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
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.
Why not use a Peachtree Decco as a DAC and line stage feeding a McIntosh MC275? I heard a Peachtree used as a front end to a SS biamped system powering a Magnepan display and it was pretty impressive, particularly in the areas of transparency, speed, clarity, and dynamic transients. A similar setup would be a Benchmark DAC-1 Pre and MC275.