Peachtree Nova 125 Integrated Amplifier – Black

A great little ‘modern amplifier/DAC’ combo. Full working order with 3 months warranty. Cosmetics good but not great – please see our images.

Excerpt from HiFi+ Magazine review…

Peachtree has revised its entry-level integrated amps by improving their already very good front-end sections and then by equipping their new models with powerful, high-current Class D power amplifier sections. Consider, as an example, Peachtree’s new nova125 amp/DAC ($1499/£1,299 including VAT), which is the subject of this review. The old Nova put out 80Wpc into decidedly benign 6-Ohm loads. By comparison, the new nova125 belts out a generous 125Wpc at 8 Ohms and an even more impressive 220Wpc into 4-Ohm loads. Moreover, Peachtree claims the nova125’s “high current output stages can comfortably drive any speaker load from 2 ohms” (something that could never have been said of the earlier Nova).

Then, where the original Nova provided a 24/96-capable DAC with an isochronous USB input and four S/PDIF inputs, the nova125’s onboard ESS Sabre 9023 upsampling DAC offers 24/192 resolution (except for the optical input, which is limited to 24/96), with an asynchronous USB input and three S/PDIF inputs (two coaxial and one optical). Peachtree points out that the ESS 9023 DAC uses “a patented process called Hyperstream™,” which “buffers the incoming digital bitstream and reclocks it from thousands of picoseconds of jitter to less than 3 picoseconds.” Expanding on this theme, the firm says the new 24/192-capable asynchronous USB input, “keeps digital jitter at bay by not relying on the audio clock in the computer, which can get thrown off time by the thousands of processes running in your operating system’s background.” Finally, the nova125’s DAC section is backed by a decidedly performance-minded new Windows device driver, which is provided on an included CD ROM. In addition to its many digital inputs the nova 125 also provides one analog input to support any legacy analog components the owner may wish to connect.

To sum things up, I would say that Peachtree has taken the nova125 forward, not just by a small incremental step, but by a giant leap. Relative to the original Nova, which was a very high-value product in its own right, the nova125 offers a front-end DAC section that is better, an asynchronous USB input that is much better than the original Nova’s USB section, and a power amplifier section that is just light years better than the original Nova’s amp. Perhaps best of all, the nova125 has lifted many of the equivocations and qualifications that applied with the original Nova; at last, Peachtree has given us an affordable amp/DAC that can drive fine but power-hungry speakers in an effective way. This means that value-minded listeners can use the nova125 without worrying about whether it has enough refinement or power to handle their speakers of choice. In truth, it’s got both qualities in spades, and for a very sensible price.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Power Output: 125Wpc @ 8 Ohms, 220Wpc @ 4 Ohms
Inputs: One asynchronous USB, two coaxial S/PDIF, one optical S/PDIF, one stereo analog, one 12V control signal.
Outputs: Speaker taps, 1/4-inch headphone jack, one variable level stereo preamp output.
DAC: ESS Sabre 9023
Jitter: <3ps measured at master clock.
Resolution levels supported: MP3, 16/44.1, 16/48, 24/88, 24/96, 24/176, 24/192
USB: Asynchronous up to 24/192
Optical: Up to 24/96
Coax: Up to 24/192
Valve complement: One 6N1P (used for headphone amp, switch selectable valve buffer stage)
Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz +0.5dB
S/N: 96dB
Dimensions (HxWxD): 111 x 376 x 292mm
Weight: 9.82kg