Peachtree GaN 1 Beta

I will write on whichever forum I choose to!

And for the record, I don’t have a problem with the Peachtree products at all. But, if a vendor is going to come here and start selling his or her services on a hobbyist forum, then, yes, I reserve the right to question the motives. I’m not asking the vendor to refrain from using the forums as free advertisements (as much as I abhor the practice) as that is really between him and audiogon owners. But I’m well within my rights to tell him what I think of the product (or service in this case).

Good for you. Please write it somewhere else. 

@arafiq +10,

@donnylovely , we are responsible for our action and what we write.

This has been refuted by hundreds of posts all over the net.

Can you negative Nancy’s go to a different thread to argue about this BS. Either talk about the gan 1 or keep your mouth shut please. Leave rick alone. If you want to be Dicks about everything, try the ASR forum. You should feel right at home there.

@arafiq I know right. Ricks credibility is diminishing by the second. 
 

Maybe Ralph is right about radiation. 

If ever there was a cautionary tale of digging a hole deeper and deeper, this has be one of them. On the one hand, we have someone who has been designing, building, and selling original products which have stood the test of time. And then on the other hand, ….

Let’s see......you use a custom Caddock resistor that you did extensive listening tests versus the latest parallel nude Vishay resistors? Really? How many brands of surface mount resistor did you listen to before using the ones in your class D amp? What other parts did you listen to? So, tell us your story of how you listened to everything including the op amps you use in the input. You have already stated that you thought op amps have no sound (are neutral). This has been refuted by hundreds of posts all over the net. Let us hear your story....if you think I am making up a story about you. I only can know what you reveal.....and by the way you state things......is what I reflect. So, give us some beef. What do you listen to? Every brand of solder, resistor, cap, wire, jack, etc?.....or just a Caddock resistor.....20 or more years ago.

Man, you are really hung up on radiation....again....get a faraday cage. Again, none of my customers of my modded class D amps for 20 years have ever had a problem....Your possible problem is that you have a new amp and you don’t want me to touch it because I would make it sound better (ny assumption....since I have always been able to make something sound better) and then you would have to answer to that......that could be a problem for you. ....not me or my customers. However, I doubt that anyone would want to send their $5400 amps to me to void the warrantee and lose resale value.......but maybe there is someone who is REALLY a hot rodder......maybe they want to find out what are the possiblilities that I could provide....but, I doubt it. You are safe.

Toroidal transformers do not need a steel bolt through the middle of them and a steel plate to run cool and safe.....and you know it. However, any conductive material (magnetic or not) around or though the transformer WRECKS the sound. Any of you that want to experiment and find out what this tweak does:......just remove the steel bolt and plate and raise the transformer off the chassis using a quarter inch piece of wood.....Listen and grin.....You can use a little Amazing Goop underneath the transformer to make sure it does not slide around......and if you need to put the hardware back to ship it or sell it.....no problem. Your ears will love the difference this "tweak" does. I have been doing this for over 30 years......and those that have tried it are ALL in agreement on its benefits. We all deserve this kind of attention by manufacturers....ones that know that everything makes a difference......Certainly at the lower price points we do not expect the Chinese companies, etc. to do tweaking.....but anything above $3K.....and sold direct.....I would hope so.

High end audio has no common knowledge....It is every man for himself. There is no proof that anything sounds a certain way. No double blind tests have ever been done on various amounts of measured distortion or distortion types...NEVER. The ASR people have NO PROOF that their numbers correlate to sound. It is just their opinion.....so their opinion has no weight as there are no listening tests to back up their opinion.....the only thing that is important is how something SOUNDS......YOUR OPINION is the only one that counts for your listening pleasure......trust your self....trust your ears....you know what you like....you know what "sounds best".....to YOU.

I respect and love everyone.....but I do tell my experience.....my truth about what things "sound like". I listen and experiment and am always learning. I assume very little....I am always growing in my direct knowledge because I try new things.....I try and stay open.....open mind....open heart

I wish you all the best sound possible and the best life possible by embracing each moment......each miraculous second.....with joy and love. There is nothing but God loving itself......and you are IT.

@atmasphere is right and I feel Ralph's credentials are more impressive than Rick's or others posting in this tread (myself included for sure)

Rick and others should heed Ralphs words.

My point here is you have jumped to a conclusion based on a made up story about what we do or don’t do. If you want street cred, refrain from talking about things of which you have no idea.

However, that is where you stop. Caddock resistors do not measure better than other low inductance resistors....in fact, they do not sound nearly as good as parallel Nude Vishays....

Caddock has several model lines. The most commonly available ones are as you say. But they make others which have to be custom ordered and they are better than the Vishays. Vishay owns Caddock FWIW, and has seen fit to not mess with them when they bought Caddock out.

Ralph.....you sure have a fear of radiation.....maybe make a faraday cage to live in. I have been modding class D amps for 20 years and no one has died of radiation poisoning.....or had birdies or whistles or whatever your fear is.

We have to meet FCC and EU Directives (for the CE mark) since we’re an actual company. The CE mark is required for export to Europe. Some of the equipment that you worked on may have borne the CE or FCC mark; which means that it may have done so illegally after modification. Quite often that escapes notice but it can be a pain for the owner if they don’t realize why their tuner has so much interference. If you’re not doing testing you are doing your customers no favors; makes no difference how long you might have been doing the work other than it might mean a greater legacy of interference.

If you were to measure and certify the noise generated, you might on occasion find a unit that does not meet criteria right out of the box and you might be able to come up with a fix. But without radiation measurement you’ll have no idea.

No one....including me.....listens to everything....there is just not time. That is why the first thing to do when tweaking is to eliminate everything that is not needed......like LEDs, output connectors, extra connections, extra fuses, steel bolts and plates holding transformers down, etc......all these things mess up the sound.

This is speculation on your part.

I’ll give you a little tip: most toroid transformer manufacturers will include a steel bolt for mounting the part. But if you use it and spend some time with the installation, you’ll find that the bolt gets hotter than the transformer since its a magnetic short. We found this out back in the 1980s and so use non-magnetic stainless bolts. This causes the transformer to draw less current and run cooler.

My point here is you have jumped to a conclusion based on a made up story about what we do or don’t do. If you want street cred, refrain from talking about things of which you have no idea.

@treepmeyer, I wouldn’t worry.  I ordered mine, w/Node in April, and received it in late August.  Was worth the wait.  

Did you order amp only or combo with Node?

Email them again and remind them when you ordered.

Anybody have issues with getting their Gan 1?  I placed an order in early November.  At that time they said they'd be shipping in December, but they took my money right away.  Having heard nothing I followed up on 12/7.  At that point they said they'd be shipping in the second half of December.    Having heard nothing I followed up again on 12/27.  They said in a week or so.  Now its two weeks later.  No communication.  I get that it is a beta version, not in production.  But it costs Peachtree nothing to email a status report.  Frustrating.

The reviewer is thinking like me, the GAN1 is a portable amp.

The reviewer said he had some issues with HDMI on his Samsung TV. Just wanted to say my LG TV to Bluesound Node via HDMI has worked without issue. You have to turn on PCM. 

I saw that. Another person that thinks the gan 1 is great. Still only the people that have never heard it are the only ones that don’t like it, weird. Maybe now they will stop harassing us until they have tried it out? Or are they going to keep trying to pretend like they are the smartest person in the room, and that we need to listen to them 🤔

New video out

Whatever with the folks up in arms about the failures of the GAN1. You guys are right the GAN1 sounds awful, is a radiation hazard, and plays music backwards.

Now for the people interested in the sound. I have a used CODA #16 coming next week. A used Lumin X1 DAC coming next month. I will be comparing the following with my RAAL SR1a earphones and not speakers. This is a better way for me to hear this than my 2-channel, especially with the all-silver RAAL Star8 cable I got 2 days ago. These will be my final systems for 3 rooms.

• CODA #16 + Lumin X1 + Benchmark LA4 preamp (Livingroom)
• Benchmark AHB2 mono + Benchmark LA4 preamp + Musetec 005 DAC (Office)
• RAAL VM-1a + Benchmark DAC3B (Office)
• modified Peachtree GAN1 (Familyroom)

The streaming will be done with Fibre Optic and a EtherRegen as an FMC in front of the FIbre cable (it helps a tiny bit). I will be testing all of this in the office streaming setup using ROON.

Based on my prior listening the order of preference so far is, VM-1a, unmodified GAN1, and Benchmark AHB2. All 3 are excellent with the SR1a, at least the way I set it up.

However, all parts SOUND different.....no matter how they measure.

There is NOTHING in the specs of a Caddock resistor that mentions low harmonic distortion.....just that it is a non inductive part

Are you sure you want to stick with these statements?

go crazy like me

Crazy being the operative word.

 

Yes, I know you use Caddocks and Vcaps in your tube amps......this is good that you listened to two parts and found they work better than some others. However, that is where you stop. Caddock resistors do not measure better than other low inductance resistors....in fact, they do not sound nearly as good as parallel Nude Vishays.... I sometimes will use a power Caddock to get the basic value and then bypass it with a higher value nude Vishay because it sounds way better. Caddocks by themselvers sound "grey".....he he. There is NOTHING in the specs of a Caddock resistor that mentions low harmonic distortion.....just that it is a non inductive part....Right now my padding resistor on my tweeter is two parallel small Caddocks bypassed by a nude Vishay.......way better highs with the Vishay bypass resistor. You cannot measure better distortion because you use a Caddock resistor.....unless the resistor you used before is inductive.

Ralph.....you sure have a fear of radiation.....maybe make a faraday cage to live in. I have been modding class D amps for 20 years and no one has died of radiation poisoning.....or had birdies or whistles or whatever your fear is.

What I am always saying is the same thing......everything matters.......So, if you do not do listening tests to all your parts and execution then you are leaving a lot of transparency on the table. No one....including me.....listens to everything....there is just not time. That is why the first thing to do when tweaking is to eliminate everything that is not needed......like LEDs, output connectors, extra connections, extra fuses, steel bolts and plates holding transformers down, etc......all these things mess up the sound. Removing things is FREE. After removing everything not needed then spend time on better sounding parts and execution that will bring the most benefit.....then spend the rest of your life....he he.....tweaking and tweaking the rest. It is infinite....it never ends.

You can play at any level you want......you can do the ASR/Kuribo game where only measurements matter......or you can add the Ralph thing where only certain kinds of distortion matter (and Caddocks and V-caps in a tube amp)......or you can go crazy like me and try to play with as much of the circuit/execution as possible. There is no right or wrong. You determine who gets your vote by the way the finished product sounds TO YOU.......as that is the only thing that matters. Enjoy the ride.

No real consensus, which should be no surprise:
 

So, you are clearly stating that changing parts does not matter because you have no test results that show that they do? As long as the amp measures the way you want then it does not matter what part you use? You earlier stated that a LOT of what I said could be measured. Now you are stating that you just measure the amp and as long as it measures OK..it is. You just keep measuring it so it has no rf? You are clearly not measuring A LOT of what I said. You are measuring NONE of what I stated. You are just measuring the entire amp and that is it. You have no idea of what parts SOUND LIKE.

You have never tested parts for distortion because it is impossible and you and everyone knows that...

A lot of what you are saying here is false, for example the last two statements. We use Caddock resistors in our tube amps because they sound better, which you can see in their specs. Our tube amps are zero feedback and so have no correction; as a result we have to give them the best opportunity. Its funny how parts that measure well can sound good too.

The opening statement is false. The second statement is misleading. And yes, you test the finished product. That is how everyone including yourself does it, no matter how that testing is done; even if its just listening, which in the case of a class D is asking for trouble. If you mess up the radiation, you’re doing no-one any favors.

So I’m sure you do the testing and present your customers with a certificate showing that it still meets FCC part 15, right?

ALL PARTS HAVE A SOUND

Shouting doesn't make something true.

No, all parts do not have a "sound". They have electric characteristics like resistance, capacitance, inductance. They have no sound or we wouldn't need speakers, would we?

Electrical characteristics can be measured. It's how parts are made, how they are tested, how they are spec'ed and used in circuits. An electrical device is just an assemblage of electrical components- the total a sum of the parts. If there is no change in the amps' measurements in toto, there can be no change in how it interacts with the load, and thus no change in the sound.

The only thing you have proven is that people are susceptible to confirmation bias. Of course, it is entirely possible your circuit hacking has degraded the performance of whatever you have operated on, and there is some change in actual sound. Some may in fact think they hear an improvement. But again, that just opinion, not fact. Since you don't actually test and compare actual performance, you have no idea.

So, you are clearly stating that changing parts does not matter because you have no test results that show that they do? As long as the amp measures the way you want then it does not matter what part you use? You earlier stated that a LOT of what I said could be measured. Now you are stating that you just measure the amp and as long as it measures OK..it is. You just keep measuring it so it has no rf? You are clearly not measuring A LOT of what I said. You are measuring NONE of what I stated. You are just measuring the entire amp and that is it. You have no idea of what parts SOUND LIKE.

You have never tested parts for distortion because it is impossible and you and everyone knows that.....However, all parts SOUND different.....no matter how they measure. I am sure your amp sounds great and measures fine and has no rf or other noises......so what? All the parts inside still have a sound.....this is what you will not address. If you change the brand of surface mount resistors in your amp to another brand....it will change the sound of the amp....and it is not measurable....it will measure the same. This is what I do mostly. I don’t make things measure worse or have more rf......I change parts so the amp sounds better.....something you and all the ASR people do not know is true......is that.....ALL PARTS HAVE A SOUND........and also execution of parts and layout and damping, etc. is important. If you do not put the outside foil of a cap to the negative polarity....it will not sound as good. Do you do this to your capacitors on the output of your amp? If not....please determine the outside foil and oriented the way I suggest and listen. EVERYONE who has tried this agrees with my findings. Again, the amp will not measure differently. There is a thread that you can find on Audiocircle where people describe the sonic benifits of using better modified caps oriented in the correct direction......quite dramatic is their findings.

So please show us your many measurement tests followed by listening tests that prove your statement.....Lots of people say things here....very few back them up.

Kettle, meet pot.

My proof of what I say is in what people say about THE SOUND of my work and products.

Opinions are not proof of anything, other than perhaps how gullible people can be.

Ralph, You have stated a couple or more times now on Audiogon that you can measure parts....here is your latest: "Actually, a lot of the things in the list above do have measurable effects. The trick is knowing what to measure." You have never given us an example of measuring something and changing to another part and finding a measurement difference and then that difference results in a change in sound. As far as I know.....there is no way to measure resistors, capacitors, diodes, solder, wire, jacks, damping, directionality of wire, etc. If you use a large inductive part in a sensitive place...like a feedback loop.....then of course, it would change the distortion measurement.....Who the heck would use a large inductive part there? No one.

Seriously? If you want to know the effect of a part in an amp, measure the amp not the part. In a class D tiny things can have a big effect, like how a lead is terminated inside a capacitor. If the amp is noisier it can radiate noise through the air and thru the AC wiring (as well as audio grounds). When this happens, it can interfere with other equipment producing things like hum or buzz, or increased errors in digital gear.

If the circuit is also zero feedback, just about anything can affect how it sounds. Combined with degraded noise floor its hard to imagine how that will turn out well. That is why I recommend that any modified class D amp be tested to meet or exceed EU directives for radiation. Its common sense.

In case its not really obvious, getting class D amps to behave and not make noise is most of the design work. Even if your layout is good, changing a single component such as a bypass capacitor can blow that out of the water.

Sound by itself isn’t enough- if the amp is noisy its a liability. I mentioned earlier that GaNFETs can switch really really fast. The deadtime in any GaNFET amp isn’t there for the output devices - it actually has a different purpose in GaNFET amps (extra credit: what is that purpose? If you can’t answer that question you are not qualified to work on the amp). If you make a change and the amp starts switching at 40MHz for no good reason, its a simple fact that the output devices will run hotter. Heat and cooling cycles impose limits on all electronics- GaNFETs are no exception. If they fail early on because they are running hotter, that’s not a good thing, right?

The bottom line for anyone looking inside a class D amp is if you plan to modify it for any reason, there is no integrity in doing that if you can’t be sure the noise isn’t affected.

If you are constantly attacking someone....then you are not loving that person....and therefore, you are not loving yourself....as we are all one. When you point your finger at someone......three are pointing back at you. It is all projection.

More and more....I see nothing but love. But.....I do state the truth of what I HEAR and also the truth of what I see in others behavior (based on my state of being...btw...you are NOT your behavior). What truth are you stating? Who is living in fantasy mode and who is living in reality (what we experience in the here and now). I am your dady.....I am giving you the love lecture.....my sweet children.....you are also my dady (and I am your child)....that is the way it works.....we all lift or lower each other. I lift you to the highest of the high.....for that is what you are.

Ralph, You have stated a couple or more times now on Audiogon that you can measure parts....here is your latest: "Actually, a lot of the things in the list above do have measurable effects. The trick is knowing what to measure." You have never given us an example of measuring something and changing to another part and finding a measurement difference and then that difference results in a change in sound. As far as I know.....there is no way to measure resistors, capacitors, diodes, solder, wire, jacks, damping, directionality of wire, etc. If you use a large inductive part in a sensitive place...like a feedback loop.....then of course, it would change the distortion measurement.....Who the heck would use a large inductive part there? No one.

So please show us your many measurement tests followed by listening tests that prove your statement.....Lots of people say things here....very few back them up......Please show us your examples to prove that you did tests on "lot of things".

My proof of what I say is in what people say about THE SOUND of my work and products. You will read nothing but raves.....and I have been modding and manufacturing since 1977. My Ultimate Attenuators using shunt attenuators (which I re-invented). were rated in Stereophile as Class A for 7 years. Check out Audioreview for reviews of my Millennium DAC......do a search....you will see MY PROOF.......and in audio, the only thing that matters....the only thing that is true.....is what something sounds like.....all else....including measurements....iare secondary.....believe it or not.

Your turn......please lift us up....if you love us......if you love yourself. I love you all for ever and ever..........YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOVED.....all is good and always has been. Joy to the world, for we are magnificent!!!! Let earth receive our blessings!......Bless....B L E S S......Beautifully....Love...Every...Single....Soul

You can do it.......it is your destiny......embrace it.....embrace yourself....embrace everyone and everything and every second.....

@tweak1 

the thread could return to its' intended purpose

What's that exactly? To discuss the Peachtree GaN amp or to be spammed by a snake oil salesman?

@tweak1 never did believe in Santa. 

@jerryg123 

and there are folks who believe Unicorns and Fairies are real.

Who told you they aren't... clergy, government, scientists...?

How old were you when you first stopped believing in Santa Claus?

@cleeds 

If only he would take his opinion anywhere else, the thread could return to its' intended purpose

I auditioned their GaN 400 amp in my home, using a Benchmark LA4 as preamp.

It was mostly underwhelming. It had decent highs and mids but the bass was a joke compared to the other amps I had on hand at the time (Benchmark AHB2 and Parasound A21). Certainly didn’t sound anything like I expect from a 400 WPC amp. 
 

Baffle them with BS, a common disinformation technique used by those with nothing of substance to use in their support to deflect and obfuscate. Over and over, when challenged, we get the same guru double speak. Boring.

Smart people learn from the mistakes of others and build on the knowledge they gained from those mistakes. Others keep repeating those same mistakes over and over. You can't build on existing work if you don't know what that existing work is. The person who "already know how things are", is the person that refuses to make use of all the knowledge that is at our finger tips, preferring to just wing it, while proclaiming those that educate themselves stagnate.

I believe in you.....you are a miracle......so is everyone.  There are 60 trillion cells in your body......all dancing together.....and in the LOVE of GOD.  Every single breath is a cosmic miracle......every moment....this very moment is the most beautiful moment that has ever existed in the entire history of the entire universe......it's called the HERE AND NOW.

@ricevs and there are folks who believe Unicorns and Fairies are real. 🦄🧚‍♀️ 

Its pretty simple......there are those that are open to the possibilities (infinite and aways changing and growing).....and those that think they already know how things are (finite...and stuck and stagnated). We all vacillate between the two poles but eventualy always move in the direction of expansion (happiness and love). Those that want to improve their stereo and have an open mind will try all kinds of things. Those that want to be right will keep doing the same thing over and over will see no improvement.

We create our own reality......moment to moment. The quality of your thoughts, words spoken, feelings felt and actions done create the next REAL moment for you. What do you want to create?.......better sound?,....more love, more joy?....or more righteousness and unhappiness?....your choice.....every second. Choose wisely grassshopper.

@yyzsantabarbara Hear! Hear! See what I did there?

Call me Mr. Science because I do not care about opinions either.

All I need to know is in the design. Science doesn't care about opinions. It's normal to think what you buy is great. Doesn't make it true. It's called confirmation bias. I find independent, non-biased opinions much more useful and truthful.

@arafiq Thanks. I did not expect to buy the X1, but I lost my 3rd streamer to the GAN1 and I need a streamer for my new Livingroom system. I figured the X1 is much less boxes for streaming than what I use for my other streamers. In fact, the X1 can stream to 2 DACs because it has the USB out.

I got the used X1 from someone I know, and it is only 1-year-old. The cost was around the streamer cost I was considering + Musetec 005. So, if I sell the 2nd Musetec, I am in my mind, even.

Remember it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.

Try the gan 1, then talk. Try the mods, then talk. Don’t need the non experienced people in here, talking like they know something about the gan 1 when they have no experience with it. We need protection from the ASR, don't t need them to "protect" us from whatever they think they are doing. 

@yyzsantabarbara Congratulation on acquiring the Lumin X1! I have heard nothing but praise about the X1 and it certainly ranks as one of the best streamer/dac combos available at any price.

By the way, I really appreciate that you're one of the few audiophiles who is not afraid to try new things and experiment with different combinations and at different price points. There are so many here who give their opinions about some specific gear without ever owning it, or draw conclusions based on specs alone. I hope you enjoy the Lumin X1 for many years to come.

In almost any class D circuit, the specs of the resistors, caps and inductors have to be examined to make sure they will work in the circuit.

Rather ironic isn't it that amplifiers are designed using components that are chosen on their specs yet if we likewise use the specs of the finished product to help judge it's performance we are ridiculed.

Having a measurable effect is not the same as having an audible effect, much less an audible effect that is universally agreed to as being positive.

This entire thread has turned into the house of spam. 

YOU CANNOT measure the sound of solder, wire, jacks....removing jacks, damping, wire directionality, capacitors, resistor brands, inductor brands, removing noise creating things like fuses and LEDs, adding exotic noise filters, etc, etc. into infinity. 

Actually, a lot of the things in the list above do have measurable effects. The trick is knowing what to measure. In almost any class D circuit, the specs of the resistors, caps and inductors have to be examined to make sure they will work in the circuit. Different brands often have different specs and different ways of presenting them, as well as different models that are not equivalents from line to line. Solder makes a difference too, since poor solderjoints can result in unwanted effects. I can go on but you get the point. 

If the parts/materials do not perform correctly, in a class D amp its a very good bet that noise will be the result. In a GaNFET amp, where the output devices can switch at 60MHz and higher, it might be hard to detect parasitic oscillations (you need a really fast oscilloscope and fancy probes that can cost more than the amp you're working on; just getting the probe near a parasitic can shut it down...)- which can result in the GaNFETs heating up more (not to mention interference with other services like FM broadcast). 

So you can take the quote above with a enormous grain of salt.

kuribo

And why we are continuously subjected here in this non-commercial forum to these blatant commercial ads is sickening.

Perhaps you are visiting the site too frequently if your frustration and sickness is continuous. Perhaps you should take walk in the sunshine. Or, perhaps this group is not for you.

Or, perhaps, you should take your grievances to the moderators directly. You can use the "contact us" link at the bottom of the page. I have found them to be very responsive.

What is it about A'gon that makes you think it's "non-commercial"?

@arafiq

Exactly.

Many of these "tweaks" have been shot down by amp designers as more likely to degrade performance rather than offer any concrete improvements. Others have been called outright hazardous from a safety standpoint. None have any basis in science. Sure, there are those who make claims that their modded product went to an 11, but as we all (should) know, not only do we not all share subjective taste, our ears are easily influenced by biases. Without any objective data, it’s all sideshow liver pills.

And why we are continuously subjected here in this non-commercial forum to these blatant commercial ads is sickening. This same behavior has resulted in removal from other sites.