SimAudio Moon North Collection
Anyone thinking about buying an amp from the North Collection?
I heard the 860A v1 and enjoyed it. With the new lineup there will be a some 860A v2’s coming up for sale. I am considering the older models and the North Collection. The 860A v1 was surprising good even with the sort of hot Paradigm Persona I demoed it with.
I was thinking at one time of buying 2 Benchmark AHB2 monos to drive the not so difficult to drive and slightly warm Yamaha NS5000’s. A neutral amp like the AHB2 would be great (I owned the AHB2 before) however, I think the 12-inch woofers will unfortunately not be best served by AHB2.
I am using my CODA #16 with the NS5000 right now and I can see where lots of power makes those woofers shine. So I am looking for another amp that is a bit more neutral to use with the NS5000. I can then move the CODA #16 to my Magnepan LRS+. I put these together temporarily in my office to keep the amp safe from my guests (kids). Unfortunately, I love this combo too much now to break it apart.
I am looking for some powerful and neutral sounding amps for the NS5000. I read up on the Classe Delta but that fan is a bit of a deterrent. I am testing out a Class D Peachtree GAN400 with it but it does not have that great bass like the CODA #16. Class D so far has not impressed me on the bottom end as Class A and AB amps I have owned.
So as of now, the SimAudio gear seems like to the top of the heap, and the price is already a bit over what I want to spend. I will just have to work a little longer.
Any other amps with a neutral signature that I should consider?
My preamps are Benchmark LA4 and Holo Serene. The LA4 will stay with the NS5000 system. Both do not seem to add to the signal.
I own the older 760A Amp and recently reviewed the newer 761 amp from the North Collection for about a month. The 761 is authoritative - everything sounds more precise, attack is amazingly quick, everything starts and stops on time without sloppiness. But, I can say the same thing about the older 760A or many other well built solid-state class ab amplifiers though. Throughout the year, I switch between the 760A and an Octave RE320 w/SSB. There's nothing in the newer 761 that I don't get from the older 760A. The 761 won't deliver that smooth tube purity. So aside from the increase in price, I'm not sure why Moon designed an amp that has no special attributes over predecessors. Purely a financial decision I assume. Looking at their product manual and web content, I'm not sure their engineering heart was in this North Collection. The launch of HiFi Rose makes the tiny mobile screen on their Preamps look ridiculous. I think the company may be on the edge of bankruptcy or a serious leadership crisis. Just my 2 cents. |
yyzsantabarbara Did you get a chance to compare CODA to the new Moon North? |
@audphile1 Four weeks ago I drive from LAX airport to a HiFi store that had my speakers and the Moon North. Unfortunately, that arduous drive was not successful because the dealer closed early for some unstated reason. This Thursday I make the reverse commute to LAX. I am trying to figure out how I can leave early to hit the store. The timing may not work out. BTW - my early issues with my Livingroom system which uses the CODA have been resolved exactly as I wanted after I switched the Schitt Yggi+ LIM DAC for the Yggi+ OG DAC. I really have no issues with both my systems today. My desire to go and listen to the Moon is just for curiosity. I bought some speakers from this dealer so I do not think they would mind. |
