fool.
To you comment about driving the 1.6's with your Nova, yes I have also done this however, and as you clearly pointed out, not to the point of really letting them sing like they want to. To address this I have run mine as a pre out to a parasound A21 which more than fills in the needed current to drive them. With Arcam coming out with their version of the DAC for computers as a source (rDAC?), and my less of a need for the amplifier section of the Nova, I may give this little component a listen when I visit my dealer and even see how much they are going for on Audiogon, which is where I picked up my Nova in pristine condition for $1000. It looks like an interesting piece but I have not seen all the specs on it. Having the ability to get it at cost might lead me to the Arcam and thus leave me to sell my Nova. Heads up to those here looking for a mint piano black gloss Nova in the $980 range.......
My system consists of a Marantz PM7001 integrated into a pair of KEF XQ40's. My music source is typically apple lossless files using the Squeezebox3. It sounds great but I am interested in further improvement since it uses the DAC in the SB3. I am trying to decide between keeping the Marantz and adding a DacMagic vs selling my Marantz and phrasing a Peachtree Nova IA with built in DAC.
I would appreciate advice and thoughts on this matter, Also any opinions on the relative quality of these 2 DACs for my purpose as described.
Thank you.