Zu Audio and Peachtree Audio
All prices in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

Everyone throws around the term lifestyle as it applies to audio components, but rarely is it defined. Walking into the Zu Audio/Peachtree Audio room, it was instantly apparent exactly what it means. This system the two companies showed is not meant for the "man cave," but can be brought right into the living room with a decorator’s flair. People concerned with style, functionality and performance will love what they have here.

Peachtree Audio's Nova ($1200) was the centerpiece for this simple-yet-advanced and great-sounding audio system. The Nova, which costs only $1200, couples an 80Wpc amplifier with a class-A tube preamplifier and a Sabre DAC, all in a very elegant, diminutive chassis. Send this little guy a digital signal from an Apple TV box, a Wadia 170iTransport, or a Squeezebox, which is what they were using through the demo, and the Peachtree takes it from there, outputting more than enough power to play the bright-red, retro-looking Zu Audio Essence loudspeakers to quite-loud levels with ease.

Zu’s Sean Casey (right) and Peachtree’s David Solomon stand proudly with the system that Doug Schneider thought would make most wives beg their husbands to abandon the large, ugly components most have now -- if they want to keep them in their living room, that is. We predict that in time, we'll see more and more hi-fi setups like this one. Nice job.