SONOS

chaz wrote:

Yada wrote:
This search has taken on a whole new level…

Pretty sure I'm going to purchase either an iDecco or an iNova and then integrate in the one portion of sonos to stream.

Anyone have any experience with the iDeccor or iNova… Played with one a bit this weekend and wow… they seem amazing.

Hah hah hah hah.  That's what happens with audio…a bottomless well to toss money into in search of an unattainable holy grail of audio perfection.

I really really like the looks of those peachtree audio products (not really the speakers though).  I heard one (not with sonos) but the conditions were horrible so hard to say.  By all accounts they are excellent performers.  The reliability/ease of use of solid state amplification and the warmth/fun of a tubed preamp stage.

Have fun.  And DO NOT skimp on the features.  The general rule of thumb is that whatever you spend on amplification/preamp, double it on speakers.  Speakers are the most important part of any audio system BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.  Don't be afraid to buy used.  Figure out what form factor works for your space (floorstanders, bookshelves, bookshelves + sub) and then listen to as many as you can.

And I would step up and get the nova over the decco.  The huge increase in amplification will really open up your options as far as speakers go.

Chaz, greatly appreciate the feed back.

That's the battle I'm having right now, the iDecco vs. iNova… It's a 1k jump in what I'm looking at which would then mean $3,500 in speakers given your forumula,**shits pants**. The extra inputs are also nice for the iNova.

I don't have a huge space but I do want to be able to blow the roof off my home need be.

you don't need to spend that much on speakers.  The point is i guess is that people get caught up in fancy features and tend to skimp on speakers, like they are an afterthought when in fact, as far as sonics go, they are the most important piece of the puzzle.

Do you want floor standers, or book shelves?

What you need to be looking at in speakers is the sensitivity rating on the speakers.  The lower powered your amp, the harder it is to drive speakers with a low sensitivity rating, so as the watts per channel go down, the sensitivity rating should go up.

There are some great speakers that are easy to drive, but it just starts to limit your options a bit.

If you can tell me what your leaning towards re nova/decco, whether or not you want floor standers, and what your REAL budget is and most importantly if you are willing to buy used, I could make some recommendations. 

there is a used nova here for 899 - http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1324306909&/Peachtree-Nova-rosewood

chaz wrote:
you don't need to spend that much on speakers.  The point is i guess is that people get caught up in fancy features and tend to skimp on speakers, like they are an afterthought when in fact, as far as sonics go, they are the most important piece of the puzzle.

Do you want floor standers, or book shelves?

What you need to be looking at in speakers is the sensitivity rating on the speakers.  The lower powered your amp, the harder it is to drive speakers with a low sensitivity rating, so as the watts per channel go down, the sensitivity rating should go up.

There are some great speakers that are easy to drive, but it just starts to limit your options a bit.

If you can tell me what your leaning towards re nova/decco, whether or not you want floor standers, and what your REAL budget is and most importantly if you are willing to buy used, I could make some recommendations. 

there is a used nova here for 899 - http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1324306909&/Peachtree-Nova-rosewood

I think I'd prefer to have the iNova, however, I guess I could always just run an iPod into one of the inputs. Thoughts on that direction?

Regarding budget, not really set in stone but somewhere in the 2k to 3k range for…

1. iNova or iDecco (have seen these range from $800 to $1,800, this is where the inova hurts me)
2. record player ($300 to $500)
3. Pre amp for record player ($200ish)
4. Sonos Connect ($350, however, this can be purchased at a later date, if ever)
5. Speakers ($1,000ish, dont' have a preference on bookshelf vs. standing)

If you are spending this kind of coin on everything I don't think the DAC on the ipod will do it justice.  There are some decent docks that extract the digital signal from the ipod so that you could use the DAC on the nova. I'm sure this would sound better but I have no idea on cost etc.

Of course, this all assumes you have reasonably high bitrate files on your ipod.  If not, it doesn't really matter so much.

For speakers, look at Quad, Gallo, Zu Audio, or Magnepan MMG's, (though i'm not sure even a nova could power them).

My dream speaker is a pair of used Gallo Reference 3.1.  Can be found used for 1200 or 1300.  They don't make them anymore.  The Zu are great with lower power amplification.  If you got a Decco they'd be my first choice for sure.

Oh and btw, sensitivity is also referred to as efficiency in many spec sheets.  The higher the number the less power hungry.

chaz wrote:
If you are spending this kind of coin on everything I don't think the DAC on the ipod will do it justice.  There are some decent docks that extract the digital signal from the ipod so that you could use the DAC on the nova. I'm sure this would sound better but I have no idea on cost etc.

So you're saying buy the one that comes with the dock, correct?

I played a 128k ripped mp3 this weekend on a dock and it sounded outstanding… My only question is, will that same mp3 sound just as good going into an input rather than the dock?

You can get one with an integrated dock, OR buy a product that will allow you to connect the ipod to the peachtree and bypass the DAC in your ipod.  They exist for sure.

If it were my $$ id get the one with the beefier amplification regardless of whether it has an integrated dock or not.  You can always get a gizmo later for good ipod playback.  And if you are getting sonos, why do you need to hook up your ipod anyway?

chaz wrote:
You can get one with an integrated dock, OR buy a product that will allow you to connect the ipod to the peachtree and bypass the DAC in your ipod.  They exist for sure.

If it were my $$ id get the one with the beefier amplification regardless of whether it has an integrated dock or not.  You can always get a gizmo later for good ipod playback.  And if you are getting sonos, why do you need to hook up your ipod anyway?

This would be much easier to discuss over a beer, but ALL very valid points and ideas I'm tossing around… Not even sure I'll go the SONOS route if I can just directly hook up my laptop to an input, etc.

Yada wrote:

chaz wrote:
You can get one with an integrated dock, OR buy a product that will allow you to connect the ipod to the peachtree and bypass the DAC in your ipod.  They exist for sure.

If it were my $$ id get the one with the beefier amplification regardless of whether it has an integrated dock or not.  You can always get a gizmo later for good ipod playback.  And if you are getting sonos, why do you need to hook up your ipod anyway?

This would be much easier to discuss over a beer, but ALL very valid points and ideas I'm tossing around… Not even sure I'll go the SONOS route if I can just directly hook up my laptop to an input, etc.

AIRPORT EXPRESS

Herr wrote:

Yada wrote:

chaz wrote:
You can get one with an integrated dock, OR buy a product that will allow you to connect the ipod to the peachtree and bypass the DAC in your ipod.  They exist for sure.

If it were my $$ id get the one with the beefier amplification regardless of whether it has an integrated dock or not.  You can always get a gizmo later for good ipod playback.  And if you are getting sonos, why do you need to hook up your ipod anyway?

This would be much easier to discuss over a beer, but ALL very valid points and ideas I'm tossing around… Not even sure I'll go the SONOS route if I can just directly hook up my laptop to an input, etc.

AIRPORT EXPRESS

Pretty sure I can only stream iTunes through this, no?

Chaz,

Ever use that audiogon site?? Reliable? Safe? etc…

Thanks

chaz,

Ended up using the audiogon site and got a KILLER deal on the iNova. Thanks for the rec…

Yada wrote:
chaz,

Ended up using the audiogon site and got a KILLER deal on the iNova. Thanks for the rec…

Awesome…and congrats!  Sorry I never saw your question on the last page til now.  To answer, yes I have bought and sold things there, it is a really good and safe site.  Probably the best community of it's kind (that being buying/selling) I've seen online.

So, I have to ask…what did you pay?

chaz wrote:

Yada wrote:
chaz,

Ended up using the audiogon site and got a KILLER deal on the iNova. Thanks for the rec…

Awesome…and congrats!  Sorry I never saw your question on the last page til now.  To answer, yes I have bought and sold things there, it is a really good and safe site.  Probably the best community of it's kind (that being buying/selling) I've seen online.

So, I have to ask…what did you pay?

$1,400 for the iNova… A savings of over $400 and only $150 or so more than the nova.

Next up, speakers!

With 80 watts per you'll be able to drive just about anything.  Floorstanders?  Budget?

chaz wrote:
With 80 watts per you'll be able to drive just about anything.  Floorstanders?  Budget?

Good question… Probably in the 1k range, give or take. Open to any suggestions…. Used or new.

Yada wrote:

chaz wrote:
With 80 watts per you'll be able to drive just about anything.  Floorstanders?  Budget?

Good question… Probably in the 1k range, give or take. Open to any suggestions…. Used or new.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1327690396&/Zu-Audio-Omen-Barely-used ;

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1327193482&/Quad-22L2-Rosewood-lacquer-pai

Or if you are patient you could get a pair of these for $1200-1400.  This pair is priced high because they include a set up custom stands that raise up the soundstage a bit.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1327171458&/Gallo-Reference-3.1-with-Maple

chaz wrote:

Yada wrote:

chaz wrote:
With 80 watts per you'll be able to drive just about anything.  Floorstanders?  Budget?

Good question… Probably in the 1k range, give or take. Open to any suggestions…. Used or new.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1327690396&/Zu-Audio-Omen-Barely-used 

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1327193482&/Quad-22L2-Rosewood-lacquer-pai

Or if you are patient you could get a pair of these for $1200-1400.  This pair is priced high because they include a set up custom stands that raise up the soundstage a bit.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1327171458&/Gallo-Reference-3.1-with-Maple

Thanks!!!

iNova arrived this morning!

Peachtree iNova
Sonos - ZP90
B+W - CM8's
Music Hall 2.2 Turntable

My ass hurts.  :o

Does the inova have a phono preamp?

chaz wrote:
Does the inova have a phono preamp?

Whoops… add on the NAD PP2 Pre amp.