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Where to start? A multi tasker as ambitious in scope as the iNova does raise that question. Hmph. After the obligatory burn-in as luxo iPod dock in our upstairs video room/painting atelier—Mark+Daniel Fantasia-S run off a Lavardin IT which in video mode connects to a Wyred4Sound STP-SE for remote control plus modified Oppo universal player but now had the Peachtree connect directly to another of the Lavardin's inputs—the iNova nestled into the big rig. That forced the April Music Eximus DP-1 sideways to make room. As my new reference acquired past its review, the DP-1's extensive writeup with its many embedded comparisons makes it a good triangulator for the iNova's various functions. I began with both leashed directly to Nelson Pass' FirstWatt S2 amp. This meant preamp use. Here the cheaper unit held the ace card of remote control convenience. Source was my new 27" quad-core iMac with 16GB of RAM. That runs in hybrid memory mode via PureMusic 1.82. A Thunderbolt 4 x 1TB RAID array shall shortly replace the iMac's own hard disk as the new iTunes target location for playback.


AudioMidi instantly recognized the iNova's USB input as Peachtree 24/96 and confirmed 2ch-16/24bit integer mode support. Acceptable sample rates were 44.1, 48 and 96kHz.

Naturally PureMusic's Audio Setup panel said the same - 88.2kHz isn't supported. Given the iNova's fixed analog output telegraphing mature ambitions to see use as dedicated big-system DAC, this seemed a bit strange. Native files at twice the Redbook frequency might well factor in high-resolution libraries - and 176.4/192kHz support is absent as well.


Preamp vs. DAC mode. Rather than suffer through a blow-by-blow account, let's head straight for the conclusion. In the context of a mature refined system, the iNova's tube is a clear resolution decimator. Its softening thickening pleasuring function undermines fine nuances and pads down jump factor and energy transmission. Rather than invoke audiophile snobbery to question why it's there in the first place, let's state in no uncertain terms that the same tube becomes most appreciated with lossy AAC files. Yes, real music lovers in constant search for new music will download from the iTunes store until they can locate full-rez replacements. Since the little bottle can be inserted/removed from the circuit with a single remote command, it's really the best of two worlds. For the following comments the tube was bypassed however.


Versus the $2.995 Eximus, the $1.795 iNova in DAC/preamp mode was fleshier, spatially more compacted and congealed. It was not as transparent and lit up in the depth and separation aspects. What goes by presence, tacitness and speed thus lacked the quicksilvery I-can-touch frisson of the South Korean. However - when I fed the iNova's fixed outputs into the Eximus to subtract the former's preamp stage from the equation, the performance against the Eximus pure pulled to just about a draw. While I still had faint remnants of the aforementioned fleshier/thicker/denser aspects, those were so toned down in DAC-direct mode that in a different ancillary context or to different ears the iNova/DP-1 combo might actually have emerged victorious. (In fairness I must here point at Nelson Pass' new S2 amplifier with his proprietary custom silicon-carbide 'static induction' power JFETs. Its single-stage single-ended zero-feedback zero-degeneration circuit is so fast and open that minor subtractions of those qualities as incurred by preceding ancillaries telegraph to an inordinate extent.)

If as recommended you've read the Eximus review for detailed context, you will already appreciate the implications. As a fixed-out D/A converter the iNova performs on the general refinement level of an €3.495 Antelope Audio Zodiac Gold/Voltikus or $3.995 Resonessence Invicta. Given its rather lower sticker and superior overall functionality, that's a bit of a shocker. It's also brilliant evidence that the Peachtree Audio designers haven't been resting on their iDecco laurels. I next compared my iPod 160GB Classic to the 27" iMac. The iNova as iPod DAC fed the Eximus via its fixed output, the latter received digits of the same file from the computer. This netted a true draw. Whilst most audiophiles malign the iPod as high-jitter source unfit for any serious consumption, the iNova's implementation of Sabre's top chip makes that attitude a very unappetizing leftover from yesteryear - boring and ill-informed. The upshot is plain. If you're playing the $4.000 converter field, the iNova in fixed output mode is fully competitive as both USB and iPod DAC.
As preamp I would slot it lower. Lack of familiarity with current such $1.000 - $2.000 units simply makes it impossible for me to reference specific competitors for a clear fix where on that particular road map the iNova belongs. What I do see is a conceptual issue. As a very good though surprisingly affordable DAC, the iNova with its pre/power amp aspects is completely overloaded. Gussied up beyond recognition comes to mind. You could strip away the preamp and power stages and still be well ahead of the game. Human psychology simply has aversion to pay for features one won't use even if the remainder comes in well below budget. In my book and for a 5-in-1 unit, Peachtree Audio made their converter section too bloody good. It really can and would satisfy demanding well-off customers. Those same customers are simply liable to view the 'lesser' functions as below their interest. The likely result is that they won't even consider the iNova for its fixed outputs. Their loss!

If the $1.795 iNova offers $4.000 DAC performance, something has to give. Enter the headphone output. This followed the footsteps of the preamp performance but more overtly so. With sufficient output to drive Sennheiser's HD-800, the iNova was clearly warmer, fuzzier and more opaque/cozy than the airier, crisper ballsier more transparent and lucid DP-1. It's just an assumption but given David Solomon and Jim Spainhour's unapologetic design brief—satisfying sound for users of often inferior source material—I suspect this generous rich voicing with 'plenty of gravy' but soft blurry edges and an abundance of 'connective tissue' was very deliberate.