I'll just drop a quick bit on this in case someone wants to run a search in the future, as I recently swapped the two similar priced products and tested the sound quality on my Sierra-1 NrT pair, with a Rythmik F12SE.

Peachtree Nova (80wpc integrated DAC/amp) ~$1300
Emotiva UMC-200 (pre/pro) + Emotiva XPA-200 (150wpc) ~$1100

It's not even a close comparison when I swapped my venerable Peachtree Nova for the Emotiva pair. The Emotiva setup added considerably cleaner, clearer sound. It was a startling and unsubtle difference. The EQ optimization options and sub management were just gravy.

One thing to be aware of is that the Emotiva seperates need a monitor with a HDMI input to access the setup of the UMC-200, which may be a bit beyond what some people want to use for a simple stereo setup. I would say the results were entirely worth it, if you have a spare TV sitting around.

Also if you're a headphone aficionado, the Peachtree Nova's headphone capabilities seemed to be able to pull much fuller sound--particularly in the bass. It also has the ability to activate a tube stage to subtly roll off the highs for extended listening without fatigue.