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World unique preview: Moon North 791 and 761
Canadian audio electronics skilled Moon by Simaudio has revamped its top-end vary. We have unique pre-Munich Show entry to the brand new Moon North 791 streaming DAC preamplifier and 761 200W stereo energy amplifier.
The new North vary by Moon is a six-strong line of electronics. The 791 and 761 are the primary two North designs out of the beginning gate. They will ship in September. The 125W 641 built-in amplifier and 681 Network Player will observe in October. Finally, the highest 891 streaming DAC preamplifier and 300W 861 stereo energy amplifier are anticipated by the tip of the yr.
Product costs start at $/£11,000 for the Moon North 641 and $/£12,000 for the Moon North 681. The 791 and 761 previewed right here value $/£14,000 and $/£16,000, respectively. Ballpark costs for the 891 and 861 are $/£25,000 and $22,000/£23,000 respectively.
Moon North: The Joy of Six!
Moon’s North challenge comes with loads of product consolidation. North’s sextet of merchandise change many gadgets within the present Moon line-up. A couple of specialist merchandise will probably be part of the road later. These ought to embrace a top-end phono stage and an influence provide. However, a product just like the 791 acts as a line preamplifier, community participant, DAC and phono stage in a single.
This will not be distracting folks with a brand new look whereas slimming down the product line. North distils what was good from earlier designs whereas including new expertise and industrial design. Although probably the most seen distinction is the transfer to a color OLED display screen on the 791, the amps bristle with new tech.
All the merchandise within the North vary profit from the model’s new Moon Damping Base to scale back vibration. This resulted in an entire cupboard redesign, with the emblem on the highest plate performing as a chimney. In the method, this made the entire prime of the chassis screwless. The Moon North 791 additionally makes use of the corporate’s new Moon Distortion Cancelling Amplifier circuit. This is claimed to scale back distortion to ‘beforehand unattainable’ ranges. A brand new MoonHyperlink additionally connects every product, permitting extra clever management performance between merchandise.
The bars connecting Moon merchandise are surprisingly widespread and retained right here. Different bars replicate the redesigned structure, which means you possibly can solely stack current Moon merchandise with Moon North merchandise if you happen to use a rack. However, the North merchandise look good on a shelf with their redesigned toes and extra rounded look. The all-black and all-silver variants of Moon merchandise aren’t carried North; from right here on, it’s the ‘panda’ look of silver edges with black centre panels.
It’s all about quantity
In talking with Moon’s workforce, it’s clear there may be some obsession over quantity controls. Most engineers take into account the quantity management a log jam in an amplifier’s design. Moon began from scratch, utilizing an optical encoder that sends quantity place information to an analogue circuit on the superb level within the sign path for attenuation. This ends in a claimed error of lower than 0.1dB between channels and between quantity steps. It additionally lets Moon distant management the quantity utilizing the Bluetooth-controlled BRM-1 handset.
Moon’s MiND 2 app helps loads right here, and the North fashions construct on its strengths. Audio fanatics like obsessiveness, however these are merchandise for a broader enchantment. The Moon North vary is easy to make use of however not dumbed down. The person interface is an enormous enchancment over the ‘Big Red LED’ of its predecessors. Installation is painless. Navigation is intuitive and fast. Operation is secure and bug-free. The solely strike towards the 791 and 761 is attempting to maneuver 36kg of energy amplifier round with out noticeable handles. This is why I’m penning this hunched over in a chair, ready for the painkillers to kick in as a substitute of constructing a video. The video will observe.
Don’t blame the Moon
I’ve all the time appreciated Moon merchandise for his or her blamelessness. That’s not faint reward. Getting out of the way in which of the music is extra sophisticated than it appears, however Moon does it effectively. The amps don’t exaggerate or underplay their hand. Music sounds good in all the precise methods on Moon with out accents and highlights. Stereo separation is nice. The dynamic vary is nice. Detail retrieval is superb. Vocal articulation is first-rate. And every thing hangs collectively effectively in a musically entertaining method. And these perceptions appear hopelessly outdated 10 seconds after listening to what Moon North amps can do.
This is a change of drugs, a step change in efficiency. Moon North merchandise nonetheless have that honesty and integrity to the sound. They stay innocent. But now they take that efficiency to the subsequent stage. And about 10 seconds into taking part in the New Moon, you perceive the obsession with quantity management. From a whisper to a scream, the amplifiers have consistency. This, too, is uncommon; amps that play loud typically ‘collapse’ at decrease volumes.
Meanwhile, mild sonic souls typically lack the heart to wield a full orchestra taking part in Mahler or ear-bursting Motorhead. The precision of the Moon North 791/761 mixture means you possibly can play late-night jazz at protecting the neighbours’ candy ranges. It additionally means you possibly can ship your Apple Watch into noise-warning apoplexy.
We need all of it, and we wish it now!
Things could be good if the Moon North 791 and 761 have been merely final season’s fashions with higher quantity management. But that’s barely the beginning of issues. Everything is improved. Everyone has a sonic set off, whether or not soundstage, absence of noise flooring, dynamic contrasts, rhythmic precision, or what have you ever. Unless your sonic motivation is “I’d prefer it extra veiled and distorted”, what pushes your buttons is probably going handled right here.
Above all this, nevertheless, the Moon North fashions make music sound like enjoyable. They are extremely detailed, and exact and patently come from a spot of obsession. Yet, they don’t sound sterile or overly correct. Often, I discover amplifiers which can be extraordinarily exact to be like that man on a quiz night time, the one which is aware of what model of sneakers Miles Davis wore however is just considering music for its trivia. Like its predecessors, the Moon North 791/761 combo will not be that man.
I wish to save a extra thorough dialogue of sound high quality for the video (when my backbone heals) and the overview correct, however these amps dwell as much as what Moon desires to do with its North vary; these are merchandise that fulfill the hardened audio fanatic but have an effortlessness and ease of use that makes them attain far past conventional audio listeners. Finally, the informal and intense listeners have one thing they will get pleasure from on their phrases and with one another.
And lastly…
There’s one final thing. Moon has a repute for lengthy, sluggish running-in instances. The electronics initially sound good however get a lot better over the weeks and months. Moon North adjustments that. They sound good out of the field, and 48 hours later, you’re about 99% there. There is likely to be some delicate enchancment over the subsequent few months, however Moon North settles shortly!
Moon’s North launch is spectacular. It combines flexibility and ease of operation with some intelligent design features (each product and electronics), making a product that redefines the high-end much more than Moon did with the earlier vary. Unless you want a separate field for every operation and large crimson LEDs, I can’t see why you wouldn’t wish to head North.
Contact Details
Manufacturer:
UK Distributor
Tel: +44(0)131 555 3922
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