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"There was a definite sense of smoothness and lack of grain, though plenty of detail and transparency. I would not call this romantic.
The 700i was not truncating the highs or emphasizing the midrange. All the recorded information
was clearly coming through. Dynamics and PRAT (pace rhythm, attack and timing) were outstanding. It took a few days, but I really got hooked
on this different approach and execution."
"As you can probably tell, I am very high on the Simaudio Moon Evolution 700i Integrated Amplifier.
The words that continue to jump out in my review notes include smooth, grainless, detailed, weighty, explosive and dynamic. In my humble opinion,
the 700i can compete with any combination of preamp and amp at this price level and much more."
Robert Youman, positive feedback, March/April 2012
"What's much more important is that they are incredibly even from the deepest bass to the highest treble, with no unsightly
lumps or bumps to intrude on or distract the listener. In the same way that dynamics are not allowed to shatter the musical
illusion, tone and to a large extent texture are utterly consistent, never undermining the performers or their performance."
"It's this poise, control without constraint, the ability to encompass both the musical and expressive demands of the programme
that marks the MOON amps apart. They allow different elements and strands in the music to coexist, their relationships in
level, time and space preserved, unimpeded by the nasty, mechanical business of audio reproduction. The MOONs reestablish
the world of the performers and invite you in."
"... These MOON amps are confident, unflappable, evenhanded and so far as I've been able to discover (and believe me, I have
tried) unburstable. They also possess a level of musical sophistication, expression and range that escapes all but the very
best electronics."
MOON 880M - Roy Gregory, hi-fi+, March 2012
"What made the 650D sound completely unlike any other digital source I’ve heard? Mostly it was the
650D’s combination of extraordinary resolution and mid- and high frequencies that were unbelievably
clean, effortless, transparent, and nonfatiguing ... The way it reproduced music through my system was uncanny and unique. Bottom line: My music
collection sounded much different than before -- and much better. ... Then there was the most intriguing aspect of the 650D’s
performance: the highs. Stringed instruments, in particular, had a delicacy and detail that I’d never before heard from any digital source."
"So what we have in the 650D is a digital source designed around some strong technical parameters, but
that has also been "voiced," or tailored to sound a certain way. It certainly sounded unique to me, presenting music in an utterly effortless and
nonfatiguing way that many audiophiles will call "analog-like."
"If Simaudio’s Moon Evolution 650D DAC-transport were just another digital source that sounded like
pretty much everything else out there, there would be no reason for it to exist, and certainly no reason for anyone to spend $9000 for one.
What sets the 650D apart isn’t so much its build quality or features (though those are very good)
as its distinctive sound, which is like nothing else I’ve heard. The 650D was able to resolve the
finest details -- it’s hyper-revealing -- with the most musical and nonfatiguing sound I’ve heard from any digital source.
The 650D’s soul is as analog as it is digital."
Doug Schneider, SoundStage!, March 2012
"... the 650D's bottom end foundation was noticeably muscular, deep, articulate, and well balanced ...
Rhythmically, the 650D could not be faulted. It rocked! ... I was struck by the 650D's
consistent overall sound: unusually transparent, delicately drawn, and ethereal, with an almost complete absence of digital glare and hardness. Yet the
650D accomplished this without noticeably softening instrumental attacks or smothering natural transient
sharpness. Reverb trails were easy to follow as they naturally faded to black in an analog-like ... The 650D
made CDs and CD-resolution files sounds about as good as I've heard them sound here, while its decoding of hi-rez files produced exceptional soundstage
width and depth combined with analog-like imaging. I loved Simaudio's MOON Evolution 650D."
Michael Fremer
"Reading through what I have just written, I see that I have used the adjective superb six times
and the phrase state of the art twice. That pretty much sums up the Simaudio MOON Evolution
650D's measured performance. It's hard to see how it could be any better!"
John Atkinson
Stereophile, November 2011
"For those of you accustomed to the run-of-the-mill iTunes experience, straight-line performance through the 100D
USB will be a revelation. A laundry list of deleterious artifacts, from indistinct imaging to tonal hardness to treble etch, will begin to fade away. Bass
pitches and harmonics will tighten up and lighten up considerably. The overall sound becomes more robust and limber. There will be an expanded sense of
musicians occupying physical space, rather than flat-footed images on a tent-card. Dynamics will be livelier, low level resolution higher ...
The 100D is a flexible and forward-thinking solution for addressing the diverstity of computer-based
audio. It's a glitch-free device with an all-important upgrade path for those inspired to stay ahead of the path ... When it comes to the brave
new world of digital music, there is seemingly no end in sight. But Simaudio offers an ideal place to begin."
Neil Gader, The Absolute Sound, September 2011
"The MOON 350P performed with complete and utter competence in virtually every way...
For the consumer who wants no-nonsense, rock-solid sound day in and day out, the 350P offers
that in spades. I can’t stress enough the 350P’s neutrality across the audioband and its
evenhandedness with every kind of music. What this meant was a component that was basically a completely unobstructed conduit to the
source and, as a result, likely won’t be fatiguing to listen to over the long haul ...
You’ll find that the Canadian-made MOON 350P is very well built, thoroughly reliable,
backed by a ten-year warranty, rich in features, and painstakingly evenhanded with any kind of music thrown at it. Some preamps
are better than the 350P - those that aspire to the state of the art, including models
that cost $30,000 or more - but many are far worse. The MOON 350P’s biggest achievement
isn’t that it does one or two things extraordinarily well, but all the things it does very well while never faltering in any aspect
of music reproduction. I strongly recommend the Simaudio MOON 350P to those looking for
rock-solid performance in every one of those aspects for a reasonable price."
Doug Schneider, SoundStage!, July 2011
"Simaudio has brought a DAC to market that is a strong, clear, decisive performer, and it deserves to live
in an audiophile’s dreams. It makes very high quality sound, and sells for an extremely low price ..." Steve Bourke
"I don’t know why you should look for a more expensive DAC if you are planning a substantial upgrade in your system
Sure, it doesn’t have a hefty power supply but don’t be fooled by its light weight; this unit surprised me with its
authority and power ..." Albert Simon
MOON 100D DAC - UHF #90 - 2011
"Each new Simaudio unit is a stellar example of an integrated amplifier providing a worthy alternative to separates. They both have lightning-fast
transient response along with a healthy amount of control, whether reproducing the higher-frequency transients of a cymbal strike or controlling the
thwack of a bass drum. While some solid-state amplifiers offer too much detail, the 600i and
700i achieve the balance of high detail without being harsh or fatiguing—a minor miracle on its own ...
Along with a neutral, clean tonality, both amplifiers have considerable dynamic punch and headroom that go beyond their power ratings ... The key
word here? Refinement. Such welcome polish makes it easy to believe you are listening to separate components ... these are both great amplifiers
and easily the equal—if not the better—of any comparably priced separates I’ve heard ... The 700i possesses
even more refinement than the 600i, and its extra power will drive more speakers."
Jeff Dorgay, TONEAudio Magazine, no. 37, May 2011
"What impressed me most about the 400Ms wasn’t just that they sounded ballsy -- very high power will help
to deliver that, so I expected it. Nor was it how accurate they were -- these days, any decent solid-state amp sounds ruthlessly accurate, not to
mention quite detailed. No, what impressed me was how open and spacious the 400M sounded, how sweet were
its highs, how silky and full the mids, and how tight the bass while remaining rich and robust. Overall, I found the 400M
to be a very high-powered amp that also sounded exceptionally refined, with definite sonic characteristics very much like those of the Evolution designs ...
The 400M’s prodigious output capability means that it can easily drive large speakers ... but it’s able
to do so with the refinement and detail that many associate with much smaller amps. The 400M also has the
sound that, until now, I’d heard only in Simaudio’s Moon Evolution models: a sweet, golden top end; smoothness, purity, and presence in the midrange;
and rich, robust bass. Put that all together and the 400M sounds open, grand, and majestic -- the opposite
of an amp that sounds closed-in, sterile, and lean ...
"...lurking beneath their plain surfaces is an outstanding-sounding, high-powered amplifier whose performance is something special. If you dream
of owning Simaudio Moon Evolution components but, like most of us, can’t afford them, look to the MOON 400M
-- it delivers Evolution-like sound at a reasonable price."
Doug Schneider, SoundStage!, May 2011
"The 700i is an impressive example of the genre. Enough power for the average user, some
future proofing with the pre-outs and bypass feature plus one if not the best gain control schemes
in the business. Great aesthetics that speak to it’s quality and functional attributes vs. glare
and gloss. Oh and gorgeous, clean sound that I will remember."
Greg Zakrzewski, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, March 2011
"The soundstage was as wide and deep as the recording and the rest of the system allowed. Imaging was tightly focused but not Etch-a-Sketch-y,
which is to say that voices and instruments had a rounded palpability; they didn't simply emit the sounds that the musicians were playing and
singing, they radiated them.
More to the point, no single aspect of the music drew untoward itself. To a degree that has been rarer in my 25 years of reviewing
than you may think, I found myself drawn deeper into the music ... This, I think, is the hallmark of a high-end component
that you can live with over the long haul, after you've grown accustomed to any initially thrilling novelties of its sound."
MOON 700i Integrated Amplifier - Fred Kaplan, Stereophile, March 2011
"Forget everything you know about integrated amplifiers ...
... the 125Wpc 600i will never win the “most-watts-per-dollar” contest, but it would win just
about any other contest that judges design, build-quality, and fit ’n’ finish. The 600i is impeccably
made in every way. From its fully balanced, dual-mono architecture (unusual in an integrated amplifier) down to the feel of its remote control,
the unit exudes a sense of luxury and refinement that overlays some serious hardware inside the chassis ...
I had high expectations for the 600i based on my previous experience with Simaudio’s integrated
amplifiers, but that didn’t prepare me for just how great this amplifier sounded ... The 600i never
failed to involve me in the performances, encouraged long listening sessions, and continued to reveal strengths over the weeks the amplifier was
in my system—all signs of a great product.
The 600i sounded like expensive separates, not an integrated amplifier. The first thing that struck
me was how resolved and dimensional the music was. The soundstage was richly layered, with depth portrayed along a continuum and a real sense of
bloom around images. More importantly, the 600i resolved individual instruments and musical lines anywhere along that depth continuum, creating
a sense of musical vividness.
... a big part of the 600i’s immensely compelling musical performance was no doubt the result of the
amplifier’s timbral purity. The upper mids and treble had no grain and edge, giving the entire presentation an inviting warmth that drew me into
the music ... Throughout the auditioning, a defining characteristic was the 600i’s extremely tuneful
and dynamic bass. Bass guitar lines were rock-solid, with visceral grip accompanied by propulsive power ...
The Simaudio MOON 600i is simply a great product in every way - design, execution, tactile feel,
ergonomics, and musical expressiveness ... If you want the sound quality of a separate preamplifier and power amplifier in a compact, beautifully
engineered package, I can't think of a better choice than the MOON 600i."
Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound, no. 210, February 2011
"I’ve talked at length about how utterly transparent the 600i was, and for good reason: it was
exceptionally quiet. However, it’s not alone in this category -- some other integrated amplifiers on the market are also ultraquiet. Rather,
it was the effortless way it did everything that made it so special. With well-recorded material, the highs extended to the heavens, the
midrange was palpable, and the bass was firm and tight -- but never once in my auditioning of the 600i
did it ever sound strained, no matter how much it was pushed.
If you’re looking for a full-featured, reference-quality, bulletproof integrated amplifier, you would be making a mistake if you didn’t check
out Simaudio’s MOON Evolution 600i. It’s the best integrated amplifier I’ve ever reviewed, and as
far as I can tell, it is solid-state amplification executed to perfection ... Furthermore, you get the peace of mind that comes from buying
from a company that has been in existence for 30 years, and will probably be around to offer support and service should their product ever
encounter a problem.
The 600i is exceptionally transparent, and sounds completely effortless in everything it does ...
Connect it to a pair of high-quality speakers and a decent source and get ready to pick your jaw up off the floor. If audio reproduction gets
any better than this, I haven’t heard it."
Philip Beaudette, SoundStage!, October 2010
"The 750D is one of a very few select CD players that gets out of the way of the decoding process well enough that
you can forget that you are listening to digital. Though some players achieve this by rounding off the leading and trailing edges of the music to make it easier
on your ears, the 750D gets the job done with a huge helping of resolution and lack of grain. Much of this lack of
grain comes from the attention to jitter reduction as well as the massive power supplies in the 750D.
Along with an eerie, almost analog-like smoothness, the 750D excels at what digital does best: dynamic range. Whether
listening to large-scale orchestral pieces or the heaviest metal in my collection, this player has the sheer weight that makes for a compelling performance.
Fortunately, it has the low-level resolution and ultra-low-level noise floor that will add a new dimension to recordingsyou’ve heard many times.
For now, the Simaudio 750D is a fantastic digital player that is as obsolete proof as today’s technology will allow.
This is a fantastic player in every way and it is certainly a bargain in the “cost no object” CD player category. I am very happy to award the Simaudio
750D DAC/Transport one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2010, and we have purchased the review sample for our
reference fleet of components"
"If I had to describe the 300D in one word, it would be “natural.” This was very evident when listening to solo vocal
tracks, small ensembles of acoustic instruments and especially violins; the 300D consistently turned in an excellent
performance ... While the 300D had great dynamic range and solid, decisive bass performance, what really sets this
one apart from its peers in its price range is that level of delicacy that usually does not exist at all here ... it gives a very solid performance that is as
non-digital as I’ve yet heard here. To try and put it in better perspective, if you only have a modest analog setup, I’m guessing you’ll either be shopping for
a better turntable or more time listening to digital, especially if you have any kind of collection of high-resolution digital music files. Call me crazy, but
I’d rather have great digital than mediocre analog, and at this level, the 300D delivers the goods."
Jeff Dorgay, TONEAudio Magazine, no. 31, August 2010
"The MOON 600i integrated has an overall perfect balance of dynamics, timbral accuracy, imaging and transparency.
Combining the sonics with its ability to drive even difficult speaker loads, a pleasant user interface and flawless manufacturing ..."
Laurent Thorin, Haute Fidelité, July/August 2010 - #157
"Simaudio is on a winning streak. In the past few years the company has gone from hit to hit with nary a dud in its lineup, and the
MOON 300D D/A converter is no exception. It has all the traditional Simaudio virtues in
spades, plus an even-greater-than-normal degree of performance per dollar spent. Even when I’m being exceedingly picky, I can’t find
fault with this excellent DAC. The only downside to having reviewed the MOON 300D is that
I can’t let it go. Simaudio, the check is in the mail."
Colin Smith, SoundStage!, July 2010
"The 750D’s sound had no digital edge to it -- it was clear as a bell without sounding
hyper-clear. There were no spotlit frequencies, nothing that hindered voices from sounding natural and palpable ... Sometimes, when
electronics sound thin or lightweight, you get the sense of greater air and detail, but that wasn’t the case with the
750D -- its sound was jam-packed with information, but it still maintained
a healthy dose of microlevel detail ... The high point was how I could discern each vibration of the cymbal, such was
the awesomeness of the 750D’s microresolution.
All the higher-resolution recordings I played, in addition to the above CD-rez tracks, were equally impressive. The
750D was capable of mining all the detail available on any music track I have
in my collection -- at least, it retrieved more information than anything else I’ve heard. If there’s more to hear, well,
I haven’t yet heard it from a DAC.
When it comes to D/A converters, the Simaudio Moon Evolution 750D is at the top of
the heap. It is transparent to the source, has extreme levels of resolution, and is dead-bang neutral in terms of tonality -- by
these or any measures, it is a terrific-sounding piece of gear. At this point in time, I can’t imagine a better DAC, and I can’t
recommend it highly enough."
Nor can I recommend Simaudio highly enough. Their Moon Evolution models are costly in absolute terms, but actually less
expensive than many products made by Sim’s competitors ... The retail prices of Simaudio’s products are directly correlated
to the manufacturing costs, unlike what I believe is the case with some of the crazy-priced brands. My advice: Before you
spend six figures on an amp-preamp combination, or almost as much on digital separates ... explore Simaudio’s offerings.
You might just find that your choice, based on sound quality and good sense, won’t cost you a ridiculous amount of money."
Jeff Fritz, SoundStage! UltraAudio, June 2010
First of all, the MOON impressed with its fullsome bass; this is no shrinking violet in the subsonic department. Of course it's not
up to the standards of £10,000 DACs, but is still impressively powerful and articulate, so much so that it left me struggling to
think of any other DAC at the price that could match it ... I came away impressed with its combination of grip, poise and pleasantly
dark and slightly velvety tonality ... no grating female vocals or crunching piano lines here! Cymbals in particluar were superb,
the Simaudio sounding closer to DACs at three or four times it price, such was the delicacy and accuracy of its sound.
This is an important new contender in the world of affordable DACs ... the result is a very assured sounding digital converter, with
real depth, dimensionality and dynamics - yet it's not showy or shrill ... silky sophistication with genuine musicality. I'd like to
hear a better DAC at the price; as I write now, I don't think I have.
MOON 300D DAC - David Price, HI-FI WORLD, June 2010
Tonally, it's one of the nicest class AB amplifiers I've heard, with a tremendous lack of grain, hardness, or any other offending
characteristic. Smooth and seamless right across the frequency range, you find yourself dissolving into the music rather than
sitting in fear of it shouting at you on that particularly acerbic female note.
A truly impressive performer, perhaps you could characterize the MOON as quintessentially Canadian; it just gets on with the job without show,
flair or frills but still makes sure it's having fun! It has a large spacious soundstage, a punchy, dynamically articulate sound, an even and
seamless tonality and no rough edges ... the Simaudio MOON 600i just about wings it. It really is a
rather nice thing to have around the house; Fairly compact, it has a good smattering of useful facilities, a style of its own, loads of power
and a truly impressive sonic character that treats all types of music in a smooth, even, polite and yet highly satisfying way.
David Price, HI-FI WORLD, May 2010
"This is unquestionably a superbly built and remarkably revealing CD Player, or even DAC and transport in one box,
and it allowed me to properly hear the constituent parts of well worn discs that have rarely been apparent in over
20 years of reviewing ... If you enjoy true high-fidelity qualities this is a hard player to beat. Add to this, its
broad range of digital inputs and fabulous build quality and you have a star player ... "
MOON 750D DAC / Transport - Jason Kennedy, HiFi Choice, April 2010
"The MOON 300D has joined our reference systems ...
This is it! There is nothing else to add if someone asked me what their next upgrade should be. Even that someone-who-has-everything does
not really know how good everything is until he has tried introducing the 300D to his system ...
The 300D is a versatile component too, in that it offers great sound for anyone, regardless of
where their (digital) music originates from. Performers live and breathe around the speakers. They play music too, the timbres of their
different instruments naturally recreated, and those who have a voice sing. Really well." Albert Simon
"This new DAC from Simaudio is a key to using computer music not merely as a casual source but as a genuine high fidelity source, intended
for serious listening. In the context of a properly set-up digital playback system, the 300D
can outperform all but the very best (and least affordable) CD players. The weak spot now? Your computer, most likely, and watch for
action on that front. Products like these are game changers, and I’ve been waiting for this for a long time." Gerard Rejskind
MOON 300D DAC - UHF #89 - 2010
"Unlike some class-A solid-state amplifiers that can fool you at times into thinking there might be some glass bottles under the hood,
the W-7M’s do not embellish the presentation. As with my favorite solid-state amplifiers ...
the W-7M’s achieve the task of sounding like neither tubes nor transistors, and this is the
highest compliment I can pay them. You can get carried away with the natural tonality of these amplifiers, and the level of fine detail
that these amplifiers resolve will keep you in the listening chair for hours on end without fatigue. That level of detail and the long
natural decay of acoustic instruments is what can fool you from around the corner into believing you aren’t listening to recorded music at all.
Think of the McIntosh amps as a Z06 Corvette and the W-7Ms as an Audi R8. They both have more
performance than you can handle, but the Audi is a little snappier off the line and around the corners. That extra transient snap will be
apparent, no matter what kind of music you enjoy, but I suspect that this will be appreciated most by classical-music lovers that prefer
large-scale orchestral pieces. Mahler, Shostakovich and Bax never sounded bigger, and this too was a ton of fun. Many audiophiles
predisposed towards small amplifiers lose sight of the importance of dynamics as a major component of accurate sound reproduction.
You just can’t get it without a power amplifier like the W-7M that has huge reserves.
One of the things that impressed me most about the W-7M’s was that while possessing a neutral
character, the amplifiers’ character came shining through no matter what speakers I paired them with. The amplifiers possessed a stunning
level of resolution, yet I always heard the essence of whatever speaker I was hearing. This is definitely a pair of amplifiers around
which you can build a very highend system. And should your taste in speakers change in a few years, you won’t be shopping for amplifiers as well."
Jeff Dorgay, TONEAudio Magazine, no. 26, December 2009
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