Simaudio/Moon

In our last newsletter, we talked about Simaudio's introduction of their new Evolution series, a suite of no-holds-barred components that represent the finest products that this company has ever developed. Now they have added to this line with the release of an integrated amplifier, the I-7, at $5,200 and a CD player, the SuperNova, at $4,800.

The Moon i-7 integrated amplifier is a dual-mono fully balanced differential design that draws heavily on design concepts and advances developed for the preamplifiers and amplifiers of the Evolution series. Using Simaudio's new, proprietary "Lynx" amplification circuit, the i-7 produces a high-current rock-solid 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms with absolutely no sonic colorations. A genuine, no compromise solution for those who don't require separate component systems, this integrated amplifier provides for astounding ease-of-use as a result of a variety of programmable features. Furthermore, the Moon i-7, like all of the other new Moon products, can be fully integrated into a remote control, multi-room environment via an RS-232 port. Among the many features contributing to the I-7's superb sound quality are a true dual-mono design, no overall negative feedback, and a complete elimination of all capacitors from the signal path.

The Moon SuperNova CD Player is, like the I-7, a fully-balanced, differential design. The SuperNova raises the performance bar on the CD Red Book standard to produce a level of audio playback representative of the best in its price range. This is the result of extensive R&D yielding new proprietary technologies, the use of the very finest electronic parts available, and incorporation of a powerful 24-bit/352.8kHz internal upsampling circuit. Some of the other important design features include separate digital & analog power supplies using two independent toroidal transformers, a very precise digital clocking circuit, and A proprietary 6db/octave analog filter that doesn't degrade high frequencies and imaging with excessive phase errors.

Simaudio has also released a new preamplifier and two new power amplifiers in the Evolution series. These are the P-7 preamplifier at $5,500, the W-7 stereo power amplifier at $7,200, and the W-7M mono block power amplifier at $7,500. The P-7, W-7, and W-7M are slightly scaled down versions of the first Evolution products, but owe their pedigree to the advanced concepts and circuits designed for that series. In fact, the two power amplifiers have exactly the same sound quality as the earlier models with the only difference being the reduced power output levels. The W-7 produces 175 watt/channel whereas the W-7M outputs an incredible 500 watts into an 8 ohm load (1000 watts into 4 ohms!). The P-7 has most of the features of the P-8 and is housed in a single chassis as opposed to the 2-chassis design of the P-8. Despite its lower price, the P-7 maintains most of the performance of its big brother.

Simaudio has also released two new products in their Classic series, the CD-5.3 CD player at $3,000, and the I-5.3 integrated amplifier at $3,000. Improving on technologies from the legendary Moon Eclipse and borrowing from the Evolution series SuperNova, the CD-5.3 incorporates highly advanced digital and analog circuitry. Like the SuperNova, the CD-5.3 has separate analog and digital power supplies, a phase-correct 6 dB/octave filter, and numerous other advanced features. It's the perfect match for any Moon Classic series component such as the I-5.3 or for use with quality components from any manufacturer.

Speaking of the Moon I-5.3, this Integrated Amplifier continues where the astounding Moon i-5 left off. More power and transparency are just the tip of the improvement iceberg. The I-5.3 produces a maximum continuous power output of 85 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 130 watts into 4 ohms and is housed in an ultra-rigid chassis. Featuring five line-level inputs, a user-configurable “home-theater ready” input, an IR input for remote control, and military-specification internal components, this integrated amplifier offers a level of sonic performance found in some of the very finest separate amplifier/preamplifier combinations. Best of all, you get all of this for only $50 more than the previous I-5 version. That's a good deal.