Affordable GaN FET amp from Peachtree Audio


Peachtree Audio is offering a Beta Test program for their new GaN 1 amp (not to be confused with their GaN400) and it's being offered at a substantial discount ($1299 instead of $1999) just for being part of the Beta Test group. It has only one digital coax input and that's it. 200 Watts/channel, zero feedback, and no DAC since the GaN FETs handle that.

All the best,
Nonoise

128x128nonoise

This is interesting. Thanks for bringing it up!

Does anybody know how these GaN amps behave in terms of distortion vs power? I recall Hypex UcD and Ncores kept distortion very low up to about 50% of nominal power and then increased rapidly until nominal. So I tend to think an Ncore 400 or my UcD400 should be used up to 200W. I wonder if 200W GaN should be used up to 100W to keep distortion very low?

I'm considering a GaN amp in my active system (SET top end, class A/B midrange, UcD midbass) and this would be an interesting option taking s/pdif from the soundcard and bypassing the DAC stage. Further digging on how clocking might affect this stage differently from the paths converted to analog.

Fun times!

I looked at this earlier in the week, while price is attractive it’s certainly not for me. Not even the 2nd or 3rd room system where I have been using a pair of SONOS Play 3 with their Sub for 15 plus years. I find SONOS unbeatable for the sound and ease of use. 

@nonoise 

OK, color me curious...How in the world can a GaN amp be fed a digital signal and amplify that signal and have it be an analog output without a D to A conversion taking place?  

And if that D to A conversion is taking place (me thinks it has to be) then the GaN amp is incorporating a DAC (of whatever strip you wish to call it).

By extension does this mean that any GaN amp doesn't need a DAC and can be fed a straight up digital signal.

Very curious!

Regards,

barts