Peachtree Nova , Dac 1 Pre, Bel Canto Dac 3?


What are folks views on saving some money going with a Peachtree Nova which has the DAC, Pre, and Amp vs buying an independent DAC and Pre-amp and then choosing an independent amp like the MC275?

I would like to go with a nice classic tube amp and then get a high quality digital signal to it through a modern DAC.

The Peachtree is just coming out, but will it really be able to compete with a Dac 1 Pre and a classic MC275? The power is about the same, and both DAC's are highly rated. But will the amp in the Peachtree make it a long lasting piece?

These guys at Signal Path have really made a cool sounding new piece of equipment and I am doing some system planning and weighing options on the new gear and wondering about the classic old gear.

Thanks guys. I realize this may be premature since the Nova is coming out in a few weeks, but I am in planning mode.

scott
128x128scottlanterman
Scott,

Issue 62 of HI FI plus(one issue back)has got a great review on a few outboard dacs. They liked the Cambridge Audio one alot, especially for the money. You may want to look into getting an outboard dac and running your digital media through it. I have an MC 275 and find it to be a very nice sounding powerful amp. Did you decide on speakers? I followed your last thread.
I decided on the Spendor S8e. My wife and I liked the sound in the show room, and now I am thinking about how to have some fun with them when I get them home. I hope that they will last a long time and that they will end up being a good value.

I have a digital music collection and it sounds pretty muddy now, so I am hoping to getting it sounding good in 2009.

Scott
spendors are great speakers....get a good dac and you are in business......they like power, the spendors....
Music Hall announced a new DAC at CES that has a warm versus lean sound. I think you will start seeing favorable reviews--it had a nice buzz.

I think this will pair nicely with a nice clean amp and efficient speakers like the Peachtree/ERA combo. I love the ERA4s and the only other speaker that competes with it is DALI's new Lector 1s--both offer incredible value for small speakers--both are nicely balanced for smallmonitors.

Benchmark's products are a tad cold and lean.
I've not heard either, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the Nova poweramp cannot compete with and is not even in the same league as a McIntosh MC275 at 3 times the price. If I could afford one, I'd also spring for a good preamp and DAC, like the Mytek Stereo 96ADC.