Peachtree Audio - Page 5

Originally Posted by ShrinerMonkey

I got my Nova last night and set it up and listened for an hour or two. Generally I am impressed (see issue below). The built quality is impressive and the unit is quite heavy. The wood finish is flawless as is the very heavy front aluminum face plate. Remote is basic but egonomically acceptable and has a nice rubbery finish. I believe the Decco came with a spare tube for the pre-amp but my Nova did not include one... not a big deal. Also the it would have been nice to include batteries for the remote as almost all electronics include them. I guess some sacrifices had to be made in order to deliver a product this nice for such a low price.

I listened to both internet streams (Rhapsody/Pandora) and FLACs from my PC and both sounded outstanding... MUCH better than the Sonos ZP120 I was using temporarily. I was impressed with my Wharfedale Evo 30s before but now I am very pleased with the match. Highs are holographic and the lows are full and tight. I was affraid that this match would be too laid back but it is just perfect for my ears. I did notice that it took about 20-30 minutes for the unit to warm up and sound it's best. It sounded somewhat constrained at first but after 20 minutes or so it really started to come alive. I am guessing that this warm up period will lessen as the unit breaks in.

1 issue- I have a noticeable buzz in the left channel (can hear clearly from about 2-3 ft from the speaker). I have tried swapping speaker connections, disconnecting the Sonos and plugging the Nova into a different outlet and the buzz stays the same in the left channel only. It stays at the same volume no matter what I set the volume to on the amp. Right channel is practically silent so I think something is wrong with the amp. I will be contacting SignalPath to investigate this issue.

Originally Posted by ShrinerMonkey

I got the rosewood finish. It looks really great sitting on my vintage 1960's rosewood buffet next to my rosewood Wharedales. After listening again last night the buzz is not as loud as I thought. You need to be about 1ft or so from the speaker to hear it and obviously you can't hear it at all when listening to music and sitting 8 feet from the speakers. I can probably live with it but I expect a somewhat high dollar item to be perfect.

P.S.- This is my first system that has a tube and I am really digging watching the tube glow fade in an out when the unit power cycles. Gotta love that tube bling.

Originally Posted by ShrinerMonkey

I got the rosewood finish. It looks really great sitting on my vintage 1960's rosewood buffet next to my rosewood Wharedales. After listening again last night the buzz is not as loud as I thought. You need to be about 1ft or so from the speaker to hear it and obviously you can't hear it at all when listening to music and sitting 8 feet from the speakers. I can probably live with it but I expect a somewhat high dollar item to be perfect.

P.S.- This is my first system that has a tube and I am really digging watching the tube glow fade in an out when the unit power cycles. Gotta love that tube bling.

Originally Posted by signal path jim

Thanks for the kind comments, Monkey. David Solomon is my partner and I work in International sales and the development side of Peachtree Audio. I'm curious about that buzz. Like most amplified HiFi components you can hear a slight buzz if the Nova's volume is turned way up and your ear is against the speaker. But if that buzz is pronounced at a foot away even at moderate volumes then of course something else is going on. (1) see if you hear the buzz with more than one source. Are you using a digital source? (2) try a different electrical outlet. I'll never forget trouble shooting a buzz with a Musical Fidelity customer years ago. We finally figured out he was on the same circuit with a 20 year old light dimmer that was a noisy nightmare. So crazy things happen sometimes.

Glad you like the Nova, but sorry you've run in to this problem. If we don't come up with an easy solution please know we'll take care of you. David's in the middle of another road trip so he may be a little late chiming in. I look forward to reading more of your comments.

Originally Posted by kwkshift

Most 110v recepticals are all wired together either by different rooms or entire parts of the home. So, just because you move to a different recept. doesn't mean that you are on a different circuit and the possible source of noise is still present. Try moving to another room across the house somewhere and testing again.

Originally Posted by rwinner

A real newbie question: I am thinking of using this as my main stereo amp for CD's, ipod, etc. and also for home theater use, i.e., for Blu-rays etc. I am not interested in having more than two channels, so HT receivers hold no interest for me. I am concerned about the potential for audio and video to get out of synch when watching DVD's and Blu-rays. Is this a legit concern? Putting it another way: is it any more of a concern than running the analog audio out of the BD player through my current (old) stereo? In the latter case, I have never had a problem, but I note that when my Moxi DVR does D/A conversions I sometimes get A/V out of synch. I admit that I can't tell if the original source from my cable company was in synch in those cases.

Originally Posted by SWDeveloperDave

I'd rather not leave a unit in standby mode, soaking up power, draining my wallet, so that it will sound good for the hour or two of listening I may have. The question still seems open... Does this initial hour of warmup need to happen when you first get the device, or every time you turn it on, ad infinitum... ? Was this a characteristic of the Decco too? Is the warmup just a characteristic of the tube needing to get hot?

Originally Posted by ShrinerMonkey

I know it is a different circuit because I used a kitchen outlet which is required to be a diff circuit from the livingroom.

Originally Posted by pipettor

I'm eager to order a Nova in cherry, but I haven't seen it available in this finish anywhere (not that I've looked everywhere). Has anyone some info on when this would become available?

Thx.

Originally Posted by editmm

I have had my Cherry Nova in my system for the past 4 weeks and I couldn't be happier!
I went to the Stereo Exchange in New York City for a Demo Night. It was nice they had many of their Top Vendors talking about their products and showing off what they can do. I went specifically because I was told David Solomon from signalpath/peachtree audio was going to demo the Nova. After a few hours of the event and talking with David I walked up to my sales guy and bought the Nova...I lucked out, they had 2 Cherry in stock! David was the nicest guy, He knows his hi-end audio, product design and has a great vision for his small company. (Look out big audio company guys!)

I have the B&W n805 speakers (in Cherry) and before the Demo event I was thinking that 80W would not be enough power to drive my speakers. I was wrong this little AMP had no problem at all pushing my speakers through the paces. Once I got the Nova setup in my system, I left it running over the weekend to insure a nice burn in.
I love the fact that the Nova has so many inputs. I'm able to A/B test the DAC with the digital inputs and the same source into the Analog inputs. It was great for me to hear how much better a hi-end DAC can make my digital sources sound. Its also fun to be able to switch the Tube section of the preamp on an off by the Nova's remote. Its nice to have such tweaking flexibility as I learned what sounded best with my sources in my system.

My Nova now has a Sony SACD player, HD am/fm radio tuner and Logitech Squeezebox playing Lossless music files off my NAS all into the DACs Digital input section. For my Analog section I have a Music Hall turntable through a Musical Fidelity X-LPS Phone Pre Amp in the Nova's Aux input.

At $1200 this is a Steal of a deal. the build quality is well above this price point and the sound quality is at least 2 times over this retail price. This will be in my system for many years to come!
If your on the fence about the Nova, go to a local retailer and listen!
you wont be able to find the same combo anywhere near this price point.

Originally Posted by bumboola

David, any plans for a smaller integrated amp/dac combo? The current units are too large for desktop use and with a smaller footprint you could tap into a greater audience of computer audiophiles.

Originally Posted by lightbox

I second this request. I'm currently using a Squeezebox and half-rack-width Z-stuff from Parasound in my desktop audio setup. I'd seriously consider a Nova, but it won't fit in my shelf unit with 12" wide spacing, and I don't have room for a wider shelf unit. I'd settle for a DAC/preamp/headphone amp and a separate power amp.

P.S. The Sonos slot is a complete waste of space for my situation. That could be the first thing to sacrifice.

Originally Posted by MrBerwell

I'm curious about the DAC spec - I've seen it listed as 24/192 upsampling on some dealer websites, and even in the PDF file that David Solomon posted at the beginning of this thread. But the Peachtree website now says it's 24/96, so I'm assuming that's authoritative.
When and why did the spec change? Any plans for a 24/192 upsampling DAC in the future? What about a NON oversampling DAC? (some people prefer those.)

Originally Posted by daneinsg

hi guys, the Nova looks like the perfect item for my upcoming 2-channel / home theather setup as power/pre to drive my fronts (likely focal 1027S or Be) and as DAC for 2-channel cd from the Oppo BD83 blue-ray.

Any idea if the Nova DAC will be a significan upgrade to 2 channel analog cd performance of the Oppo Blue-ray?
And how will it work with the Focal 1027 which are fairly easyly driven, but may be a bit on the bright side. Hope the tube pre would make it a good match.

Finally, is the a 220/240V version available and can it be shipped to Singapore?

Originally Posted by daneinsg

hi guys, the Nova looks like the perfect item for my upcoming 2-channel / home theather setup as power/pre to drive my fronts (likely focal 1027S or Be) and as DAC for 2-channel cd from the Oppo BD83 blue-ray.

Any idea if the Nova DAC will be a significan upgrade to 2 channel analog cd performance of the Oppo Blue-ray?
And how will it work with the Focal 1027 which are fairly easyly driven, but may be a bit on the bright side. Hope the tube pre would make it a good match.

Finally, is the a 220/240V version available and can it be shipped to Singapore?

Originally Posted by johsti

The biggest difference I noted was the volume was louder when using the analog outputs on the Oppo. Both inputs sound good, but I slightly prefer the analog output on the Oppo as opposed to using coaxial with the Decco. This also leaves the coaxial input on the Decco available for my squeezebox. I felt that the analog outputs were a little warmer and fuller, but that may be due to the difference in volume between both inputs.