Experience with Simaudio Moon North amps

I did not compare my gear hooked up to a 761 against the 791. However, I have compared RJ45 streaming DACs against fibre optical and always preferred fibre. So, my preference there is based on prejudice for fibre. The dealer was not impressed by my view on this, but I am going by my ears.

I get what you are saying about the 791. It is an excellent overall unit. I just feel that a better volume control can be found in the super quiet Serene preamp (or Benchmark LA4/HPA4).

I did get a bit of fatigue on the Parasound Persona 9H system I heard the 761 and 791 on. Now I do not think it was the Moon gear, but it made me focus on the top end more than I expected. I think I get more detail out of the Yggi+.

With regards to the Yggi+ OG. I just have a huge appreciation of how great this thing is. It is much better than the $15k DAC that it replaced. It is super detailed without being fatiguing. It maybe is not the deepest soundstage but I do not care about that. I would love to connect the Yggi+ OG into the 791 via XLR and use fibre and do a head-to-head.  Fibre has never lost for my ears.

Sounds good, thanks for the response. I’ve always wanted to hear a Yggi. I have a lot of respect for Mike Moffat. I remember years ago saving money to get the Theta Pro Prime DAC and used that baby for years. Moved up the Theta chain and always loved how dynamic and interesting they sounded. I’ve heard from others as well that the Yggis are a really great value and sound excellent. 

I just bought the Simaudio 861 amplifier upgrading from a SIM audio w8, The difference is unbelievable the amplifier is phenomenal It's about 25% better than the 761 and I have no doubt that this amplifier will go up against amplifiers in the 40 to $60,000 range from other companies and beat them, this is the first amplifier in the world that I know of that has no local or global feedback in the amplifier no other amplifier has that and there's no way I can go back to my w8 again even as good as it is.

FWIW I spent some time with the 791/761 combo at a dealer and my impression was similar to @yyzsantabarbara - 761 is stellar, 791 is very good but the DAC is a limiting factor. When I first heard the system I thought it was very good, but something was a little off and I suspected it was the DAC in the 791 - it had the slight forwardness, sibilance and uneven tonality that have bothered me in the past with 90% of DACs using ESS Sabre chips. Sure enough, switching to a DCS Lina with the external clock greatly improved things and I could really hear what the 761 was capable of. Given that the 791 preamp section was still being used with the DCS, obviously it is also excellent and the internal DAC is really the weak link. Obviously the Lina alone costs almost as much as the 791, and much more with the clock, so it's not a fair comparison at all. But it might be nice if you could get the 791 for a bit less money without the DAC.

I have the 891/861 combination, and the sound is completely amazing and cannot imagine a better sound from either the DAC/streamer using Roon (particularly with Roon through the MIND streamer which to my ears is more detailed than using a high-end USB cable into the 891’s USB input which is also excellent sound) or through my Rega Planar 10/Aphetta 3 combination through the Moon 810LP inputted into the 891. I have not tried the 891’s internal phono stage. The 891 DAC/streamer is upgraded from the one in the 791. There is a certain natural flow and detail to the music that is amazing and very lifelike and three dimensional, with excellent detail and bass, yet smooth, and makes one want to listen for hours. The pair retail for $47,000, and I think they are an excellent value relative to the cost of other high-end amp/streamer/DAC/pre-amp/phone pre-amp combinations where one could easily spend $100k or more. It is a certain flow state this pair creates that makes for an amazing sound.