2. amps-preamps
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Peachtree GaN 1 Beta

Before I start my post here is my current system for reference:

Auarlic Aries G1 --> Denafrips Terminator or SW1X DAC --> Audio GD HE1 XLR preamp or Sachs preamp --> various tube amps --> Cube Nenuphar Mini's w/ a pair of REL S510 subs. Cables and power conditioning commensurate with the rest of the system.

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As warmer months approach I have been looking for a cool running amp to replace my Line Magnetic LM-518 and other tube amps for a few months as they run pretty hot.

I've been interested in the GaN FET amps and just purchased a used LSA Voyager 350 Gan FET amp which I should receive in a few days. I've tried class D amps before and while they checked a lot of boxes I just didn't feel drawn in. However, I like to explore so I figured I'd try the GanFET and since the amp has zero feedback and my speakers seem to prefer amps with little or no feedback I figured it be worth checking out.

Today, Peachtree Audio sent out an email inviting users to a beta of their new Gan 1 amp. Here are some excerpts from their email:

 

What is the GaN 1?

In basic terms it is a 200 Watts-Per-Channel (WPC) Power Amplifier designed to be the sole interface between your digital audio device with a variable output, like a Bluesound NODE, and your speakers. The GaN 1 is a simple, pure and cost-effective audio solution: connect the GaN 1 to a streamer and a pair of speakers and you have an amazing Hi-Fi system. That's it...no DAC, no preamp and no input switching. The signal path from the music to your speakers is remarkably short and free of artifacts. Want to hear the intricate details in your music that have always been there, but you couldn't quite make them all out before? Then the GaN 1 is for you!

What makes the GaN 1 so special?

First and foremost is the GaN-FET amplifier module. It has several inherent advantages in a power amplifier that even the best MOS-FET designs simply cannot achieve. A GaN-FET power stage provides a precise high-power reproduction of the Class-D PWM signal with extremely high linearity. This linearity eliminates the need for ANY feedback, ultimately allowing for the best possible audio quality providing clean, clear middle and high frequencies and a tight, solid reproduction of low frequencies. GaN-FETs track the complex audio waveforms MUCH more accurately than MOS-FETs, resulting in significantly more transparent and natural sound. The difference is something even a casual listener can hear and appreciate. The GaN 1 is also designed so that it does NOT require a digital-to-analog-converter (DAC). The digital audio signal at the input directs the amplifier outputs to drive the speakers. Although DACs have continued to improve over the years, there is no DAC better than NO DAC! This concept is not new as similar devices known as "Power DACs" made quite a splash in our industry years ago. But this time around, by executing the concept with GaN-FETs, the bar is raised to an entirely new level.

Key Features at a Glance:
▪ 200 WPC state-of-the-art GaN-FET module
▪ ZERO feedback design
▪ Regulated 450-Watt power supply
▪ Coaxial S/PDIF input with native support up to 24-bit / 192kHz
▪ DAC-less design
▪ Power on/off trigger port
▪ All aluminum chassis
▪ No cooling fans

 

This sounded really interesting to me and since I have a good streamer I signed up for the amp beta only. One aspect that intrigues me is to create an extremely minimal signal path. My speakers are single driver, crossover-less design. Employing the GaN 1 will mean the system will be Auralic Aries --> GaN 1 --> Cube Nenuphar Mini's. Will that lead to a more engaging sound vs the full system? Will the Voyager GaN 350 outperform a tube amp in the full system? Who knows, should be fun to find out....

Now, I have no idea how either of these GaN FET amps will work with my speakers. The Cube Nenuphars seem to prefer amps with low damping and no negative feedback, which is more common with SET tube amps and Class A solid state amps. I'm not sure of the damping factor of the GaN FET amps, but both are Zero feedback designs, and both have way more wattage than I need. For reference, I have a 1.5 wpc 45 tube amp that sounds amazing with the Cubes, so high wattage is not required. I am interested though in what these amps will sound like compared to my tube amps, and I am particularly interested in what the streamer direct to amp Peachtree will sound like.

I am also looking to acquire a First Watt SIT-3, which is a great match with the Cubes, but now that they are no longer produced prices have gone above my current comfort level. If I can get one I will throw it into the experiment.

The Peachtree won't be shipped until sometime in June, or possibly later. In the meantime I will get the LSA Voyager in the next few days. I might even be able to get it hooked up this weekend so stay tuned, should be an interesting experiment...
abd1
donnylovely
105 posts
 

Is it safe to bypass the first fuse in the IEC outlet? How do I tell if it's fast or slow for the ceramic one inside? 

mbolek
187 posts
 

OK, please do a serious evaluation and let us know......thanks.

BTW....how does the Rose do digital out volume control? At 32Bits? or ? What digital cable are you using?

Here is the feedback from the Rose engineers...

Basically, for OPT OUT/ AES/EBU, and COAX OUT, the maximum possible transmission rate is 24Bit/192KHz.
If you use internal DAC of Rose, you can use full specification of Rose streamers, 32bit 768kHz for RS150B.
Lowering the volume won’t degrade bits.

I make all my own cables, take a look at my system details.  

cd45123
196 posts
 

Is the Gan 1 the only class D amp that uses zero negative feedback or the only one that simplifies the chain, eliminating the need for all these separate components?

@ricevs I’ve gotten caught up in this now…I remember canceling my order to trial this for $1499 because I couldn’t get a definitive date for delivery back in April…oh well.

Since I’m a futurist and like most audiophiles am interested in the next best thing, what comes after GanFET or is that it? I asked over on the AHB2 thread but probably more appropriate to keep it here.

donnylovely
105 posts
 

It's not class d, it's a digital amp. Technics has a ganfet digital amp also. 

ricevs
1,543 posts
 

A digital amp is a class D amp......but it has digital input and not an analog input. It changes the PCM directly to PWM in software and then drives a class D output stage. It does not use digits to drive the speaker. What comes out of it is analog. You might say a "digital amp" is a "power DAC". A digital amp is not a normal "class" of amp. It is just the name that TACT and Lyndorf and Technics use to describe their amps. Peachtree does not call it anything but an "amp".

Lyngdorf and Technics also make "digital" amps (Tact, now out of business, morphed into Lyngdorf). The Technics and Lyngdorf both have analog inputs along with digital inputs but the analog signal is changed to PCM with an ADC before going to the main chip to be changed to PWM. The Peacetree is the only "super simple" digital input class D amp made.....super simple meaning just a digital input and no volume control. The amp module inside the amp is inexpensive and you will see others using this technology......and other more high end complanies developing their own PCM to PWM conversion software and building their own digital amps. They will naturally be used in powered speakers, as well.....so you would have all the xovers, equalizaion, time alignment done inside speaker in the digital domain and then fed directly to the speaker drivers.....this will be fantastic!  However, then there will be less to tweak....Hey, where is the fun in that? Just fantastic sound? boring....he he.

If you buy the Peachtree and love it.....you are no longer looking for analog interconnects, DACs, or Preamps.....you simple do not need these components......Using the money you save, you can get a serious inverter like the Giandel 5000 watter and the Puritan line filter after it and blow your mind to kingdom come.

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