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Act II: Game changer. Tire changer. Tire kicker. Just a few degrees separate hype from shite. With so-called breakthroughs so commonplace today, we've become rather inured and cynical. How loud should one bang the drum for something truly significant? For the iDecco, I'd say bring on the beastly taikos. Hooked up to Anthony Gallo's equally potent Stradas, one Gallo TR3 subwoofer feeding off the iDecco's pre-out and my iPod Classic 160GB with uncompressed files plugged straight into the hi-tech Sabre converter, I was quite at a loss.


Granted, I'd handed over bass duties to the 300-watt class A/B amp in the sub (that's why the iDecco's pre-out is there so very smartly). Admittedly the twin four-inch spheres and resistive film tweeter of the Stradas without any crossover strangulations were ideal loads. And yes, I had also uploaded very good recordings and converted them slow speed to lossless files on my MacBook Pro, then synced up the iPod. So? As they say in California, sue me.


Because now I filled a very copious room with stout sound pressures at very high resolution wall to wall and out into the street behind the far windows to find absolutely nothing to fault. Instead I was gobsmacked. Truly. Living large is the best revenge. And here I was coming off a €10.000 pair of ultra esoteric Swiss speakers just a half hour earlier. Sometimes I wish readers could hear what we're hearing when everything comes together just so. It would go straight to the heart of the matter and bypass the personality and style filters of messenger and delivery medium. Writing a believable rave is a bitch.

Act III: HiPod. Switching to a $3.000 high-value and very good top-loading CD player via the AUX inputs over four meters of premium interconnects had that machine at a slight disadvantage. The short of it? The world's first digital-direct iPod connection turns two-hundred and fifty-million iPods into high-performance audio. There's no pussy footing about that. And yeah, those were seven zeroes after the twenty-five. 250.000.000*. Yousa. Mission accomplished. Hello HiPod.


The implications are significant. As you will have, a number of my non-phile friends consume music like addicts yet put up with crap hifi. It's belaboring the obvious to say that when it comes to audio—most of them are really smart in their chosen disciplines—they don't know what they don't know. Here's something heavier. With the particular $4.500 system above, I'd include most audiophiles into the same equation. But as Jack Nickolson's gnarly Colonel Nathan R. Jessep balked, audiophiles can't handle the truth. It takes a bit of perspective from the trenches. While nobody has seen everything, more than 15 audio shows and plenty of dealer visits across the US during my audio sales manager days make me fairly certain that in a normal-sized room, one rarely encounters performance of this caliber and then hardly from this level of gear. What's the secret outside the obvious sabre-rattling bit?
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* Here's a YouTube clip of the opening of our local Apple store in Geneva, here one of the insides. It's a global storm the iDecco sagely harnesses to wind-power its own race.

The gainclone phenom is far from over or restricted to the DIY reservation. Audio Analogue's brand-new €699 Crescendo integrated amplifier—made completely in Italy no less—uses op-amps for output devices. So do my AudioSector Patek SEs. So do many affordable amps all the way back to the pater familias of the breed, the 47lab GainCard. It's a proven recipe, end of story, book closed. If I understood correctly, that's what's in the iDecco too - Mosfet-based ICs.


While this limits low-impedance drive, only fools would leash humdinger speakers to a $1.000 all-in-one box. That's stating the obvious all over again. So go with something like Zu Audio's 12-ohm Essence with a simple 1st-order hi-pass on the ribbon tweeter. Now you're fully legit. Even better—owning the Essence, I can say that—copy the review setup of Strada/TR3 and save a few hundred quid. For a slightly more toned-down system also in residence, I'd recommend the €990/pr Amphion Helium 510 with its matching €1.190 Impact 400 subwoofer. For even less dosh, the era Speakers 5 Sat. I'm sure you can replace these stand-ins with plenty of alternate options (you'll be very hard pressed at the Strada level however). The best way to get the best from the iDecco is to go threesome with a sub/sat system. Then its amplifier section is fully on par with the preamp while the iDac—if I may call it that—is truly superb.

From my options, the Gallo speakers were the ultimate, hence my iDecco assessment is based on them. As we're in realistic rave mode, I'll keep to the bare essentials. Like all other properly done gainclones I've heard, there's really good tone density. The premium resolution Gallos added speed, sparkle and outer-space staging without sounding in the least electrostatic or hyper. Stout levels in my room had the iDecco volume at 2:00 o'clock, i.e. far from maxed out. I would not envision equivalent bliss with the Stradas' bigger brother, the Reference 3.5. From experience with its predecessor, its sealed 10-inch sidefiring woofers loaded into absolutely minimal cubic volumes really thrive on power even though the speakers play fine—but not spectacular—on a lot less. Again, for a bigger room and the high times with the iDecco, a threesome is the ticket.


While it's churlish and meaningless to compare the iDecco against standalone amplifiers of a lot more power, it's fair to mention in passing that ultimate dynamic swing potential isn't part of this recipe. Music's power zone in the upper bass (roughly 100 - 200Hz) generates most the impact and scale. If there's an area where the iDecco's modest power and power supply make themselves felt the most—I'm deliberately not discussing the lowest bass—it's here. Mind you, I had no complaints whatsoever. But to keep it real, some perspective is fair.


Everything else (imaging, focus, sizing, sorting, avoidance of nasties, tone, articulation, resolution) was quite beyond reproach and likely explains why the Nova walked off with Stereophile's Component of the Year 2009. As the newest iteration of the Peachtree platform, the iDecco sports an already refined and matured circuit. Far more than icing on the cake, the addition over the Nova, of a $3.000 built-in music server (iPod not included), inevitably forces the hand of our publication's award scheme. Lunar eclipse. There, I've slipped that early. This award—we've only given it out four times in eight years—is reserved for break-out performance and novel solutions. There surely will be more iDacs. In fact there's one coming that'll be portable and battery powered and sized just like the iPod. HiPod on the go. But in February of 2010, the iDecco still was the first of its kind. It ain't bragging if it's true.


Granted, I've not been at all detailed about the what's-it-sound-like litany which is the backbone of the usual review. That's traditionally done in the context of comparisons. The trouble is, I had nothing equivalent to compare against. Again, this is a first. The $2.375 Aura Groove was the closest but already more than twice the sticker. Its more powerful push/pull Hitachi Mosfet outputs are obviously burlier to warrant no realistic usage restrictions for commensurately priced speakers. Its headphone output is somewhat superior. Its got the ticker-tape one-line transfer of the iPod display to be legible across the distance. But, it hasn't got the digital-direct iDock. And as good as the fixed analog output of the iPod sounds with the Groove, the iDecco is a different class (its pre-out allows easy A/Bs of that part of the circuit).
While I'd reiterate what others have said about the original Decco or Nova—best DAC, better preamp, good amp—it has to be taken within the context of a $1.000 sticker. The headphone output of the iDecco is on par with Meier Audio's new Concerto which alone consumes more than half the Peachtree's budget.


As a headphone amp, the iDecco is fully compatible with the top Grados, audio-technicas and Sennheisers. Only the belligerent AKG K-701/702 showed marked step-up potential on the dedicated Burson Audio HA-160. For non-headfiers, those cans would be the equivalent of a Thiel speaker. As a preamp (minus the usually expanded connectivity of multiple inputs and outputs of course), I'd call the iDecco commensurate with up to $1.000 standalone units.


As a 30-watt into 8-ohm integrated, I frankly don't know many in this sector to generate a realistic figure. Let's be cheap and call it $500. My math then adds up to: $3000 CD player equivalent + $1000 preamp + $500 headphone amp + $500 integrated = $5000 for this Chinese army knife. At an 80% discount alas.


Was that cooking the books come tax time? Nope. I honestly believe it holds up. While 5-star+ reviews usually get applied to more expensive gear which makes from less to no concessions vis-à-vis the 'ultimate', my enthusiasm over extremist audio is at an all-time low. That stuff is irrelevant to most and often outright obscene. When a fellow reviewer called a $60.000 loudspeaker "downright economical" this month, I got very uncomfortable. I'm not a Country Club boy.

However, my excitement gets to a boil when more affordable stuff goes beyond the call of duty. On the price/performance scale, the iDecco is off the charts. For being the first digital-direct integrated iPod server, it's sensational. And while I did bitch just a bit about the missing menu function, David Solomon is quite correct. When set up as a do-it-all one-box center (which clearly is how this machine was envisioned), the iDecco nearly invariably sits too far away somewhere between the speakers. It shrinks the iPod display to illegible. If the iDecco is merely used as an iDac in what Corey Greenberg called the he-man rig; and if you want direct track access from the iPod's memory; simply park it within arm's reach. Then you can either operate the scroll wheel or unseat the iPod altogether. Very gracefully, there are no booting issues. Unseat the iPod, manipulate it, reseat it and a few seconds later there's sound again. No crash, no crap. Beautiful. That's exactly how I'd use the iDecco; right next to my listening chair wired into one of my Esoteric C-03 preamp's analog inputs. It's a compact music server that's right at home in a $20.000 system. If you use your laptop solely to import, store and sync from rather than play back, there's already one HD-based music library backup that should be stable for a long time.

Intermission: Accounting. Rather than a blow-by-blow sonic travelogue, did you think this value assessment blew? Still wonder what the iDecco sounds like? That was deliberate. I've restrained my enthusiasm hard to play this review like an accountant. Honest and well-deserved raves written ravenously—wrong word altogether but you know what I meant—often hurt the intended beneficiary. The more the writer gushes, the more the readers suspect he's off the rocker. Using music examples to anchor sound descriptions can go two ways. Either it follows the treble/midrange/bass routine (check, check and boring); or (my personal preference and predilection) it uses imagery and similes and double entendres for a more poetic conveyance. But poetry plus ravenous often spells disaster regardless of the underlying sincerity.


Writing a rave per se actually isn't that difficult. Writing one that works is. Because the iDecco itself works so very well and is so well balanced, the stakes are higher. One can of course always do better—eventually—when more money gets poured on. It's all relative. Even so, relative is relative too. Of all the traditional front ends at my disposal (AMR CD-777, Ancient Audio Lektor Prime, April Music Stello CDA 500, Raysonic CD228, Yamamoto YDA-01), the iDecco as iDac was on their level—though of course not identical—except for the Polish and Japanese machines. Their respective price tags tell that story. This would be serious even if there was no more. But there is. With just a bit of forethought and not just on the desktop, you can build a complete and very impressive system around the iDecco. Most folks in its target audience already own an iPod. This merely leaves speakers.

I'm clearly keen on the Gallo Stradas either by themselves on the desktop; or with the TR-3 companion subwoofer as a main system and the Stradas on their stilts. The iDecco is perfect either way. On the desktop, the USB input is great for CNN reports or Sky News; YouTube video clips of artists you're investigating; MP3 streams of try-before-u-buy albums; and Internet radio. Chances are that the iPod-direct feature is superior to streaming the same files from a PC. The iPod eliminates non-audio background programs and stays outside the noisy computer environ. The Peachtree men then were very clever to add that variable output. It's not just for preamp duties but—in this context far more relevant—subwoofer action. The fixed output meanwhile becomes the secret bridge to full-on audiophile integration (or ingratiation).

Finale: Multi-tasking, multi-accomplished: In closing, the iDecco really is that rare bridge products which as a machine works on multiple levels; and on performance works on multiple tiers and for different listener expectations. As such, it's a multi bridge. While that's conceptual, there are implications. The iDecco is the perfect gift to get acquaintances in the voraciously music-consuming iPod nation seated in our small world. It's the perfect desktop solution for even demanding listeners. It's the ultimate nightstand headphone amp with built-in music server. And—here the jaded will blink—it's a big-rig solution beyond transitional as long as the main speakers are wisely selected. In high-end audio, transitional means the first step beyond mid-fi. Entry level. The iDecco is steps beyond mid-fi. As iDac, it goes still further. And upgraders can eventually amp offboard. A clever and impressive package of features and abilities. All that for a thousand smackers seems nearly too good to be true. Yet more than 600 units have already found homes. Whatever you call that, here on the moons I have to call it a Lunar Eclipse. Cheers to the Peachtree Audio gang. Way wicked...
 
Quality of packing: Good.
Reusability of packing: A few times.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: Easy but remember the gloss lacquer. Be careful and stay away from belt buckles.
Condition of component received: Flawless.
Human interactions: Good.
Pricing: Supernatural value.
Final comments & suggestions: For our high-end audience, the N°.1 application is to set it up as an arm's length compact music server (iPod, uncompressed files, fixed out). On the desk top, this machine does it all. Ditto for a smaller room system. In a big room, use the variable outputs for a powered subwoofer. Best of all, it's the ultimate spread-the-virus gift to seed new audiophiles who presently bop to the iPod over its stock ear buds. As that crowd would say after hearing their iPod transformered with the iDecco, "that's sick, dude" - or whatever today's hip street talk equivalent is...

iDecco website