2. amps-preamps
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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. 

yyzsantabarbara
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,869 posts
 

I live in California and the dealer is in Canada. I cannot bring anything to the shop in Canada and when I go home there is zero chance of doing any demos. I live in Los Angeles area, with great audio shops but I will be too busy with 2 full-time jobs and my kid.

I have done comparisons at home in the past 5 years with more than 10 amps. I bought these units and sold them after not making the grade. The only one to stay is the CODA #16 (and most costly).

My amp comparisons today are with the CODA #16 as the baseline amp and the Yamaha NS5000 as the baseline speaker. I heard better amps during my recent demos in Canada but not a better speaker. I also have the RAAL 1995 Immanis headphone as another uber baseline comparison. Most speakers do not sound as good as that phone.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,113 posts
 

I have Coda CSiB and it’s a killer integrated. I’ll bet your Coda 16 is super competitive. It’ll take a lot to beat it. 

overthemoon
419 posts
 

Luxman and Moon both make excellent gear. In my listening I perceived the Luxman a bit warmer when listening through Wilson Yvette’s. 
 

Enjoy our journey. 

hoodust
1 posts
 

@yyzsantabarbara did you end up with Moon?

I have/love a humble 240i integrated and drool over their separates. I have my own choices for DAC, streamer, and phono stage though, so I don't see the new North 791/891 as a great value if I'm just going to bypass everything but the preamp.

yyzsantabarbara OP
4,869 posts
 

@hoodust I heard the 761 | 791 | Paradigm Persona 9H. It was very good, especially in the bottom end where the 761 was not really involved in. I had some issues with the top end (a bit of fatigue), and I also thought the 791 may not be as good as the Yggi+ OG DAC that I own, and think is incredible (at any price).

The 761 maybe the reason that the details I was hearing was amongst the best I ever heard. Like a Benchmark AHB2 but with a much calmer tone.

I have a fiber optic streamer | Yggi+ OG DAC | Holo Serene preamp. I think the combination of these 3 are better than the 791 that I heard. I would really need to do a lot more listening side-by-side, but from what I heard and my knowledge of the best way to stream, I take my setup over the 761,

However, the ease of use of a sometimes-complicated feature (streaming) is great with the single unit 791. I would recommend the 791 over my setup for ease of use. With further listening tests I bet could confidently say my stack sounds better (and is cheaper).

I am hoping to get a job next week. My reward for doing this extra job will be to buy either the Luxman M10x amp or the SimAudio 761 amp in Aug 2025.

 

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