Decco from Preachtree audio

I broke down and bought the Decco last week. Sight unseen and unheard. Tons of options and versatility here.

I've been thinking of going to an all hard drive front end for a long time now. It looks like this is the time, considering the $800 price-tag, I thought it was worth the risk. I'm using it as a usb dac/pre. Right out of the box, it sounded pretty good. Much improved texture in vocals, front to back sound staging, and life like reproduction of cymbals. On the other hand, It lacked detail and seemed a little flat at first. I've been using a passive pre for a long time.

Well, its been burning in for 5 days straight (they recommend 200 hours burn in time) and its really starting to open up. My speakers have completely disappeared. Imaging and separation have improved drastically. I'm not exaggerating when I say this . . . A couple of times (Dark Side of the Moon, Dire Straits), half way through a recording, I thought I had to get up and flip over the record like the old days. I've listened to those albums so many times, I guess the sound quality brought back some old memories. LOL. It reminds me so much of my old (way back) vinyl set up.

So far, I feel like its a steal at this price. I haven't even used the amp section yet, which I've been told, is its strength. I will try it later, I'm sure.
I can't wait to see how it improves as it is fully burned in.

Oh yeah, the build quality is heavy and solid. Its pretty cool looking, too. Packaging is first class.

I will answer my own question. Yes, it does belong in a high end system. Mine at least.

I have the decco from peachtree. It is phenomenal! You can feed your digital source into it and it's 50 watt amp does a great job with my Dynaudio and ERA speakers.

Build is great, ease of use is super.

Wow, I'm so glad to have found this thread and hear you guys say this.

I just bought a new pair of Paradigm Atoms v5 and a bunch of monster cable (good z2, not lampcord)... I am planning to go laptop -> USB -> DAC-> Monster 1000i -> preamp for my source.

I had researched DACs like crazy... and was set on picking up a paradisea + DAC and an amp like a Nad c352 or Rotel RA-1062.

Then someone told me about this thing... It looked like everything I want in one beautifully presented package at a nice price. But I couldn't find any reviews for it anywhere! I am guessing because it is a new product... although I don't know how new...

So, ya, anyways... I'm nearly convinced after reading these testimonials to pick one up myself. Do you think the sound would compare well with a Nad c325bee / c352 paired with a Paradisea+?

DJ,
You might consider bypassing your pre altogether. I am very impressed with this decco as a pre-amp. I'm currently using it as a computer to usb dac/pre feeding my Audioprism Debut 2 tube amp. It also has toslink AND coax digital inputs as well as two auxiliary inputs. Its been burning in for 14 days now, and it sounds really good. I can't believe its digital. It really sounds like vinyl to me. I'm almost afraid to hook up the amp section. I fear that it might be good enough to render my Audioprism (I love this amp!) unnecessary. LOL.

I didn't realize this before I bought it, but it has a built in usb to I2S converter that is getting great write ups right now.

All of this for $800!

You really can't go wrong with this piece. They are going to sell A LOT of these.

One thing you'll learn about the Chip amps. They always sound better when you leave them on or after extended time on.
Damn it Ken..your going to force me to buy one of these things! LOL