A good friends of mine has been needing to replace his integrated with something a little more muscular. At about the same time, Morne (Bizkit) made the announcement that he had just received the first Peachtree Nova 300 in the country. The unit ticked all the right boxes, and so was promptly taken off of his hands, much to his dismay!
So this weekend I got to spend some quality listening time with the unit. These are my initial impressions.
It?s a beautiful looking piece. Retro wooden case in an ultra-glossy finish that is finished like glass, a brushed silver face with minimalistic styling, small source buttons overshadowed by a solid feeling volume knob to the right. Very classic, timeless.
It?s a nice compact size too, without being too small that makes you feel like it?s a toy. It sits beautifully as the centre piece of a stereo system without drawing too much attention to itself, yet cannot help but draw admirable glances repeatedly. Yeah... it?s pretty!
The rear boasts a comprehensive selection of digital inputs, two analogue inputs, preamp outputs and wonderfully includes a phonostage. Everything you could need, including a ?loop? out and input should you wish to experiment with any external filters or processing. Home theatre bypass, a nice grounding terminal, and a pair of beefy speaker outputs at each end complete the picture.
The weekend saw the unit paired to a set of new spec? Bentley FS250?s in their new satin-black finish, a Bluesound Node 2i doing digital service, both via coax into the Peachtree?s internal DAC, as well as from the Node?s own DAC via the analogue outputs for comparative purposes. Records were spun on top of a Rega RP8, serving pure analogue through the tip of a high-output moving coil Mission 773 cartridge.
Left playing at low levels for a number of hours, the Nova 300 reaches a fairly warm temperature for a Class D amplifier. Certainly not hot, but nicely warm. Later through the day and late into the night, these temps didn?t seem to vary much, regardless of the volume level at which it was playing.
The truth is hard to admit, but I?ll be honest enough to say that I didn?t want it to be as good as it is. It goes against too many of the philosophies that are entrenched in our Hi-Fi brains. It?s too small, too light, too pretty... to deliver sound the way it does.
It?s just big, bold, beautiful music - sounding like it should be coming from something way bigger than this. Comparing the units built-in ESS reference Sabre 9018 DAC, it was the choice one of the two. Whilst the Node had some stellar moments in presenting higher res MQA files, the overall warmth and weight provided by its own proved to more often be the preference.
Here is where things got really interesting. An integrated amplifier that seems to have a focus on digital, has a phonostage is case you are feeling a little retro. In reality, this was where my denial went into a downward spiral. The room is just filled with music. The living room next door too. All the time my feet were tapping to the music, my simple test that confirms that my ears are enjoying this! Seriously impressed with the phono input!
So now I?m a little perplexed. I keep thinking about it. Do I actually want one of these? I mean, I have no need for it... but still... aaargh!
Now I?m looking for reasons not to like it. The volume knob feels too shelf, the input selection buttons a little less so.
The remote is basic, simple and has a nice weight to it. The buttons mechanical and deliberate. I?m fast running out of things to not like.
I?m still looking to find it?s limits. We will be taking the Nova 300 into my familiar space next, giving her some more demanding, less forgiving speakers to drive and put here up against some tough competition.
So far, I like it. I like it a lot. That somewhat bugs me.
More to come... stay tuned!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So this weekend I got to spend some quality listening time with the unit. These are my initial impressions.
It?s a beautiful looking piece. Retro wooden case in an ultra-glossy finish that is finished like glass, a brushed silver face with minimalistic styling, small source buttons overshadowed by a solid feeling volume knob to the right. Very classic, timeless.
It?s a nice compact size too, without being too small that makes you feel like it?s a toy. It sits beautifully as the centre piece of a stereo system without drawing too much attention to itself, yet cannot help but draw admirable glances repeatedly. Yeah... it?s pretty!
The rear boasts a comprehensive selection of digital inputs, two analogue inputs, preamp outputs and wonderfully includes a phonostage. Everything you could need, including a ?loop? out and input should you wish to experiment with any external filters or processing. Home theatre bypass, a nice grounding terminal, and a pair of beefy speaker outputs at each end complete the picture.
The weekend saw the unit paired to a set of new spec? Bentley FS250?s in their new satin-black finish, a Bluesound Node 2i doing digital service, both via coax into the Peachtree?s internal DAC, as well as from the Node?s own DAC via the analogue outputs for comparative purposes. Records were spun on top of a Rega RP8, serving pure analogue through the tip of a high-output moving coil Mission 773 cartridge.
Left playing at low levels for a number of hours, the Nova 300 reaches a fairly warm temperature for a Class D amplifier. Certainly not hot, but nicely warm. Later through the day and late into the night, these temps didn?t seem to vary much, regardless of the volume level at which it was playing.
The truth is hard to admit, but I?ll be honest enough to say that I didn?t want it to be as good as it is. It goes against too many of the philosophies that are entrenched in our Hi-Fi brains. It?s too small, too light, too pretty... to deliver sound the way it does.
It?s just big, bold, beautiful music - sounding like it should be coming from something way bigger than this. Comparing the units built-in ESS reference Sabre 9018 DAC, it was the choice one of the two. Whilst the Node had some stellar moments in presenting higher res MQA files, the overall warmth and weight provided by its own proved to more often be the preference.
Here is where things got really interesting. An integrated amplifier that seems to have a focus on digital, has a phonostage is case you are feeling a little retro. In reality, this was where my denial went into a downward spiral. The room is just filled with music. The living room next door too. All the time my feet were tapping to the music, my simple test that confirms that my ears are enjoying this! Seriously impressed with the phono input!
So now I?m a little perplexed. I keep thinking about it. Do I actually want one of these? I mean, I have no need for it... but still... aaargh!
Now I?m looking for reasons not to like it. The volume knob feels too shelf, the input selection buttons a little less so.
The remote is basic, simple and has a nice weight to it. The buttons mechanical and deliberate. I?m fast running out of things to not like.
I?m still looking to find it?s limits. We will be taking the Nova 300 into my familiar space next, giving her some more demanding, less forgiving speakers to drive and put here up against some tough competition.
So far, I like it. I like it a lot. That somewhat bugs me.
More to come... stay tuned!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
