Affordable GaN FET amp from Peachtree Audio

@nonoise 

OK, color me curious...How in the world can a GaN amp be fed a digital signal and amplify that signal and have it be an analog output without a D to A conversion taking place?  

And if that D to A conversion is taking place (me thinks it has to be) then the GaN amp is incorporating a DAC (of whatever strip you wish to call it).

By extension does this mean that any GaN amp doesn't need a DAC and can be fed a straight up digital signal.

Very curious!

Regards,

barts

Reading their website, the GaN 1 is trickle down from their GaN400. From earlier threads, in my mind Peachtree's GaN400 is very similar to the LSA Voyager, of which there have been plenty of positive comments. Has anybody had the opportunity to listen to GaN and Voyager?

@nonoise 

There is a coax in on that GaN that would come from your DAC. In the case of the Bluesound, it has an internal DAC. However you could insert an external DAC between the Bluesound and the GaN. Volume control could be via either the DAC or the Bluesound depending on the DAC. (I have a Border Patrol DAC so manage volume via the Node2i when streaming)

If you're pure digital I can see the utility. OTOH if you have an analog source like a TT, you're SOL I think.

Happy listening

Using the Bluesound or DAC for volume control usually leads to bit stripping.  Some DAC  have a good volume control.  I don't remember what kind that is or what brand DAC has these.

@musicfan2349 

If you use the digital output of the Bluesound Node, you ARE using it's internal DAC. The only way to not use it is to use the analog outputs, which there are not analog inputs on the Peachtree amp. So the question remains, if I use the digital output of my Lumin streamer into this amp, what device is doing the digital to analog conversion? No DAC needed according to the OP, but I'm having a hard time figuring that one out.