USB vs dock for iPod on Peachtree units?

I can't say this for certain, but I understand that the Nova & the Decco's share the same DAC. I think that the internals are the same except for the dock and the amplifiers. I have not tried out the iPod through the USB input, but I suspect that it would sound the same as it does in the Nova. I have my iDecco connected to my mac mini through the USB. I think that your iMac would sit atop the iDecco with no problem, but it might place the dock at an inconvenient spot behind the screen...

Oh, it looks like you cannot use the decco's USB with the iPod. I got this from David Solomon's blog, he said: "The USB from iPhone, like the iPod is for input and updates. It does not have audio output from the USB. You can use the Wadia i170 which outputs digital from the iPhone and iPods though." So it looks like you need a propriatary dock to get digital audio out of the iPod & iPhone...

Thanks again, Iramirez.

On the Peachtree Audio site (Signal Path), they all show the same DAC:

ESS 9006 Sabre DAC w/patented jitter reduction circuit

I've been digging around a lot and didn't see what you found out about the USB. It makes sense, because when I connect my iPod to my iMac via USB, I cannot play music directly from the iPod, but only via iTunes from the iMac.

On the Peachtree Audio site (Signal Path) on the iDecco specs page it shows:

4 Digital inputs (all transformer coupled)
iPod, USB, Toslink (optical), Coax

While on the Decco 2 specs page it shows:

3 Digital inputs (all transformer coupled)
USB, Toslink (optical), Coax

This means the iDecco is definitely the only choice for me.

I hope there is some sort of extension cable available so that I can connect the iPod to iDecco's dock and search for music with the iPod in hand; iPod parked on the dock will be very inconvenient for me.

I'm just now trying to make a move to modernize my old-fasioned system. Last year I bought an Ah! Njoe Tjoeb CD player, which has a tubed pre-amp. I added a 24/96 upsampler and better tubes, and the sound is so amazing that it prompted me to move toward 24/96 digital for all of my music in the near future (until the next thing comes along...). The Nova/iDeccos are based on a similar design approach, with 24/96 upsampling and tubed pre-amp.

Another question:

In a shop in USA last month I tried out the Nova. Source was a CD player. I could hear no difference at all when switching between "tubed" and "SS" pre-amp out via the remote. Can you hear any difference?

I just got word from a dealer in Japan that the iDecco will be here in two weeks, but they are asking a higher price for it than for the Nova, making it about 2X the US price. It looks as though I'll need to wait a few months for the price to lower or import one from the US myself.

This pricing could be damaging to Peachtree's attempt to get popular here in Japan, as anyone who looks online can see obviously that the iDecco is supposed to be cheaper than the Nova.

Yeah, I can definitely tell the difference without the tube in my system. My speaker/amp combo is very revealing of components down the line. I can easily hear the difference. The sound is brittle and etched on the highs without the tube, the midrange is a bit leaner. I use the tube section to preamp a pair of speakers in my bedroom, they are driven by the idecco's amplifier. They sound much better with the tube on. I use the DAC direct to tube preamp in the living room because it is superior to the idecco's pre. Tubes flesh out the sound in both instances...