[mbritt]

 
Finally a small footprint DAC/Amp that can connect to my computer via USB, my desktop reference Teac CD player via toslink, provide a pure digital line out from a built in iPod doc, act as a preamp for my powered Swans M200 desktop speakers and have a really nice headphone out.  All that for $699!  This is the device I've been waiting for especially after lusting over my neighbors Peachtree Nova in his livingroom setup.
 
I will still keep my upgraded Headroom Micro Amp because it plays so well with my K701's but this setup will really round out my home office listening needs in a nice tidy little package.
 
The website says that they will be shipping mid-September which is now.  Going to have to find out if the MusicBox will be available in Cherry finish which would look nicer on my vintage Scandinavian wood desk.  Yes, I am a fancy boy.
 

 

[anm]

hey any updates? I like the concept, just couple of things I would like in it
1. a VERY VERY good headphone amp that can drive any headphone including hd650 and lcd-2, or other power hungry inefficient headphones.
2. speaker amp is not much of use for a desktop amp, so it could be made optional. I hope there would be a way to turn off the amps when listening to headphones else they would heat up, I guess.
3. Though quite outdated, but CDs still exist. I am too not sure if it possible to insert a high quality cdp, but having another CD box is difficult, specially in a office cabin kind of scenario.

 

[anm]

actually, only thing that matters for me is that it should have a damn good headphone amp for speakers. I will buy one for my bedside system and one for my office! Rest of the things are good to have but not that important.

 

[mbritt]

My neighbor has the Peachtree Nova and the headphone amp on it is really great with the exception of K701's sounding way too laid back.  Not a good combo.  I think the tube/ss hybrid approach would sound fantastic with your hd650s.  
 
I would have one already except I had to buy a new mac laptop last week that cut into my discretionary spending for this month.  I will write it up here on head-fi as soon as I get one.

 

[anm]

thanks. Anyone tried with ortho headphones? I would love to buy an lcd-2 though I do not have a budget right now.

 

[kwkarth]

Yup, the Music Box works great with the LCD-2's.

 

[AirForceTeacher]

Pure digital line out from iPods?  I thought that was impossible.  Is this a new development?

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Pure digital line out from iPods?  I thought that was impossible.  Is this a new development?

Nope, not a new development.  The capability was first offered by Wadia as a transport/dock for iPod.  Apple has also awarded this coveted license to a few other companies like Peachtree and Cypher Labs.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Pure digital line out from iPods?  I thought that was impossible.  Is this a new development?

 
 
Impossible ? Sir, please, ......
 
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/av-accessories/pure-digital-i-20-921473/review
 
Anyone with 99 USD can now do the impossible. All we have to do know is get these guys working on world peace.
 

 
 

 

[estreeter]

Looks like this died a pretty quick death here - I guess Peachtree charge a little more than the cheapskate Head-Fier is prepared to pay.
 
Yours,
 
Major Cheapskate Nr 1 

 

[mbritt]

I took the long road to getting the Peachtree MusicBox but I wanted to share my impressions and experience as a followup to my original post from 2010.  The amp itself originally sold for $699 which seems about right considering it has a Cirrus Logic Crystal 4398 DAC, the pure digital out licensed from Apple as well as a glowey tube  The build quality and finish on this little amp are really top notch and beautiful.  I initially wanted it for it's pre-amp outs to my powered Swans M400 desktop speakers in my home office where I also had a headphone listening station.  About a month after posting this I put my house on the market and moved to a downtown loft where I no longer had a home office.  I used my Swans at work and carried around the Centrance Dacport as my portable headphone amp with my laptop.  My speakers developed a hum after a power surge/brown out so I immediately thought of the Peachtree MusicBox system.  Unfortunately it was discontinued but I saw a deal for a refurbished set complete with speakers for $450 (discounted from around $1000).  I wanted to research my options specifically a comparison with the Centrance DacMini.  By the time I made up my mind they sold out of the refurbished units and I was bummed.  I started using a pair of the Audioengine A2's with the dacport on my desk that sounded pretty good but I kept an eye out on the Peachtree site for another refurbished deal which paid off last week.
 
I'm listening to the MusicBox with MB3 speakers as I type this and it's everything I wanted it to be.  The audio depth and expansion blows everything else in this category out of the water - no contest.  I would have liked to hear the musicbox with my Swans but they were too big to be practical on my desk anyway.  The tube hybrid sound with the Cirrus dac is very musical.  My Apple Lossless collection of music really sounds great on this rig.  Instrument separation is clear and concise and the bass sounds strong and present without being muddy especially when using the bass boost option designed specifically for the MB3 speakers.  I'm an MP3 snob and only use iTunes purchased music to sample new albums.  I'd rather buy a whole cd to rip as losses for one single song than to buy the low quality MP3 for 99¢ but I have to say that iTunes samples have never sounded better.  I don't get how it can make low quality music sound better without messing with the high res sound quality.  The hybrid design gives you the best of both worlds with the tube sound but the pace and impact of solid state.  Everything from singer songwriters to hard driving rock plays well on this system and there is a lot of power/headroom.
 
The headphone section sounds superb with my AKG K550's and I know from past experience that Peachtree units sound great with mid to high level Sennheiser's like the 598's and 600's so I may have to add a new open pair of phones to my collection.
 
The Apple dock is the legacy model but so are all of my other peripherals which is why I'm in no hurry to update to the iPhone 5 from the 4s.  I still have my classic iPod Video that I can use on this dock for many years but it will mostly be fed a steady diet over USB.  Getting great speakers and a great headphone amp in one package for $470 delivered was an amazing deal.  Keep an eye on the buy now section or on the refurbished link on the Peachtree audio site if you want to score a great deal on this system for yourself - http://www.peachtreeaudio.com/products/refurbished.html