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Preamplifiers are the nerve centre of an audio system and, like homo sapiens, distinct personalities emerge. We'll tell you about the Moon's sonic personality in a moment, but first a short recap of the company and its development is in order. The Moon series of components caters to the audiophile market and to folks who have an elevated degree of musical awareness. The Celeste series was introduced by SimAudio about five years ago (the company's founder was Victor Sima). The current company president, John Poulin, took over about four years ago. Celeste products are marketed around the world through a network of dealers. Moon components however, are sold only by selected dealers who have the expertise and understanding of specialty audio equipment. Thus, the P-5 preamplifier is a top-of-the-line product which might appeal to those who have already attained high-end experience and to music connoisseurs.
Appearance:
There are two units to consider-the power supply and the main (control) unit. Both units will capture even casual observers' attention with their stunning appearance. The front panels are 1/2-inch thick plates finished in a steel-gray tone which is enhanced by the centered Celeste logos. The clean lines are complemented by an uncluttered face-plate on the main unit. There is a display window on the unit's left, small Monitor, Mute and Input buttons and a large volume control on the right. A small light in the middle under the logo indicates the preamp's status. The power supply sports only an indicator light. When the Moon is switched on, large, red LEDs in the display widow make it easy to see what volume levels and inputs are set. All functions to operate the preamplifier are on a large (and heavy) remote control-included with the unit. The power supply and the main unit can be stacked via four adjustable tip-toe-like feet. Thus, the Moon's appearance is further enhanced while resonances are also addressed. The two components are connected via a couple of supplied umbilical cords which are terminated with XLRs. On the rear, six pairs of RCA inputs and a balanced input (XLR) are provided. One set of RCAs and one set of XLR outputs allow the connection to the power amplifier. All inputs and outputs are gold plated; the RCAs are made by Tiffany, the XLRs are made by Neutrix. An elaborate, extra heavy, but utterly logically designed remote control comes with the Moon and represent a convenience not readily found in high-end gear.
Technology:
The Moon is a fascinating, unconventional design and the result of endless hours of systematic tests and experiments. It took SimAudio two years before the product met their desired objective (and it took us nine more months to get hold of a unit). There are a number of technical innovations contained in the beautiful chassis and it's difficult to determine which component is the most important. Let's begin with the volume control. It's what is know as an RBG gain control-a method of eliminating side-effects of potentiometers. Regular gain controls are actually variable resistors whose values are user-adjustable. The unit also features a fully balanced circuitry with no feedback at all (Renaissance circuitry). This means that balanced source components and amplifiers will perform with better signal-to-noise ratios, but this may not be conspicuous. A unique strategy has been employed here by eliminating capacitors in the signal path which shortens its length to a mere nine inches (most units have over thirty inches). This results in the reduction of the dielectric signature which is customarily reduced with Teflon circuit boards and proprietary and expensive circuit arrangement. John Poulin states that his tests conducted with expensive capacitors didn't result in better sound quality or even come close to the reality delivered by the final no-cap version of the Moon. He also says that there is a price to pay-an audible pop when the unit is turned on/off and at certain points when changing the gain. He discovered that carbon-based parts, such as resistors, potentiometers, insulation material, PCB, silicone devices etc. all interfere with the purity of the signal, and that the decision to accept the small "pops" represents the only limitation.
The separate power supply features an unusually heavy toroidal transformer at the heart of the design. Customized iron cores are employed which have gone through a special process to solidify the cores to reduce magnetic loss, heat and vibration. RF filters are absent in this design and an external line conditioner is recommended, if not absolutely necessary. These are the basics. Of course, there is more, but we aren't going to expound since the Moon's technology is very sophisticated and difficult to digest. More info is available from the manufacturer, and we now get to what's important . . .
The Sound:
In order to determine the Moon's status as an important audio component, we connected it with four in-house amplifiers and three pairs of loudspeakers. We used the Topaz, the Bryston 8B-ST, the Lightstar and the OCM 1600 monoblocks. The Merlins, the Kefs and the Angstoms served as auditioning loudspeakers. Speaker cables by Straightwire, interconnects by Vampire and Ultralink, stands by Ethera, CD transport by Classé and DAC by Enlightened Audio Designs made up the balance of our system(s).
We are going to disappoint our readers because when a unit is this good, there isn't much to report. Lets dive right into the sonic character, the preamplifier's "personality". The first and foremost noticeable trait of the Moon is its steadfast sonic disposition when the volume / gain is changed-there are never any sonic inconsistencies. Another quite conspicuous attribute is the Moon's apparent uncoloured sound which allowed our panelists to hear the characteristics of power amplifiers to which it was connected for our auditioning sessions. There is a sonic signature and it's lean and mean, since it unmercifully reveals all backup components and their characteristics. As such, the Moon "showed off" the exquisite sound of the Topaz, the dynamics of the Bryston 8B-ST, the bass of the Lightstar and the finesse and power of the OCM1600s. It also conjured a multi-dimensional sound- stage, authentic focal information and what appears to be celerity. Low-level information comes across as realistically as fortissimos and trios sound as coherent as large orchestras; what else is there to say?
Synopsis & Commentary:
Over the years, we have had a number of outstanding preamplifiers in our studio and few can be described as "state of the art". We have often stated that an inexpensive preamplifier doesn't cut it in high-resolution (high-end) audio systems. Few, if any in the under $3,000 range make it into our top categories and we believe that great preamplifiers will cost between $5,000 and $8,000. However, even when we get up into the "ridiculous" price ranges, performance isn't guaranteed. We thought we'd bring this perspective to light before we get into the summary and the value of the Moon. In recent issues, we described the sonic merits of three preamplifiers in the Moon's price range. Each one we reviewed has its own signature and sonic merits and each has its synergistic complements with other components. We operated the Moon with a fair number of dissimilar amplifiers to determine its compatibility and to ascertain its sonic character. The Moon maintained its sonic signature with all systems, which is to say that it allowed us to hear all backup equipment. This is an indication of the unit's splendid handling of audio signals from sources and its ability to render an amplifier's sonic achievements. We believe that the Moon is one of the rare components which offers more bang for the buck, greater neutrality than other similarly-priced preamps and exemplary sonic caliber. If you already have a great amplifier, you'll be pleased with the Moon's accomplishments; and if you want to upgrade and don't wish to fork over $8,000 for a great preamplifier, here is the alternative. It's not a cheap substitution to be sure, but in light of the Moon's performance, the choice is as reasonable as the price.
