Music Hall a25.2 vs Peachtree Decco 65

[0verkilled]

Hi All,

I want to thank all of the FMs for sharing your knowledge and experience. I again need your help with my next upgrade.

I currently have Musichall a25.2 amp and it plays stored content through Pioneer BDP 160.

I want to introduce HTPC for which I will have to buy Schiit Modi DAC (decided).
Another option is to buy Peachtree Decco 65 which is on sale in the forum. This way my I will eliminate both DAC and BDP, as HTPC will connect directly to the amp.

My only concern is the sound quality, I absolutely love Music Hall's sound which is 50 wpc and I love the authority, sound stage and the way it fills the room. On the other hand Decco is gorgeous which is 65 wpc. There is not much review about Decco's sound. I am wondering if the Decco is worthy upgrade even though it is 15 wpc more than Musichall.

My speakers are MS Aviano 6, and I never use Bluray disks so I am currently using the BDP as a streamer with DAC.

PS. everything is in place, I have an offer for both Musichall and Decco, price is not really a big concern. Both are a bit rare amps and are beautiful in their own way hence the dilemma.

I am not sure how appropriate my query is considering that I am at the end of my negotiations. Please pardon my ignorance. Thanks

 

[srinisundar]

Ok, good to know that you are happy with music hall as i loved it too. Just to add it is more than the rated power of 50W and not worth going for 65W amplifier.

I believe you can mate with Music hall dac which can significantly improve your sound and more it has options for modding too further. Since i owned the same along with music hall cd player which i am owning still. DAC was given to our forum member on his insistence to own it.

I never used or seen the peechtree, so cant comment.

 

[0verkilled]

Thank you srini for the reply. Main reason to go for decco is the simplicity. And it has tube preamp.
Also, when I said price is not an issue its only between the combo I posted
Music hall amp will be too expensive that's why I chose schiit modi. This is one more thing in decco's favor, it has a very good dac.

 

[docd]

I was the original owner of the Decco which is on sale here. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone. The present owner liked the Peachtree house sound so much that he has upgraded to a higher version. The advantages are one box DAC plus amp solution and lovely sound. If you want more power it also has preouts so a power amp can be added later. Plus point is lovely styling!

 

[srisaikat]

I can share my experience regarding Music Hall A70.2 amp which I am using over last 2 years, till now it is a piece of kit which I do not want to replace.

As you are using BDP-160 there is great scope to improve the source, if you really want to improve your source I think Peachtree DAC-itx is nice option to go for which is available from $250 to 299 at this moment.

Another highly and more preferable recommended (though more costly) DAC is Arcam irDAC. Some nice deal is available on ebay.com at this moment for irDAC.

 

[0verkilled]

Thank you for your valuable inputs. I would like Also like to thank Jay who had called me and explain what I can get/expect with the upgrades, at various price ponits, in general.

Peachtree is a great amp and the price at which it is quoted is a real bargain. However, I would stay with my current amp and add a DAC to it, see how it performs, may be get in touch with Srini and mod it.

I will let you know how it goes after adding the dac, may be in a month. Thanks again!