Peachtree GaN 400 vs Class D Audio Mini GAN 5

This was originally posted in the https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/lsa-voyager-gan-amplifier thread but I thought it might be easier for people interested in these two amps to find as a separate thread.

I have formed some preliminary thoughts on the Peachtree GaN 400 vs. the Class D Audio Mini GAN 5. I have both amps hooked up to the RCA outputs of my Schiit Freya Preamp using its solid state stage and either the SMSL SU-9 or Denefrips Ares II DAC running Roon/Qobuz. The output of the amps is hooked up to an A/B switch with is connected to my Tekton Moabs. Cables are identical for each amp. The GaN 400 has about 40 hours of burn in and the GAN 5 has about 11 hours of burn in. Before I got the GAN 5 I was comparing the GaN 400 to my DIY First Watt M2x which has become my favorite amp compared to other First Watt amps as well as the PS Audio M700's and Willsenton R8.

The Peachtree GaN 400 is a great amp. It has a level of detail, spaciousness, clarity, and tonal purity that I haven't heard before in my system. The soundstage isn't wider than the M2x but it is airy and more spacious and quite a bit more holographic. The music sounds like it has been unpacked and a veil lifted. It also has great dynamics. Bass is tight and fast and the highs are detailed and crisp without being edgy or fatiguing. Male and female vocals are very clear and natural. But, the amp doesn't have that liquid, wet tubey sound. I have never owned a 300B amp but my guess is the sound is more like that rather than the thicker sound I get from my Willsenton R8. The midrange is kind of like that clear tonal purity of the First Watt F6 or my Dennis Had Universal SET running 6L6 tubes but with much more satisfying bass and even more separation and richness overall. The GaN 400 gives the music a level of vibrance and immediacy that is quite remarkable and I haven't heard any glare and I don't find the amp fatiguing. But if you want that very wet, smooth, warm tube/vinyl sound it might not be the amp for you. I want to listen more and do more comparisons but I'm pretty sure this will become my standard amp.

The GAN 5 has a lot of the same qualities of the GaN 400 but with a touch more warmness and smoothness. Bass is different also, a bit less tight and a tad boomier. The biggest difference is in that sense of spaciousness, clarity, separation and tonal purity. The GAN 5 simply isn't as good or dramatic in those respects compared to the GaN 400. The GaN 400 sort of demands your attention because each element of the music is distinctly separated while the GAN 5 is more 2D and smoothly mushed together. I haven't gone to the trouble of replacing the GaN 400 with my M2x so I can't make an informed comparison there but my guess is that the GAN 5 sounds quite similar to the M2x which is a pretty high compliment in my book.

The GaN 400 gives me something I've never heard in my system and I like it very much. I think I am going to be more than happy to trade off some midrange richness/liquidity for the extraordinary level of detail, spaciousness, and separation that I hear with the GaN 400. The GAN 5 is a very good amp, especially at $750, but it doesn't give me that wow factor the GaN 400 does. Given the price I don't think I would have any trouble recommending the Mini GAN 5 but I think the Peachtree GaN 400 is the one I am going to keep.