Peachtree GaN 1 Beta

Sorry, don't quite understand your last paragraph....Did you A/B the Marantz with the peachtree using the same source and same speakers?......or are you comparing two different systems?  If you compared them directly, then can you describe the sound difference?  Thanks.

Just received mine today, so I just started listening to it… using a Lii Open Baffle little betsy and the vocals are amazing and acoustic instruments sound really detailed like I can hear singers breath and the sounds I didn’t know were there in songs.

With that said adding a sub so I can have that lower end, not a GaN 1 thing as much as an open baffle speaker and my taste in music.

This is my bedroom system and honestly I prefer the sound from my Marantz 40n but if I didn’t already have that system this system would work fine as a main system.

Received the GaN 1 & Node on 8/31.  I am absolutely satisfied with this new setup.  It's everything I could have hoped for being the minimalist that I am.  The GaN 1 sounds fantastic through a pair of Tekton Electrons.

The GaN 1 replaces the Peachtree Nova150 that I've been listening to the last three years.  It is truly a "just add speakers" arrangement, like the Bluesound Powernode, but with 200wpc, vice 80wpc.

Good job, Peachtree! 

mbolek,

Please give us some feedback.....How does it compare with other class d driven by the DAC/preamp in the Hifi Rose 150B?  

I just received my GaN1.   I also have the GaN400 (along with some other Class D amps)

I'll be using the Hifi Rose 150B as the streamer/preamp.  We'll see how they compare.

I haven't bought the minidsp yet, I am still deciding if I need it or not. Thanks for the info though. I was using a denafrips ares 2 dac with an ifi spdif ipurifier 2 connected by a Mowgami coax cable to bluesound node . No preamp, was using the Node as volume control. 

What feeds your minidsp flex? What DAC, cable to preamp and preamp were you using with the M6S prx? And what was your source before? usb from something?

BTW, if you remove the toslink output connectors from the Minidsp flex or at least remove the voltage from them so they don’t turn on then the sound will be cleaner. LEDs (toslinks are an LED) add noise which messes up the sound. Been doing this for years with great success.  An upgraded power supply for the Minidsp flex would help too.

Also, since you are using so little power you can get a 2200 watt Giandel Inverter and a 100 amp hour battery and be completely off the grid......will blow your mind. Check out the thread on Misc. forum about inverters........super transparent sound all the time.....way better than dedicated lines and line conditioners.

Got mine today. Very detailed, very realistic. Improvement in sound stage and separation over my musical fidelity m6s prx. 

Actually it is a PCM to PWM converter.......it takes a PCM signal and converts it to PWM with code and then runs the converted signal through a class D output power stage using GaN fets. Yes, you could call it a power DAC (since it is converting digtal to analog) or most call it a digital amp.......Ralph Karsten of Atmasphere calls it a class D amp with digital input. However, there is no normal "DAC chip" of any kind...... So, use any name you like.....but "digital amp" is most widely used by the manufacturers (Technics, Lyndorf, etc.) who makes them.....Peachtree just calls it an "amp’"...he he. When it becomes official (taking their time)....maybe we will see more description.

I think most people know, but so it is clear, this is not a Class-D amplifier. To be a Class-D amplifier it must have an analog signal and then the power stage. This does not. It is essentially a high powered DAC.

Not for me...

It's been two weeks of the two or three to get through production. Has anyone got their unit yet or email saying theirs is in production? 

Isn't this type of +200w amps a bad match for your Cube speakers?

If the speakers only need a few watts then the amp must lower the output a lot and it sounds like it is a digital volume control. Maybe the PWM signal inside the amp is a bit easier to do volume control on but it sounds like a possible problem. It should basically only turn the signal on every now and then for low volumes. 

I am interested!

Just received an update that the build start date will be July 25th. 

Nothing yet here either.

+1 not yet

Not yet...

Did anyone get their email yet saying their unit is in production? 

I'm going to add a minidsp flex as a preamp to my Gan 1 . That will control the volume in 32 bit.

Production starts in a week and a half! 

@unsound S/PDIF does not support anything above 24 bits, unfortunately. You'd need something like USB to accept a higher bit depth, but that would probably require more processing inside the amplifier to recover the raw PCM signal. And you would need the source (where the volume is actually controlled) to be able to output a 32-bit (or more) signal as well.

It seems to me that this concept would work better in an integrated unit, so that the manufacturer could use whatever connection is most appropriate between the digital preamp and the class-d amp (separates with some kind of proprietary connector between the two would also work). Peachtree's self-imposed decision to make a standalone power amp costing less than $2000 would not have allowed this, but I hope we'll see something like this from them or another reputable company soon.

For now my plan is still to replace my NAD M22 V1 with an M23 when that becomes available (haven't seen it anywhere in Switzerland yet…). I'll have to ‘live with’ an analog connection between the preamp and the amp for a bit longer!

While I really like this concept, of skipping what might be the superfluous conversion stage from PCM to analog (and to many, perhaps a most critical conversion stage) before ultimately being converted to PWM, @newbluesuit brings up an excellent point. Perhaps, if this device started with a higher bit depth such as the ubiquitous 32-bit rates now available this might work out better.

Furthermore, I would like to see this amp spec’d into 4- and 2-Ohm outputs.

You won't lose anything inside the amplifier, but you will lose some (possibly a lot of) bit depth in the streamer when you control the volume in the digital domain.

My NAD M12 controls the volume in the digital domain as well, but it does so at a much higher bit depth, and then the signal is converted to analog to feed the M22 V1.

It would certainly be great if a digital signal with a very high bit depth could be fed into the GaN 1, but since the input is limited to 24 bits I'm very skeptical. You lose 1 bit of depth every time you lower the volume by 6 dB.

@newbluesuit Volume will be controlled by the streamer.  You will not lose any resolution (signal) going through the GaN1.   In theory, this will be the most direct way to amplify a digital source.

I'm intrigued!

The only input is digital with a maximum depth of 24 bits. There is no internal volume control. So the only way to control the volume is in the digital domain, within the 24-bit range.

On my current system (NAD M12 and M22 V1), I am generally setting my preamp somewhere between −48 and −30 dB for ‘active’ listening (depending on how loud the source has been mastered), and this even though my speakers (PMC fact·12) are quite ‘hungry.’

If I did that in the digital domain within 24 bits, I would effectively end up with a 16- to 19-bit signal. I can imagine situations (listening more quietly and/or with more effective speakers) where one would end up with even less (i.e., less than CD quality in terms of bit depth).

Wouldn't that offset whatever benefits this amplifier has? Or do I misunderstand the way volume is handled in that system?

In any case I'll be interested in reading what you have to say about this amp when you receive it! (I'm not in the US so can't take part in the beta testing.)

I signed up for the beta.  I'll be able to use my Rose 150B and compare the GaN1 (DAC less) to using the standard XLR out (9038 PRO DACs) to my existing Class D amps.

I guess going even farther would be to eval with their GaN400 or the LSA...

@mbolek 

Not sure of the return policy, but they do ask that you don't try and resell it for 12 months.

@ricevs 

Good info, thanks. Have you heard either of these amps? Based on this info I may continue with the Peachtree even if I'm not thrilled with the Voyager. It will be interesting trying these amps with my speakers as they tend to prefer 0 feedback, low damped amps and don't need more than a couple watts to kick ass. I also have a pair of Salk Wow1 monitors in my office, and those seem like a great match for these amps. I'll probably try the GaN FET amps there too but I listen at really low volumes there so likely overkill.

Intriguing...may have to try it out.

Just sent Peachtree an inquiry.  Any details on a return policy for this Beta program?

Yes, the Peachtree GaN 400 amp and the LSA GaN Voyager amp are essentially the same.....same manufacturers modules and power supplies (unless a pic of the inside of the Peachtree shows different). These amps are NOT zero feedback. Right on the Peachtree site it says "low global negative feeback". The reviewer who thought it was zero feedback is WRONG.

This new Peachtree GaN 1 amp uses modules from the same company.....but these are indeed zero feedback as there are no analog stages to take feedback to. For this reason, they wiill not measure as good as the ones with feedback (ASR will not like these one bit). However, they are full "digital amps" like the Technics.....that is, they change the digital PCM signal directly in software to PWM (class D type of structure).......so you elimiinate your DAC and preamp and cables in between. The company that makes the modules (Elegant Audio Solutions) claims these "digital direct" amps sound better than the analog versions. The parts and execution of the output stages are the same in both modules (I have the brochures here).

So yes, you will hear quite a difference between the analog ones and the direct digital ones.....I hope the direct digital sounds better.....I am all for less is better......but we shall see.....er...hear.

The reason why the GaN 1 will list for $2K is that it uses a single stereo board and smaller power supply than the GaN400.  The GaN 400 uses two stereo boards bridged and a larger power supply.....hence the $3K price.

@twoleftears 

I figured they are similar designs using similar modules but the PT GaN1 is 200 wpc so something might be slightly different. The other difference is the GaN1 is designed to be driven direct from the streamer with no DAC. I love my DACs but curious to hear what a DAC-less design will sound like. That being said, I should have the Voyager amp before the PT. If the Voyager doesn’t sound good with my setup I’ll probably cancel the PT. We’ll see…

The electronics inside the Peachtree GaN400 are supposed to be very similar, if not identical, to those inside the LSA Voyager.  Don't know about this new Peachtree, but be prepared not to hear much of a difference.

Of the many class Ds I ran through my system over the last 2-3 years, the last being the EVS 1200 which I raved about for over a year, BUT immediately upon inserting a LSA Voyager 350 GaN amp, it was clear that this GaN amp was/is in a different category

hth

I'm interested in your findings, as I was in a similar situation (AtmaSphere MA1 amps driving Sound Lab speakers--very toasty in warm weather).  I am a week into trying out a pair of Benchmark Class H amps, but looked at the Peachtree and other newer Class D amps.