THE PEACHTREE AUDIO DECCO HYBRID INTEGRATED AMP/DAC

WHAT AND WHY:

It’s fun to review big $30,000 speakers and amps. Back on Earth however, most people find $3000 a lot to spend on anything audio, and fewer want to turn their living room into Stonehenge with space heaters. Additionally, mp3s, typically about 1/10th the size of the original CD track with the attendant fidelity penalty, are fine with just about everyone.

To which I reply, like the lost bits of an mp3, you don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve heard better. If I’m talking to a music lover, I have their attention at this point. ‘You see, there’s these $3000 speakers you could buy that….’ And now they’re gone, probably forever, from the turn-on that really good sounding music produces.

What we need are some low cost, easy to use components that look and sound good. On ramps to true high fidelity. How about a DAC/tubed preamp/solid state amp combo for $799. But wait, there’s more! A USB input for the growing number of computer-based systems, a headphone jack, and a small and stylish remote with power on, source switching and volume control. Add in coaxial and digital inputs along with two analog inputs and you’ve got a box that it is plug ‘n play with a variety of components – a tubed audio Swiss army knife. There’s also a button on the back for a 5db bass boost below 55hz, a great feature for the small speakers the Decco is likely to be used with. Add a pair of $600 speakers and cables, and for under $1500 bucks you’re there. I can sell the Peachtree Decco to the uninitiated.

The rounded corners of the chassis give contribute to the Decco’s sleek, contemporary look along with the uncluttered brushed metal faceplate. No bewildering array of switches and dials befitting a reactor control panel, rather a clean layout that promotes a sensible left to right operational flow. Push the power switch, move over to the small source selection buttons and then to the big volume knob. A small IR receiver and a headphone jack complete the coherent look of circles on the faceplate, broken only by a rectangular window behind which is the tube. A soft start mechanism slowly brings the tube to life upon powering up. When the tube is ready, a yellow LED underlights it, giving it a nice glow but has function as well. Upon power up, the motorized volume control returns to zero and can’t be moved until the tube is warmed up. A yellow light means go here, you can now up the volume via the dial or remote. This is a useful safety feature – your speakers won’t blast to life when the tube comes online.

Two operational quirks. One is that the unit defaults to the USB input when you turn it on. Fine if a computer is your main source but irritating otherwise. Number two: the remote has a fairly narrow operating ‘cone’. You’ve got to be within forty-five degrees or so of the IR receiver for it to work.

Browsing the Peachtree website furthers the notion that the company gets their intended market. Cutting through the perceived (and not unfounded) complication that music listening has become for many are clear instructions with actual photos of hookups instead of hieroglyphic-like diagrams decipherable only to those who don’t need them. Hooking up an iPod? – you’re covered. Same goes for your computer, Squeezebox, Apple TV or Sonos receiver.

Speaking of the Sonos, pop a couple of screws in the Decco’s back to remove a panel, and you’ve got space to cleanly insert a ZP80 receiver, turning your two piece system into a seeming one (elegant) box solution. As a non-Sonos user, I’d prefer they skipped the space inside the chassis and simply shrunk the whole unit. In places such as my office or bedroom, I appreciate the low key and easy-to-place nature of small chassis components. The Decco is roughly the size of a standard receiver.

SOUNDS GREAT BUT HOW’S IT SOUND?

Smooth, musical and, uh, smooth. The website notes how lossy formats such as mp3 and AAC can sound hard and etched. The Decco has clearly been voiced to take the edge off highly compressed codecs. The result is an always engaging listen, but leading edges of notes are a bit soft and the presentation lacks lockdown precision. Still, the Decco is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for versatile, hassle-free good sound in an attractive box.

The closest competitor I had on hand was a $995 Nuforce IA-7v.1 integrated. For two hundred bucks less, the Decco gives you a DAC and headphone amp, so it’s an inexact though fair enough comparison.

The IA-7 gives me what I was missing from the Decco, namely a sharper, snappier presentation; but sounds awful dry by comparison. I simply enjoyed music more through the Decco.

WHAT’S DOING WHAT?

DAC/tube preamp/solid state amp – in an attempt to evaluate the quality of each section I employed several different hookups. With monitor-sized speakers as the Decco’s likely mates, I auditioned primarily with the Guru QM10s ($2495) though pinch hitters included Amphion Ions ($1395) and Era Design 4s ($600). The Decco, to its credit, did not level the playing field – superior and more expensive speakers sounded as such. In a Decco-based system, you can upgrade your speakers and likely reap the benefits. Just stick to reasonably efficient designs given the 50wpc rating of the unit.

I evaluated the DAC section by hooking both the digital coaxial and analog outs of a Squeezebox to the Decco. This essentially pitted the Decco DAC vs. the Squeezebox’s internal DAC. A $300 streaming receiver/DAC vs. an $799 DAC/preamp/amp is a legit comparison. Since the Squeezebox can simultaneously output a digital and analog signal and the Decco’s remote provides source switching, I would play a track and flop back and forth between the coax input and the analog input I was using, the Decco’s DAC and Squeezebox’s DAC.

Longish paragraph yields short conclusion – I heard little difference between the DACs. Perhaps a slightly more open and clean presentation via the Decco, but noticeable only if you’re inclined to sit around and listen for it. When listening to music, it’s a wash and not the reason to buy a Decco is you have a Squeezebox. For SB owners, think of the Decco as simply a good integrated amp to pair with it.

Sound improved a bit when I hooked up my $2000 Cary 303/200 CD player/DAC (fed by the digital out of a Squeezebox). Good news really: as with speakers though not as dramatically, the Decco’s pre- and amplifier sections are up to the task of differentiating good and excellent. What I glean from this abetted by some testing further down the column is that the Decco’s DAC is quite good at its price point and adequate for most systems it’s likely to be used in.

Briefly hooking my iMac to the Decoo via USB yielded the same appealing smoothness heard with other sources. If you running a computer based system, the Decco provides simplicity (just add speakers) and good boom for the buck at $799.

As noted, main gripe with the Decco’s perfromance was its softening of detail which contributed to a lack of snap in the presentation. Using the handy preamp outs which could also accommodate a subwoofer, I attached an $800/pair set of Llano Mini-Mono solid state amps that put out 50 watts of mostly Class A power. The result? A clear gain in dynamics, focus, and speed – the music sounded both more powerful and lighter on its feet.

Shocking news: adding amps that cost as much as the whole Decco package significantly improves performance. Leave it to reviewers to provide such illumination. Weak link is not the term amidst a good looking and sounding DAC/tube preamp/amp/headphone amp with stylish, full function remote, digital and analog inputs, and a preamp out for only $799, but, I’d identify the amp section as not quite up to speed with the DAC and preamp. The takeaway, though, is that the Decco can grow with you. It will reward an upgrade of speakers, and adding an outboard amp can take you even further. The DAC and preamp are not limiters as you go up a rung or two on the quality ladder.

As a very infrequent headphone user, I can simply say that my Grado SR60s and Etymotic ER4s both sounded much better through the Decco than an iPod. Once again, leave it to reviewers to provide such illumination.

A clear winner however, is the 5db bass boost switch. I engaged it for the Ions and Eras, gaining extension, weight, funk and groove while losing nothing. Few small speakers likely to be used in a Decco system won’t benefit from a little electronic fill-in below 55hz.

ALTERNATIVES

Can you do better for $799? Possiblities include the Outlaw RR2150 receiver ($699) which has more limited digital connection options (USB only), though more power. Being entirely solid state, it will likely have a different sonic flavor. The Outlaw stuff I’ve heard is good value.

$200 dollars more gets you the Music Hall Maven – more power, capable of running two sets of speakers, but no USB input or headphone jack. As with Outlaw, Music Hall makes good value components.

Another way to go would be to get a cheap but good digital amp and power supply like a KingRex ($410) and a UD-01 USB DAC ($190). This would leave you a touch of extra cash for speakers, which generally reward greater expenditure more than other components. Downsides to this approach include no remote, lower power, and very limited connectivity. This is a hardcore audiophile solution, viable for those who value sound quality almost to the exclusion of flexibility and convenience.

CONCLUSION

The industry needs more products like the Decco that provide reasonably priced, attractive and easy to use entre into high quality sound. With its flexible connection options and unusual-at-its-pricepoint tube preamp, the Decco is a unique product that deserves to succeed. It’s at home anywhere in your house – living room, bedroom, office; wherever. Like it says on the box of the thoughtfully provided replacement tube, ‘Who’s your buddy?’

• Acid

  1st please let us know what speaker or headphone you did test on?