Champagne Supernova - Peachtree Audio Nova Review

Does the USB input handle 24/96?

The USB input handles up to 48k

Hi fand1 - Thanks for the comments. Your opinion and honesty are certainly valued here at Computer Audiophile.

Just wanted to say that David Richardson of Signal Path also stands by their products. I bought a Peachtree Decco that was defective which Signal Path replaced and then repaired under warranty after it developed a problem well over a year later, (past the warranty period.) Throughout the repair process, Signal Path kept me well-informed.<br />

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If my Decco is any indication, the Nova must be a real deal.

@fand1<br />

<br />

Chris is in this for the money--he's not running this site to help folks honestly sort the wheat from the chaff in computer audio. He'll give some neutral technical advice on system setup, but there won't be any real reviews from him. He uses this site for two things, ad. income and to promote his professional consulting services. To drive ad. income he needs to a) keep site visits up and b) not upset the funding source (the manufacturers). Don't misunderstand--he isn't just worried about the people who place ads. on this site, he needs to appease the ones who send him equipment to "review" since the "reviews" attract site hits that boost his ad. revenues. There's also the freebies to consider (airfare to events, complimentary meals, lodging costs, etc.--He seems to travel a lot, and I imagine that those bills are not fully out of pocket).<br />

<br />

That's why it's remarkably ironic that this press release concluded with "Bringing audio reviews into the new decade I'll finish with my favorite phrase, "Add to cart.""<br />

<br />

There's nothing new about this old formula for writing an audio "review" such as this one.<br />

<br />

You've had some good kit in your listening room lately, so how did it compare?<br />

<br />

How did it compare as a standalone DAC to your reference?<br />

How did it compare as a standalone DAC to others you've heard in its price range?<br />

How did it compare as a standalone DAC to the best you've ever heard regardless of price?<br />

How did it compare as a standalone PreAmp to your reference?<br />

How did it compare as a standalone PreAmp to others you've heard in its price range?<br />

How did it compare as a standalone PreAmp to the best you've ever heard regardless of price?<br />

How did it compare as a standalone Headphone Amp to your reference?<br />

How did it compare as a standalone Headphone Amp to others you've heard in its price range?<br />

How did it compare as a standalone Headphone Amp to the best you've ever heard regardless of price?<br />

<br />

How does it compare to other integrated DAC/PRE/AMP combos?<br />

How did the tube stage change the sound?<br />

<br />

C'mon man...

Wow, you guys are all over me on this one :~) <br />

<br />

There are an infinite number of review styles and topics to cover in a review. Some are very technical, some are long, some are more objective, some are short, some are completely subjective, some are more about an experience, some are more of a statement than anything else, etc... The Nova is a $1200 component that almost everyone who has heard it loves. It's been reviewed and talked about numerous times in print and online. I took a different angle on this review than I have in the past. Since I had just removed the dCS components from my system there was quite a sonic difference when the Nova was put into place. It's not on the sonic mountain top and doesn't pretend to be. Thus my review wasn't focussed on comparing the Nova to the equipment I had on hand, dCS, Berkeley Audio Design, etc... I don't like to compare too much equipment from memory in the main part of a review as I find it can be misleading. However, I will comment here that the Nova sounds much better in my opinion than the Aura Note integrated I had here some time ago. More power and control, and much more clarity, resolution, and accuracy in the top end. As part of this review I really wanted to stress the value of the Nova and how much the people at Signal Path get "it." They are on the leading edge when it comes to pushing computer based audio and getting wonderful sound for (far) less than a new BMW costs. The Signal Path team has some of the most liked people in all of high end audio and they've been in the industry for decades with many manufacturers, dealers, and distributors. <br />

<br />

More than anything I had a lot of fun with the Nova. I really like what the company is doing and its approach to quality sound for reasonable prices. This review is much more about sharing my like for a component and the ability to really enjoy music more than equipment. <br />

really go against the music first approach taken by Peachtree. Especially when paired with Zu Audio Speakers like the Druids. Its not about the constantly fretting and overly serious audiophile that we have all been from time to time. But about the right friends at the right party and the music and the beat. Its about doing. Great Sound. Without breaking the bank.<br />

<br />

Chris wrote: "OK we also had some good laughs about the stuffiness that can be found in high end audio. It's healthy to joke about our industry from time to time and to place one's feet firmly on the ground."<br />

<br />

I think Chris' light hearted review captured the essence of these products.

<I>"I think Chris' light hearted review captured the essence of these products."</I><br />

<br />

James - Thank you very much for the comment. That's exactly what I was trying to do with this review.

Chris, thans for the much-anticipated Nova review.<br />

<br />

I'm wondering how the Nova & Decco pre-amps differ from each other. I have a Decco which I've paired with a PS Audio Trio A100 Power Amplifier. Since the Nova has a superior dac, I'm thinking I can get up to or beyond the quality of the Nova by adding a higher-quality external dac. This would assume that the SQ from Nova & Decco preamps are basically equal.<br />

<br />

I've thought of upgrading to the Nova, but I'm concerned by Decco's resale value is not that great, so purchasing an external dac might be more cost-effective. <br />

<br />

(PS, I'm not a big headphone listener, so any differences in the Decco/Nova's headphone stage aren't that relevant for me.)<br />

<br />

Thanks!<br />

Rascal

Chris.<br />

I completely agree about a variety of review styles but a fundamental component is a description of how the product performs.<br />

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You review was limited to a description of the features, and your appraisal and experience with the company.<br />

Now I don't doubt for a minute the guys at Signal Path are really great and the nova is a wonderful product for the price and your review was intended to be light hearted... thats all fine.<br />

<br />

But out of 1500 words would a least a couple of extra paragraphs describing your listening experience in more detail be too much to ask?<br />

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The fact that there are many reviews of the device online is acually irrelevant, if you produce an article called a "review" then that is what should be, not just praise/descriptions with nothing to back it up.<br />

<br />

FWIW your subsequent response helped<br />

<br />

Now to put things in perspective, your review of the Weiss Minerva/Dac 2 was one of the main factors which convinced me to go out and audition one......which I subsequently bought.<br />

<br />

Your review of the Weiss was spot on and really gave a feel for what the product had to offer both in sound and features.<br />

<br />

The Nova review did not.<br />

<br />

PS: <br />

<br />

"The endless questions really go against the music first approach taken by Peachtree"<br />

<br />

What a truly odd thing to say James, it does not even make sense.<br />

<br />

Anyway, my questions have nothing to do with audiophile stuffiness, I would expect no less in a review of any product...even an ice cream machine. Its all good to hear about how great the ice cream machine company is, what features the machine has, how it looks, but the bottom line is I want to know how the ice cream tastes.<br />

<br />

<br />

First, Chris, I liked the review. I agree with you, not every review needs to be a "this sounded 5% better than that" composition assignment. (Also why I love Steve Mejias' blog at Stereophile.)<br />

<br />

Second, can you tell me whether there's room for a Apple Airport Express in that empty space that they have for the Sonos? And whether they've taken any steps to control potential noise from putting a wireless device *inside* the chassis, so close to the signal path (or if they intend the Sonos to be run via Ethernet for best performance)? <br />

<br />

Third, I'd love your thoughts on the Nova iDecco, when it's available. Saw it in Vegas at CES and it seemed very promising. Not sure how it's different from the Nova (other than half the output power). Does it use the same DAC section, for example?<br />

<br />

Keep up the good work.

Who can argue with "light-hearted"? To me, it feels like a "straw-man" response; though your follow-up was a bit more of a review.<br />

By dint of your solid work you have generated a high level of CA reader expectation re what we can look forward to when you take on a piece for 'review'. <br />

For me, your descriptive posting was just plain disappointing, especially in light of your prior posting re writing an depth review of the nova. <br />

No doubt publishing CA involves running yourself ragged. But I would much rather see you maintain the solid credibility and legitimacy that you have worked so hard to establish, rather than trying to be everything to everybody - manufacturers and readers - and ending up being one more soft, mushy zine, where the reader is just not sure of where you stand and why you are standing there (so to speak). <br />

So, sure, light-hearted, respectful....and first rate content to the max,<br />

Reading this email, i can see that i have been heavy-handed. That was not my intent. I guess i was so put-off by your 'review' that i feared it was a harbinger of what's to come.<br />

and i enjoy CA too much for that to happen.<br />

best,<br />

johnnyturbo

Wow, I just joined this site but it seems to be a rough ride if users don't get what they expected, given the comments on what I thought wasn't an in-depth review but an impression of a product. Rereading it, I just don't see what everyone's complaining about. Other than what it isn't.<br />

<br />

Yikes.<br />

<br />

I guess everyone who complained paid for something that I didn't?

Chris,<br />

<br />

100% Ditto of johnnyturbo.<br />

<br />

I visit the site nearly daily because:<br />

<br />

1. You do not pretend to be some pompous pretentious Golden Ear<br />

2. You are not afraid to tell us specifically what you like and dislike about products<br />

3. Your reviews are thorough, thoughtful, insightful, comparative and educational.<br />

4. I especially appreciated how you handled those who poo-pooed your dCS review. Some of us CAN afford the best and want to hear about the high-end. I do not equate Computer Audio with Cheap or Inexpensive. If disc based systems offered similar/better performance that is where I will be. But I also enjoy hi-res downloads, so here I am. FYI Chris, I am waiting to demo the dCS Scarlatti.<br />

<br />

This is Computer Audiophile ... I see the Computer tie in the above "review" just not the Audiophile portion. I am very interested in one of these for my office, but I'm still not sure this unit will meet my (high) expectations and unfortunately this "review" gave me no more information to move me towards ownership. I guess I'll just buy one and see, I can always use it on my nightstand for a headphone system...<br />

<br />

Keep up the (usually) great work.

Hi ELMitz - Thanks for supporting CA and taking the time to write thoughtful comments. In fact the Nova works awesome for office systems. Tons of people are using them in this way. More than a few well known people in the music industry have Novas on their desks. The Nova is what it is and fits a niche for the audiophile office system as well as other systems. Most of the top notch audio dealers in the country are selling Novas very well to audiophiles. <br />

<br />

I'm jealous your waiting on a Scarlatti. I'm waiting on the new Debussy :~)

Chris<br />

Like some of the other regular readers I thought your review of the Nova lacked your usual and expected SQ commentary and comparisons, especially in relation to more closely priced products such as the Benchmark DAC1. <br />

<br />

I am particularly interested in the Nova as an office unit and for listening via headphones. The alternative for me is the Benchmark DAC1 USD (or HDR). As you have both these units, I would really appreciate your comments on how the quailty of sound from the headphone output compares.<br />

<br />

Any chance of an update please? <br />

<br />

Thanks <br />

Frank

Chris:<br />

You have outdone yourself this time. You managed to write an article that says absolutely nothing. Kind of unusual. We could have easily read the Nova ad and get the same info. Anyway, I think all of us are going to give you a break this time, please don't do it again .<br />

<br />

mP<br />

Chris - thanks for your take on the Nova. I'm looking to purchase a DAC around the $1000 mark and am considering both the Nova and the Wavelength Proton. Most of my listening will be via headphones. Would you say that these components are comparable in sound quality (i.e. same league)? Just want to know if I should try and hear both before making a final decision.<br />

<br />

Thanks.

Hi All, <br />

Hope you don't mind me chiming in as I feel like you're all talking about my 2nd child. First, I'd like to sincerely thank Chris for a wonderful review on the Nova. We had many discussions while Chris was doing what seemed like hundreds of hours of listening. As you can see at present,we don't even advertise here, although this will change because as I've started reading the many posts on CA, you are my people and I'm so glad to find you! Your comments and desires are important to me as you are the crowd I want most to please. <br />

I had mostly "not" been reading the site because I'm the only sales and marketing we have in the USA and as you can guess, it's a very big country and not enough time to even get around. <br />

As a point of interest to some, we started the company because we figured out 4 years ago that this whole computer audio thing was here to stay so we'd better get busy improving the experience before the whole industry figured out the same. We thought we could bring something to the table that was missing, other than another iPod dock. We also wanted to invite the millions that use a music management system on their computer to join us in the world of high end audio. <br />

So we started the company with as good sounding technology as we knew existed at the time. The original Decco used a simple Scott Nixon 16/44 DAC... Not because it had the highest number, rather when we listened, we heard a musicality we had not experienced from another. I still love that DAC although its specs were not the best. During this time, we were the Musical Fidelity distributors (7yrs) and had sold thousands of really impressive DAC's. We had a chance listened to everything on the market many times over. Some great, some hype but most that were dry and unmusical. Most f them were good DACs for CD transports, but not computers as they ave their own seperate challenges. <br />

We learned much while at Musical Fidelity and even more designing and producing the original Decco. <br />

When we learned enough, we did everything we could to make the Nova a much better working and sounding unit. We'll continue in that path because we love this stuff and want great sounding gear in our own home. When we design product, it's for us first and I'm almost as passionate about sound as I am family. We designed the Nova in a way that sounded best to our ears and got us involved in the musical performance. While it does sport good numbers, it was the sound and interaction w computers that won us over.<br />

Last year at CES, we used the Nova as a DAC for a $300k system and compared all week long to a 30k CD player. Some liked the CD player a little better, some liked the Nova a little better, but we did make the point that this was a really good sounding DAC worthy of being in a system of this caliber, which was the whole purpose of the setup... <br />

Using the ice cream analogy from above... I like vanilla....Hope you do too, but if not, buy DAC that's more chocolate...or whatever flavor you like. We don't try to hit a number for number sake and never will. We chose the 24/96 Sabre DAC because when the design was done, we liked the way it sounded and how it handled high jitter info from computers, AE, Sonos and the like. By the way, the DAC board is no toy. It has over 450 components around the DAC chip itself. On top of that, we have 11 regulated power supplies and each input is transformer coupled so your switching power supplies and multiple grounds would have little or no affect in the bit stream. <br />

Bottom line is we made the best unit we could make at the time... and we will get even better as time passes. <br />

<br />

<br />

I appreciate the passion on this site about the review. I have had the Audiophile bug for 30 plus years now and understand and appreciate your comments. We have a passion as well that we hope translates through our product and we appreciate any comment, positive or negative as we learn something from them all. If you Google Peachtree Audio, you'll likely come up w more than you want to know from impartial parties on sound, build quality and our relentless pursuit for great customer service and product satisfaction. Hope you'll be impressed with everything about our company and product. This is our never ending goal.<br />

<br />

There were some specific questions throughout the posts that I thought I would answer. Hope it helps. <br />

<br />

**Does the USB input handle 24/96? <br />

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No, at the time, we didn't want to pay for the Async code as most music on computers at the time (and still today) were not burned or downloaded in a higher bit rate than 16/44...and we wanted to keep the cost down. Personally, I have about 2500 CD's, none of which are anything above 16/44 and I've transferred most of them to a hard drive. According to the RIAA stats, that's what most of you have too. <br />

When we designed the Nova, you would have been hard pressed to find anything recorded and available in 24/192 outside of a wonderfully recorded Scottish Nose Whistle band in 24/192 and even now, 24/192 is just catching on for people who want to listen to somewhat less eclectic music. We will be doing 24/192 in future products because there will be more and more content available and ESS has some great sounding DAC's that will accommodate. <br />

<br />

**I'm wondering how the Nova & Decco pre-amps differ from each other.<br />

<br />

The preamp in the Nova has a "class A" 30 ohm output that's far superior to the original Decco. I think it makes a great preamp and the tube buffer really adds to the experience. If you like that kind of flavor... <br />

<br />

**Can you tell me whether there's room for a Apple Airport Express in that empty space that they have for the Sonos?<br />

<br />

The Airport will fit into the slot, but when you use the optical out, it prevents it from being inserted. So it will be outside of the Nova, but it's so small, it's fairly easy to hide. <br />

<br />

**And whether they've taken any steps to control potential noise from putting a wireless device *inside* the chassis, so close to the signal path (or if they intend the Sonos to be run via Ethernet for best performance)?<br />

<br />

Quite a few... The DAC is galvanically sealed so nothing from the outside gets in except 1's and 0's. When at CES this year, we had a whole Apple network done wired and wireless w/o a hitch or any interference. (2 Apple TV and 1 Airport Express controlled by our iPhones)<br />

<br />

** I'd love your thoughts on the Nova iDecco, when it's available. Saw it in Vegas at CES and it seemed very promising. Not sure how it's different from the Nova (other than half the output power). Does it use the same DAC section, for example?<br />

<br />

The iDecco and Decco 2 are available now. The DAC and preamp in the Decco 2 and iDecco are exactly the same as the Nova. They both have about half the inputs and about 1/2 the power of the Nova. <br />

<br />

Lastly for peace of mind, when we sell a unit through our site, we give you 30 days to see if you love it as much as we do... If not, we want it back please! This is our baby, and we only want it in a home where music is loved and our unit cherished. <br />

<br />

Hope this answers at least some of your questions. Please don't hesitate calling or writing any time if you have a question or comment. I get them all and answer every one personally. [email protected] <br />

Best to you all, <br />

David Solomon<br />

Peachtree Audio

flohmann,<br />

<br />

There is indeed plenty of room for an airport express in the back. I had mine in there until I switched to an Apple TV. I removed the smaller of the two plates on the back - then let the airport express rest on the edge of the larger plate.

Hate to make my first post a gripe, it is a good site that I have got a lot of information from, but.... I've been looking forward to this review for a while and I was quite disappointed, it's almost like you don't want to take the Nova seriously. I know the audiophile world does need to chill out a bit but your tone with this review reads like you don't want to be serious about a component thats only 1200 dollars so you emphasize the "fun" aspects of it whatever that means. If you mean it's more musical than say a Bryston DAC then tell us if it's amp section is lacking detail but has a nice warmth or whatever then tell us. I wish I had 1200 dollars to throw at it for a bit of "fun" but to be honest I want a dac and amp that can give me the best sounding music for the price. If that is the case tell me but also tell me where it lacks. Basically, give me a review. I'm sure you wouldn't have reviewed a more expensive "more serious" component this way. I'm sure your intentions where noble and I do appreciate the idea of getting back to the idea of listening to the music and not the box but if you could give us a little more information on your view on how this unit performs then it would be very much appreciated by many of us. 1200 dollars is not much in many peoples audio budgets but it's a lot for me and I take spending that amount seriously. <br />

-Thanks

Thank you very much. Hopefully that should do the trick!<br />

<br />

@The Whingers - This is primarily a forum. It is facilitated by Chris Connaker but by far and away the greater part of the content is generated by ourselves. If you would like to contribute your own thoughtful, insightful and informative review, please feel free to do so. If you're not in a position to do this yourself, or don't have the necessary skills, then this <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=peachtree+nova+review&meta=&aq=f&oq=">link</a> should do the trick.<br />

<br />

What will be the net result if we all start slagging each other off every time we contribute something?<br />

<br />

It's about informaton and the exchange of ideas, it's all good. With apologies in advance to the more sensitive - there's no such thing as bad information, in the same way as there's no such thing as a bad blowjob!

Ditto the first comment. You did not tell us anything about the sound of this component ... sort of sets off alarm bells. In fact I figured I had missed the part where you evauated the sound so I went back and re-read. Nothing. A lighthearted approach is fine but the readers still value your opinion on what the component sounds like and where it fits among the ever growing list of options in terms of price and performance.

Not trying to change the subject but I think the following review is one of the best pieces of writing to grace the pages of Stereophile. Just want to share another review style for those who haven't read the following review :~)<br />

<br />

http://www.stereophile.com/recordingofthemonth/692rotm/