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The rear panel is nicely laid out, with inputs for four of the five sources—USB digital, coax and optical S/PDIF digital, and line-level analog—plus one pair of preamp outputs for subwoofers or other ancillaries, and a pair of line-level outputs for those who might wish to use the iDecco as a standalone DAC to drive some other preamp or amp. Two other items deserve mention: a two-position switch for choosing between soft and steep digital filter slopes, and a Jitter Bandwidth control, with Narrow and Wide settings (think of them as fine and coarse sieves, respectively), for use with the S/…
The results weren't always what I expected. The distinctions weren't huge, by any measure, and they confounded me further by being somewhat music-dependent. For the most part, I slightly preferred the iMac-to-USB route, for a number of reasons: That approach not only rewarded me with the most open, least opaque treble performance of which the iDecco seemed capable, but also with the Peachtree's best sense of note-to-note flow—which was considerable. The beautiful, sun-dappled melodies that fill Elgar's Nursery Suite, as performed by Paul Goodwin and the English Chamber Orchestra (ripped…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier with built-in D/A converter, USB interface, and digital iPod dock. Inputs: 1 line-level analog, 2 S/PDIF digital (1 coax, 1 optical). D/A signal/noise ratio: 118dB. Preamp output impedance: <30 ohms. Amplifier output power: 40Wpc into 6 ohms (14.8dBW) at <1.0 % distortion.
Dimensions: 14.75" (380mm) W by 5" (130mm) H by 14" (360mm) D. Weight: 23 lbs (10.5kg).
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 0004184, firmware v1.1.
Price: $999. Approximate number of dealers: 104.
Manufacturer: Signal Path…
Sidebar 2: In My Room
When I first listened to the Peachtree iDecco—in my room, with my Advent Loudspeakers—it was like finding the Holy Grail, or a 10,000-year-old Macedonian ballet shoe. It was awesome. The sound was much clearer than with headphones. But this . . . there are no words for it: The iDecco had spirit. It almost echoed in my tiny little (no other words for it) black-hole-of-sound bedroom.
Even with the trickiest pieces of music—such as Strauss's Die Fledermaus, from the Twilight soundtrack, or the Cranberries' "Linger"—the iDecco was perfect, accentuating…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Thorens TD-124 Mk.II turntable; EMT 997, Thomas Schick tonearms; Shindo SPU, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65, Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU cartridges.
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics QB-9, Wavelength Audio Cosecant, HRT Music Streamer II & II+, Chord Gem USB DACs; Stello U2 USB transceiver; Apple iMac G5 computer running Apple iTunes; Sony SCD-777 SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 step-up transformer; Shindo Masseto, Shindo Vosne-Romanee preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne & Lafon GM-…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
To perform the measurements on the Peachtree iDecco, I mostly used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer.
Before I did any testing of the iDecco, I ran it at one-third power into 8 ohms for an hour, which imposes the maximum heat stress on an amplifier with a class-AB output stage. At the end of that time, the iDecco was hot but not…
The old Saab slogan, "Find Your Own Road," was so good that the old General Motors, which once owned Saab, had to kill it—just as the newly revived GM tried, in a "Call It Chevrolet" memo, to kill "Chevy." GM did a U-turn on that one the very next day, but "Find Your Own Road" never returned, and is available for Ayre Acoustics to use. I can't think of a better slogan for a company that I admire almost as much as I do Saab.
Consider this: While Ayre calls its new DX-5 ($10,000) a "universal A/V engine," the disc player doesn't have a coaxial or a TosLink S/PDIF input. That…
There will be times when you'll want to make configuration changes after the initial setup, so it's a good idea to have a screen handy, especially if you have DVD-A discs, most of which require playback setup via an onscreen display. You'll also need that screen should you wish to hear a hybrid SACD's CD layer (though how often would you want to do that?). Fortunately, you can now buy a little LCD monitor for under $100, from Pyle or Mimo. The DX-5's backlit remote control belongs to a Blu-ray player, so it has many video functions and buttons you won't use. A second, simpler, audio-only…
I compared the DVD-A and SACD of Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive! (The sacrifices I make for you . . . but don't get me wrong: from The Herd to Camel to Humble Pie, I was a big Frampton fan.) That confirmed that the DX-5's SACD playback lacked its DVD-A playback's imaging precision, spaciousness, and three-dimensionality, not to mention bass punch. So if you have those DVD-As hanging around, the DX-5 will play them fully resolved. On the other hand, you can rip them to files to play via your computer and the DX-5's USB port.
The DX-5 as Blu-ray–Audio player
Again, you'll need…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Universal disc player with remote control and asynchronous USB data input. Formats supported: Blu-ray (BD-Video, BD-Audio), DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, AVCHD, SACD, CD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD, CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW, DVD±R DL, BD-R/RE. Analog outputs: 1 pair each unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR). Digital outputs: AES/EBU (XLR), HDMI audio, HDMI A/V. Digital inputs: USB, Ethernet LAN. Maximum output levels: 2.0V RMS (single-ended), 4.0V RMS (balanced). DSD: 2.0V RMS (balanced), 1.0V RMS (single-ended). Frequency ranges: DC–20kHz at 44.1kHz, DC–22Hz at 48kHz…