[3X0]

Thanks for the comments.

I've actually trialed a bunch of equipment since getting the Nova (and almost selling it for a transportable setup if the higher powers [parents] didn't intervene) and I can sum up a few new details that might be more helpful for head-fiers in the market.
 
The DAC section of the Nova has, from experience, compared very favorably in a qualitative level with the likes of the Lavry DA11, Bel Canto DAC3, and Benchmark DAC1 HDR, among others. I have yet to hear Audio-gd gear but to there's not a DAC I've heard that I've preferred to the Nova. Haven't really heard any DACs beyond $2000 though.
 
The headphone amplifier section sounds VERY similar to the Dynalo/Gilmore Lite. The resemblance is uncanny.
 
The integrated amplifier section sounds pretty good. I've compared it with some $5-600 NADs (including the likes of the C326BEE) and ended up preferring the Nova slightly. It has a lot of current on tap which helps out a lot. It mates well with Magnepans (e.g. the 1.6QR) which is a pretty distinguishing factor.
 
Considering the DAC section competes favorably with $1000+ DACs, the headphone amp sounds like a $400 Gilmore Lite, and the integrated amplifier rolls in the $500-800 performance range.. I still consider the $1200 Nova a bargain.

 

[bastogne]

indeed it is a bargain.  on top of everything you just said, you also get to experience tube and solid state whenever you want!
 
when I'm listening to music, I leave it in solid state mode, but when I watch TV, I end up turning the tube on to take some of that harsh edge off from the horrible tv audio.
 
need to look into the magnepans.

 

[MichealAngelo]

I had a chance to hear one of these at a meet and they are a good all-in one unit I was impressed with the speaker output and I thought the headphone output was good, but personally I liked the headphone output of a Tadac tube dac/headphone-amp that was there much more, though this unit isnt an all-in-one with a built-in speaker amp like the Nova.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

I had a chance to hear one of these at a meet and they are a good all-in one unit I was impressed with the speaker output and I thought the headphone output was good, but personally I liked the headphone output of a Tadac tube dac/headphone-amp that was there much more, though this unit isnt an all-in-one with a built-in speaker amp like the Nova.

RE: The TADAC, I had the opportunity to hear it as a DAC/Pre (didn't try the headphone section) with aftermarket 12au7 tubes and I felt that it was smoother than the Nova, but missed the inner detail retrieval and resolution. It was very natural-sounding and more analog but not as neutral and precise. I preferred the Nova as a DAC because I felt it was more capable of bringing the most out of the speakers involved (in this case, they were Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1s driven from a high-end Musical Fidelity amp).
 
By the way, the Nova with the AG Reference 3.1s was one of the best things I've heard in my entire life, bar none. The Nova driving them directly didn't fare much differently.

 

[aamefford]

 
I love the Nova!  It is the perfect speaker integrated amp for me.  It has everything I need - a stunningly good DAC.  Stunningly good!  It has 2 optical inputs, one detuned to allow for the relatively jittery airport express.  It has 2 coax inputs.  It has 3 analog inputs, one of which can serve as a home theater bypass, allowing the theater processor to use the amp section to drive the speakers hooked up to the Nova.

 

The preamp has a tube section that can be switched in and out.  It does make a difference, though slight.  Slight warmth and a slight softness and fullness, vs a very detailed sound with more bass impact without the tube section. - this is via the speakers and the internal tripath amp.  I tend to use the tube section 90% of the time via the speakers.  I like the slightly softened tone.  It also makes up for the airport express / airtunes streaming, which I suspect is not the best streaming option, though it works well enough, and uses the airport express and mac mini that I had lying around...

 

It is quite good as a headphone amp.  The tube section may or may not be able to be switched out via headphones - I'm still not sure.  Obviously I can't tell any difference, which leads me to believe it is a class A tube or tube hybrid headphone amp only.  It is a heck of a good headphone amp, and probably nearly as good as my dynalo or the Headroom UDA.  As a direct comparison to the UDA as a dac/headphone amp, I think the UDA might edge out the Nova for the win.  Hard for me to be sure, as the listening rooms are different.  The Nova is in the family room with, well, the family.  I still have not gotten the good couple of hours of quality time with it.  Lastly I am now spoiled by crossfeed.  I miss it with the Nova.

 

I personally would not get a Nova for headphones only.  If you have or are building a listening room or desktop speaker rig, I'd get one in a heartbeat.  It is a really cool central piece, at a wonderful price.  It is an awesome DAC and headphone amp as well.  At $1220 new, ad near $900 used, I might consider other options for headphones only, though you would be hard pressed to find a better DAC at $1220 or $900, though a couple come to mind.  I will be adding a power amp to mine, using the preamp out, and bypassing the 80 wpc internal amp, at least to try out more power with my speakers.

 

So in summary - Awesome center piece to a speaker rig, excellent headphone amp, killer dac.  Great for a speaker rig where you will also listen to headphones.  Deserving of consideration as a headphone DAC/Amp, but pretty big physically, and on the high end of the price/performance line for headphones only.

 

All my opinion, of course.  Hope it helps.

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

indeed it is a bargain.  on top of everything you just said, you also get to experience tube and solid state whenever you want!
 
when I'm listening to music, I leave it in solid state mode, but when I watch TV, I end up turning the tube on to take some of that harsh edge off from the horrible tv audio.
 
need to look into the magnepans.

Funny!  I do the exact opposite...

 

[Lazerboy2000]

Are there any products like this out there, but for a fraction of the cost? I'm basically looking for something like the Maverick Audio A1, but also having a built-in DAC. Obviously I won't have the same quality as the Nova, but I love all of its features.
 
Basically I'm looking for something that is a DAC/headphone amp/integrated amp with a USB/line-in inputs and speaker/line-outputs. I don't need something that has as many features or inputs as the Nova, but tubes are a plus. Anything like this exist for under say, $300?

 

[Todd R]

I've had a Nova in my system for a few months now and have formed a few opinions. 
 
First of all, the DAC is excellent.
Before I sold off my big system, I compared the DAC in the Nova to the Channel Islands DAC with the upgraded power supply. The Nova beat it easily having a fuller richer sound.
 
The headphone output is pretty decent with my HD-650's, but the Bottlehead Crack amp is much better with those phones. OTOH, the Crack isn't designed for low impedance phones, so the Nova works better for those than the Crack. If I didn't have the Crack on hand to compare it to, I probably be perfectly happy with the Nova's headphone amp. The Nova also gets points for having a remote. Can't tell you how many times I've been kicked back on the couch several feet away from the stereo wishing I didn't have to get up and adjust the volume. Wish we could see a remote on more headphone amps.
 
Switching the tube in & out is subtle as others have said. I recently replaced the stock EH tube with a JJ Gold pin, and it's a lot more noticeable now. With the tube in the circuit, the vocals are really nice, and the soundstage is a little larger. Switching the tube out now in comparison makes it sound thin.
 
I'm using the Nova as a DAC/Pre-amp with the digital output of my Logitech Transporter feeding the coax input of the Nova (the analog outputs of the Transporter kinda suck).
The pre-outs of the Nova are connected to a Belles Reference 150a amplifier (125 wpc). This is a nice combination.
 
Here's where the bad part comes in. I'm not very impressed with the amplifier section of the Nova. If it's 80 wpc, it's a pretty weak 80 with out much current behind it. When powering Silverline Audio Prelude speakers (that are pretty easy to drive) with the Nova's amp, there is less bass, the dynamics are soft, and it's rather dead sounding. Powering the speakers with the Belles amp and letting the Nova be a pre-amp sounds much better and lively with plenty of punch & drive.
 
If using it with speakers, I would recommend using very sensitive ones. 
 
Quote:

It has 2 optical inputs, one detuned to allow for the relatively jittery airport express. 

Where did you get that information? I read through the manual and saw nothing about any difference between them.
 
Quote:

 
need to look into the magnepans.

Not with the Nova. I just tried it with MMG's and it wasn't pretty. Maggies are great, but real power hogs that love as much high powered amp as you can throw at them. (Unless you listen very quietly)
 

 

[Lazerboy2000]

Quote:

Are there any products like this out there, but for a fraction of the cost? I'm basically looking for something like the Maverick Audio A1, but also having a built-in DAC. Obviously I won't have the same quality as the Nova, but I love all of its features.
 
Basically I'm looking for something that is a DAC/headphone amp/integrated amp with a USB/line-in inputs and speaker/line-outputs. I don't need something that has as many features or inputs as the Nova, but tubes are a plus. Anything like this exist for under say, $300?

 
Any help? Thanks
 

 

[runswithaliens]

Thanks for the reviews on this interesting all-in-one solution. A couple of questions come to mind:
1. An early review of the original Decco said the remote was barely functional. Does the current one seem to work decently from various angles and distances?
2. When you plug in your headphones, does that disable the Pre-outs, or are they always on?

 

[Todd R]

Quote:

Thanks for the reviews on this interesting all-in-one solution. A couple of questions come to mind:
1. An early review of the original Decco said the remote was barely functional. Does the current one seem to work decently from various angles and distances?
2. When you plug in your headphones, does that disable the Pre-outs, or are they always on?

1. mine seems fine
2. No, when you plug in headphones the speaker outputs are muted, but the pre-outs and line outs are not.

 

[aamefford]

Todd R - regarding the detuned optical #2, I will have to fish around for where that info came to me.  If I recall, it was from an email from David Solomon, copied into a thread post somewhere - I spent a lot of time and energy convincing myself to buy one, so I came across a bunch of info on it.  As I recall, this was an update, as the Airport Express' kept dropping out.
 
Turns out the email was to me, from David Richardson at Peachtree / SignalPath:
 
RE: Signal Path International - Era Speakers, Peachtree Audio: Nova
...

From:	Dave Richardson <drichardson@signalpathint.com> ... Add to Contacts
To:	Aaron <>

---

Hi Aaron,

Not sure if I replied to this but if not.

The Rosewood and Cherry are real wood veneers. High Gloss black is MDF with
the High Gloss piano paint finish.

You are correct on how the HT works. It acts as an amp only in that mode
with that input selected.

I have the Nova at home in an apartment paired with the D5 Sat. I do also
have a sub but that is for effects when it is in the Home Theatre mode.

There is not a power plug for the Airport Express I also use that and an
Apple TV in my setup. The express needs to use the 2nd optical which allows
for more jitter to make sure it does not drop out.

Either purchase on-line or with a local dealer. If you have a dealer locally
I'd recommend using them.

Take Care
David
 
I hope that helps.

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

...Here's where the bad part comes in. I'm not very impressed with the amplifier section of the Nova. If it's 80 wpc, it's a pretty weak 80 with out much current behind it. When powering Silverline Audio Prelude speakers (that are pretty easy to drive) with the Nova's amp, there is less bass, the dynamics are soft, and it's rather dead sounding. Powering the speakers with the Belles amp and letting the Nova be a pre-amp sounds much better and lively with plenty of punch & drive.
 

I agree.  If you read the actual specs, it is 80 wpc, but into 6 ohms.  Extrapolation makes that roughly 60 wpc into the more customary 8 ohms.  Not a bad amp, and pretty clean.  It will drive my relatively easy to drive Fritz Groves (Quick Fritz speakers fanboy aside - awesome speakers!!!) to deafening (ok, at least REALLY loud...) volume in my smallish listening room.  That said, the amp just leaves me wanting more.  I am building a 250 wpc class D power amp, and I suspect the added dynamic range that more power supplies will be what the doctor ordered.  I think the Nova's power amp is best suited to efficient speakers and nearfield applications, though it really is no slouch with my Grove Towers in a smallish listening room.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Are there any products like this out there, but for a fraction of the cost? I'm basically looking for something like the Maverick Audio A1, but also having a built-in DAC. Obviously I won't have the same quality as the Nova, but I love all of its features.
 
Basically I'm looking for something that is a DAC/headphone amp/integrated amp with a USB/line-in inputs and speaker/line-outputs. I don't need something that has as many features or inputs as the Nova, but tubes are a plus. Anything like this exist for under say, $300?

The only thing under $300 I can think of is the Travagan's Green.. but that doesn't have line-in input, only USB. The amp in it is also only ~5wpc, so it's not really sufficiently powerful.
 
There's the Outlaw RR2150 for a benjamin or two more. The DAC in it doesn't hold a candle to the one in the Nova, but the amp isn't half-bad.

 
Quote:

Here's where the bad part comes in. I'm not very impressed with the amplifier section of the Nova. If it's 80 wpc, it's a pretty weak 80 with out much current behind it. When powering Silverline Audio Prelude speakers (that are pretty easy to drive) with the Nova's amp, there is less bass, the dynamics are soft, and it's rather dead sounding. Powering the speakers with the Belles amp and letting the Nova be a pre-amp sounds much better and lively with plenty of punch & drive.
 
If using it with speakers, I would recommend using very sensitive ones. 

Not with the Nova. I just tried it with MMG's and it wasn't pretty. Maggies are great, but real power hogs that love as much high powered amp as you can throw at them. (Unless you listen very quietly)
 

I was actually very pleasantly surprised when I listened to a system with the MG 1.6QRs driven by the Nova. That was one of the reasons I was dead-set on a Nova + Magnepan setup, but that might come into fruition quite later since I'm very content with the Nova and the Reference 1s.

 

[Todd R]

Quote:

I was actually very pleasantly surprised when I listened to a system with the MG 1.6QRs driven by the Nova. That was one of the reasons I was dead-set on a Nova + Magnepan setup, but that might come into fruition quite later since I'm very content with the Nova and the Reference 1s.

You must listen very quietly is the only reason I can figure why you feel that's a good match.