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 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. |
@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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I own the Moon North 861 and 891 combination, and I am amazed at the sound, which is very three dimensional, high resolution, dynamic, fluid, airy high end without being etched or analytical, and with amazing bass. This is relative to my previous Moon 700iV2 and 780dV2, both of which I liked very much. I am using the same Moon 810LP phono pre-amp, GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers, AudioQuest Thunderbird speaker cables and interconnects, AudioQuest Hurricane power cables and Niagara 5000, and Rega Planar 10 (Apheta 3 cartridge). I cannot imagine a better sound, even though there is more break-in to go on the North and the 810LP. The 891 also has an excellent user interface and remote and works perfectly with Roon, and the 861 links easily through Moon Link with the 891. Highly recommended and can listen fatigue free for hours on end. The only limitation with this system is the recording itself. This is a new technology from Moon and what they have done is a success. |
ackerdo, I don't know what you been listening to but the 761 is far superior to the 760A, I just upgraded to the 861 from my SIM audio w8, the 861 is so far better it's not even funny, this is on a whole different level now, I have no doubt that this amplifier at $22,000 will beat amplifiers in the 40 to $60,000 range from other companies, that MDCA circuitry is a game changer. |
