Peachtree Audio - Page 12

I'm about a week into owning a Nova, which replaced a DAC1 + integrated amp combo. I've paired the Nova with a set of eFicion F200s. I'm very pleased.

I'm curious about the tube stage. The Nova has a single tube, correct? How is one tube being used to drive two channels? I have the impression that a single tube can amplify one channel, but not multiple channels. Am I incorrect?

Thanks!

Yes, a great feature, as is HT bypass. For my setup I will not need the amp at all. I would like to see if there was a way to shut off the amp section completly. Heat kills electronics, the amp has to produce the most, as well as add distortion into the signal.
Steel

It's a single tube with 2 amps. It's called a dual triode, 2 triode amps, one for each channel.

-Jim

Thanks, Jim.

Hello,
I am recently having an issue with my nova : NO SOUND when I switch on the tube, aka blue light, when playing a music. It was not the case before.

No tube...perfect music
Tube : silence....like if it was in mute mode.

Anybody with the same issue?
This is documented?
Any solution?

Thank you for your help on this sad situation on an otherwise wonderful piece of hardware i have received in July.

Vbf

my guess is your tube is burned out. It's certainly worth ruling that out before sending it in for repair. It's a 6922, and you can pick up NOS replacements on ebay, or specialty shops like tubedepot.com

Also, a slight update here. I'm currently listening to the Nova drive my AKG K1000 headphones directly from the headphone jack. They don't sound quite as good as they do wired straight up to the outputs, but in some ways the pure class A output is superior. This is a really rocking headphone section -- the best I've heard in an integrated since the Cary 300 sei. Ample power, beautiful tone, and very impressive clarity.

The K1000s are, without a doubt, the most difficult to drive headphones ever produced. They only work properly with at least 1 watt into their 120 ohms. The Peachtree can't quite provide that, so they're dynamically limited and somewhat distorted =, but they sound better out of the headphone jack in the Nova than they do out of most dedicated headamps. This is far from nothing to sneeze at -- it's exemplary. The power of this headphone section is crazy.

For reference, I usually plug my K1000s into a firstwatt F1, and I run my other headphones through a Moth EC2A3 headphone amp. The F1 runs 10 watts per channel at 80 ohms, and the EC2A3 is a SET amp which pushes three watts at 8 ohms. These are two of the finest amps ever produced, bar none. The Peachtree is not their equal, but it's not embarassed by their company at all. Used as a DAC or a DAC preamp it's unrivalled. I prefer the DAC section to my Electrocompaniet ECD-1 -- so much that I sold that unit.

This thing is stupid good for the price point. I have no idea how you guys did it.

Thank you TSBeebout....but if it is the case...how do I change the tube?

Is it simple to open the nova and do the change?

vbf,

Changing the tube is very easy if it's anything like the Decco (I never changed the tube in the Nova, but both chassis are practically identical). Remove the 4 screws on the bottom of the Nova where the rubber feet are and then slide the wood case off towards the back of the unit.

Then just remove the tube and install a new one. Slide the cover back on, secure and your done.

I have no experience with tubes so please excuse my questions if they seem dumb or silly.

Will any of the 6922 tubes from the following link work?: http://www.tubedepot.com/69226dj8.html

Can we change the tube with different brands to alter the sound of the headphone stage (experiment)?

Does the more expensive tubes sound better than the cheaper tubes? Do they last longer?

Is it beneficial to have the tubes tested? If so, which tests are recommended?

Can we purchase replacement tubes directly from Peachtree Audio?

Finally, how long can we expect the tube to last?

Not at all, sir. Happy to help.


Yep! Absolutely any of those 6922s will work in the Nova's circuit.


Yes you definitely can. This is referred to as "tube rolling" by many who spend a lot of time changing out tubes to customize their sound.


Sound better? As a rule, yes. They're more expensive because people are willing to pay more for them, and this is often because they sound superior. Every tube sounds different in every circuit, however, so you might try starting with a less-expensive tube and see if it works for you.


Since the preamp only has one tube, you'd want to match sure it has "balanced triodes" to sound its best.


Clearly not long enough, but most tubes are reliable for 5000 - 10,000 hours. The question is more how long YOU are reliable.

I just picked up a Peachtree Nova in order to combine my old-school and new-school components and to begin to build a decent quality audio system. So far I have only listened to computer audio, which I assume was compressed (iTunes), and even then, I was absolutely stunned by the audio quality. I have optical cables coming in the mail from Amazon for my CD transport (BD player) so I really haven't heard the true nature of the sound quality yet.

I do have a question, though, now that I've been reading the specs on a variety of sites. I picked it up at Crutchfield, so I went by their specs, but I'm seeing conflicting information looking at other sites and even the SPI owner's manual. What is the THD on this unit? I see 0.01% at Crutchfield and 1% in the owner's manual. What is that??? And what is the sampling frequency of the DAC? I see 192 KHz at Crutchfield, 96 KHz in the owner's manual and 192 KHz in the ESS specs. Very confusing...does anyone have definitive info? Thanks-

David Solomon at Signal Path just emailed me that the THD is 0.01% and DAC sampling is 24/96....I saw the 1% THD in the owner's manual and almost puked gotta love typos....

Thank you TSBeebout. That was an awesome reply!!!

Just ordered a Nova to use with bedroom tv/speakers/tivo. Does anyone know compatible remote codes that will let me use the Tivo remote for the Nova volume? The Tivo setup has a list of the usual manufactures, so I thought one might match.

EDIT - it appears that the TivoHD remotes have learning capability on the volume, so I'll try that first!

Well I have read through this entire post and I think I may have found my solution but would like to be certain.
I have a Dennon 988 AVR driving my HT 5/1 Warfdales and dedicated 2 channels to music only driving a pair of B&W 805s. Sony jukebox CD 200 is my transport for music. What would be the sonic difference with the Nova between my AVR and CD? Would I get that "warm tube sound"? I have a pair of matching subs set at 83hz for roll of on bass. I would like to get that non-fatiguing sound that tubes give for long hours listening at fair to high volume

Texas,

The Nova is an excellent unit, but to me the tube is pretty near meaningless. I've yet to meet a person who could tell the difference with the tube on in *any* system reliably, so it seems it's implemented primarily as eye candy.

I listen to my Nova for hours each day, but it is the head of my system. It seems to me like what you're looking for is actually a tube buffer to place between your CD player and your AVR. Burson audio makes one, as does Musical Fidelity. You should look into those before the Nova, as it does a lot of things you don't need, and would not use.

Thanks I appreciate that big time!

What type of tube are you using? Check the fuses to the left of the tube socket about 4".

The 6DJ8 (ECC88), 6922 (E88CC), and 7308 (E188CC) can be found listed in the old data sheets as having differing plate dissipation. Most often, the types are noted as simply being premium versions of one another, however the parameters do differ slightly. The .2w referred to below is in regard to the 7308 vs. the 6922. I did have my Nova blow fuses with a 7308 so I suspect this may relate to the fact that sometimes the Nova powers on out of stand-by with the tube activated, when it should not. 1st time it was like it was muted, and my guess is all 3 (4?) fuses were blown, 2nd time I looked rather than send the unit back in, and a few fuses were blown and with the tube on I had distorted low-volume sound. I'm curious to hear what tube you had in there and wouldn't be surprised if the tube tested fine.


This difference is small but can make a difference in some circuits depending on the design. when testing all the aforementioned types, I have been advised to use the same test parameters for each, that is how subtly and unrelated to transconductance these differences are. this tube is much more complicated because of its high gain that most know or discuss:


ECC88 and E88CC are very slightly different. The E88CC grid voltage is supposed to be 1.3V versus 1.2V for ECC88. Otherwise, they look the same. But with these high gain tubes, 0.1V can make a moderate difference.

DC

Hello Doctorcilantro,

The original tube shipped with the Nova was a 6922EH electro-harmonix Made in Russia and numbered 0804.
This is the one which broke after 8 weeks...no explanation why.

Signal Path team was kind enough to ship me a new tube : I replaced the original and now everything sounds right

I hope this tube will last now.

vbf

hey guys, what do you think about the nova vs decco + amp.. is the nova a better buy?

i plan on buying either b&w b685's or paradigm studio 20 v5

Well, not completely surprised. I have an EH KT88 from the factory that has a short and is dead as a doornail.

Glad it's running smoothly for you now.

DC

Hi Koven,

I have B&W 805s paired with the nova and they sound great...all in rosewood, zonos inside...good looking yet simple setup with truly hifi sound
I can not give you audiophile grade benchmark but I am yet to find a real weakness in my system. Even bass level sounds pretty decent without sub.

vbf

Hey vbf, thanks for the response. I'm going with a Decco + 685 but was wondering about the Sonos system, which one do you have?

Could you explain how it works or what the benefits are?

Anyone see the Q&A with David in the latest Stereophile? Interesting mention of a new "...product that accesses digitally files directly off the iPod." I wonder if it's their own version of the Wadia i170 or an integrated dock in a new amp or the upcoming pre/pro?

Jeff

Hi all,

I just joined this forum after lurking for a few months and thought I would put in my 2 cents about the Peachtree Nova I recently purchased.

First a little background...

For the last few months I have been looking for an audio soultion for digital music in my home office. During my research I discovered the Nova (and this thread) and was intrigued by the "all in one" solution that the Nova offered. I called Peachtree (Signal Path) and actually spoke to David Solomon (owner) directly. He was very helpful in answering my questions and I could tell that he has a passion for what he does and is very enthusiastic about the Nova. So I took the leap and ordered the Nova directly from the Signal Path website.

It arrived about two weeks ago and I was very impresssed with the finish and build quality, the Nova has a heft that says "I mean business". But it is in a fairly compact package that sat neatly on my desk without taking up too much room. I Likey!

I went ahead and connected the Nova to my PC via USB and to my ADS L300 speakers, started iTunes and had music. At first I was a little disapointed, the sound level was low without much oomph but after about an hour the sound improved. However, I still was not that impressed, something was lacking.

So I played around with the Nova over the next week, trying different speakers to see if it would help. Nope, still not impressed. While the detail, soundstage and imaging improved (substatially) over my regular PC speakers there was something missing that I can only describe as "control". I was left feeling that the Nova was lacking in some regard.

So this past week I took the Nova and hooked it up to my Definitive Technologies ProTower 400's (normally driven via Yamaha RX-V995 AVR, 100 WPC) with a CD player as a source. Same results, the recordings I am very familiar with did not have the punch that I was used to with the Yammy. Then I hooked up the Nova through the 995 as a pre/DAC only, ahhhh... there you go, the recordings came back to life.

All of this experimenting leads me to believe that the Nova comes up short (for me anyway) in the amp/power dept. Overall I think that the Nova is a great idea and certaintly has it's merits, but for me it falls short in the sound quality dept. Don't get me wrong, the sound quality was not [i]bad[i], it just isn't for me and sound quality is after all what music enjoyment is all about. I am disapointed, I really wanted the Nova to be my solution. As it is, I will most likely be calling Signal Path on Monday to return the Nova and continue my search for a PC based digital music solution.

It seems like time and time again, the amp in the Nova is it's weakness. The dac is stellar in all reviews I have seen, and the preamp section is adequate enough, it seems. This product, at it's dac level performance, should really not have an amp section in my opinion. Those who would buy a dac of this cabiler, most likely have the speakers and the amp to match.

I keep hearing rumors of a Nova product without an amp, and it would be in Signal Path's best interest to release that shortly.
Steel

Or, do away with that Sonos ZP cavity and use that real estate for a much larger amplifier and power supply.

It's no rumor. David confirmed its development and estimated a release of the pre/dac product in early 2010:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...e#post16761659

That's true...It doesn't even come closer to NAD integrated when it comes to power . they said 80 watts(Nova) and 50 Watts(Decco) both failed to drive B&W 685 and Era D5 when i compare with NAD 325BEE(50 Watts)