peachtree gan 400 is very good


you know this is class d - i know its been talked about for better or worse and it might be a little passe already - in terms of whats hot right now. But this happens to be a very good amplifier.

It does the subtle things really well - it wont dazzle you at all - its charming though

it really grows on you - at first your like -"whats so special about this amp - another let down" - then after a couple of weeks of listening - (i know a couple of weeks) it

it started to reveal its liquidity and charmingness - remember nothing is thrusted at you - so its hard to pinpoint because in the beginning, the amp sounds so ordinary

but if you are patient - you get rewarded (not in razzle dazzle)  but in everything you play sounding good (again if the recording is good)

its as good as any tube amp - for the same price - its cleaner and just as good tonally

128x128smargo

I think there’s a strong argument that the amps which immediately impress are the ones to hesitate about and the ones which make no immediate impression are often worthy of more thought. That’s not an absolute rule obviously but I do think it generally holds true.

so true - although i am ever so guilty of the amp that impresses right away over the years and not really head over heels with it a month later - this seems like the reverse of that

I have a feeling break-in may have also played a role here. Nevertheless, whenever a solid state amp is likened to a tube amp in any way, it’s usually a good and welcomed thing. Thanks for your feedback! GaN amps in general really seem to have closed some sizable gaps from prior generations of Class D amps. When @atmasphere develops a GaN amp, that gets my attention and further supports the melding of GaN with tube-like qualities without the hassle of tubes nor the energy bill penalty.

your right on about gan amps - especially this one - closing some gaps I think its also a given - and also you need a decent preamp to get the performance i am talking about,

you cant use a preamp - that costs $200 tube or solid state and expect the amp to sound good - you cant - you got to have a preamp that allows the amp to sound good - so many preamps put the cabash on an amp - and that person then thinks the amp is no good - when it could be the preamp not lending itself 

its as good as any tube amp - for the same price

 

So you’ve heard a lot or all tube amps at this price in your system...?

When @atmasphere develops a GaN amp...

Already done that, first run sold out w/o marketing

"So you’ve heard a lot or all tube amps at this price in your system...?"

 

 

Well not all - but cayin, primaluna, cary, audio research, and conrad johnson and jolida so not real high end - but high end for their stuff

I agree, the GaN 400 is very good. It's first amp I've had that makes it very easy for me to forget about how my system sounds and to immerse myself in the music. It also seems to pair well with R-2-R dacs (at least it does with my Pontus).

I have the GaN400 and the PreDAC combo and am very happy customer. It’s a big step up from what I had before which was the Peachtree Nova 300. Big in terms of soundstage. Just sounds like a wider soundstage. I’m guessing the new Dac may have something to do with that. Currently using my sons Focal 948’s. My normal setup is the Cornwall III’s. Both speaker setups sound amazingly great. But I do agree with recording quality. It will reveal a bad record that’s for sure. 

Great post OP.  

I love how much Class D has improved in the last 10 years. 

At some point I might pick up the Peachtree GAN amplifier.  The LSA Voyager GAN sounds to me like the love child of a high caliber contemporary tube amp and excellent class A solid state amp - minus the balls to the wall low end.  I either hated or was not greatly moved by prior class D designs I had heard.  No more hernias, no more clumsy tube biasing with my class D amp.  The GAN class D amps are not uour fathers class D amplifiers.

 the forgetting about how the system sounds and immersing myself in the music is very confronting to me. im so use to tinkering for the last 28 years - listening to music just for the music and not worrying about the system and the cables and the dacs and the speakers and the power conditioners and the power cables and the interconnects and isolation platforms and the racks and the stands and the flooring and the room treatments - etc . When i have a solid state system - i want tubes - when i have tubes - i want solid state

its a nice break - lets see how long it lasts  

The Peachtree GaN and the LSA Voyager are essentially the same amp.....they use the very same amp modules and, I believe, the very same power supply.....just different chassis, jacks and wire.  They should sound very close.  The LSA amp is usually discounted and is easier to mod (if you want improved sound).  There are no pics of the inside that are clear on the Peachtree.....but from what little I can see...the power supplies are the same.

Yes, if you want to try another flavor of GaN, better to try the Orchard Audio Stereo Ultra.

Another good point is customer service. My experience with Peachtree has been great and the guys there happy to help you any way they can. 

I own the Peachtree preDAC and GaN400 and am very happy with the sound.

Previously, I owned the Nova 300 and got the preDAC and the amp500 to replace it when teh preDAC came out. Traded in the amp500 for the GaN400.

Every amp was better than the last..

that is what i hear about peachtree amps - every amp they come out with is better than previous amps.

the gan 400 is a bit of a sleeper - you would never in a million years think when you got it - that it was any good or just run of the mill at best. You really have to have a little trust that it is going to evolve into something worthy of having it in your system.

like i said previously - its far from razzle dazzle - and you need a pretty good preamp - but you do get rewarded, with subtlety and charmingness and listenability

 

Toyman, I auditioned the Nova 500 and that really showed a lot of improvement over the previous integrated amps. I was impressed and would have kept it but I wanted to go to separates. The Gan400 with PreDac was the logical next step in the Peachtree lineup. If you needed to save a little I’m willing to bet the amp500 is a great option as well.