SIMAUDIO Moon Evolution 740P
Preamplifiers
Both the 740P and 870A represent great value components – for the price you pay the sound of this combo is unbeatable. Simaudio offers 10 year warranty with their products which also screams of the confidence in their own products. Add rugged build and impeccable finish and the Moon Evolutions turn to be among the finest pieces of audio available today.
Funkce a forma
Despite the unit looks quite ordinary on the pictures it makes an unforgettable impression in reality. Its case is finished in thick black anodized aluminum, with horizontally running heatsinks, perfectly damped milled top plate that features a large silver plate with the engraved Moon logo, and natural brushed aluminum curved extrusions on sides of the front panel. All black or silver versions are available too.
In Simaudio they do not mount any standard feet to their components – there are four conical steel ‘spikes’ instead in each corner of the bottom plate. All Evolution series devices can be stacked via replacing the spikes by damping aluminum/polymer bridges; that way you can save money for a dedicated rack and will have a very stylish high-end console.
The Simaudio Moon Evolution 740P preamplifier provides three pairs of RCA and two pairs of XLR balanced inputs, two pairs of RCA single-ended outputs and one pair of XLR balanced outputs (all those with adjustable max volume and gain) plus a pair of XLR connectors for an external power supply 820S (optional). The mains switch is at the rear panel as Simaudio recommends to leave their components “on” for optimum performance. The volume knob has very fine resolution of 0.1dB when turned slowly – by fast turning the volume steps up by 1dB. All the information is displayed on a red matrix display (dimmable and defeatable) with oversized characters – I have to applaud to this feature as it is very easily readable from any distance.
All the features are accessible from a remote controller – another standing ovation here as the controller is not only perfectly ergonomical but it also has lit buttons which make the operation in a dark room be piece of cake.
Nízké frekvence
The bass of the Moon Evolution 740P combined with the Moon Evolution 870A´s power was truly seismic. With good recordings it was a breeze for the combo to induce earth quaking feelings deep in my belly and the 740P did not add any roundness or smear around the bass notes. Metallica´s Master of Puppets is not an audiophile stuff but the intro on acoustic guitars and bass was ravishing, with precisely defined transient edges and a nice round tone to it, as if my ears were connected directly to the mixing console.
Čistota rozlišení
The 740P is a sonic microscope and the most transparent line stage I’ve ever auditioned. In Dvořák's Rusalka (Reference Recordings) the trumpet fanfares, reinforced by a fierce triangle were brilliant and open sounding, in the contrast to the dark orchestral canvas. But the background was far from being muted - there were dozens of micro-events happening in the orchestra. Take the strings, for example - the massed violins represented an instrumental group as well as the 740P focused on each single instrument, a kind of resolution within resolution, with laser sharp focus.
Tonální věrnost
Both the 740P and the 870A are effortless in midrange with natural timbres and top notch timing that brings the sense of immediacy to whatever I listened to. On top of that they are very musical devices, the 740P being a bit tonally truer than the 870A.
The 740P combines astonishing transparency with a subtle richness, tonal fullness and a golden touch in top octaves that gives shimmer and spark without sliding into the slightest hint of coloration. It comes with the price: any change you make in your audio chain will be mercilessly projected into the sound. I used my Accuphase DP-720 SACD player to feed the preamplifier via its balanced inputs. As the hot pin is wired differently in the Accuphase and the Simaudio I used the slider that is fortunately available next to the DP-720´s output to ensure the right ´polarity´ at both ends of the interconnect. The difference between polarities were not subtle and the Evolution 740P let me hear it, as well as it let me hear the differences between interconnects that I used. If there is something like the ´straight wire with gain´then the 740P is it.
Prostorovost
The soundstage was amazing - realistic, with tangible body, three-dimensional realism and lifelike locked-in-space images. Vocalists were not presented as disembodied or hovering voices, quite opposite they became very physical and palpable.
The soundstage of the 740P was as deep and wide as it was recorded on the source material. The preamp fantastically recreated the space around individual musicians, the recorded ambience was reproduced with magical presence and thus reshaping my listening room into a studio. It was clear which side of a microphone the artist was facing, if he (or she) was seated or standing, I could follow the fingers travelling along the neck of the guitar. Of the two, the 740P imaged more accurately, with pinpoint clarity. The soundstage of the 870A was comfortably deep but a bit narrower than I am used to. Thus it gave a spotlight focus on soloists and band frontmen, but also slightly emphasizing middle-front sections of a symphony orchestra.
Doporučení prodejci
Platan Audio, Hlohovec / Bratislava, tel. +421 905 409 802
Web výrobce: http://www.simaudio.com
Připojené komponenty
- Sources: Accuphase DP-720 SACD player, Accuphase DG-58 processor
- Amplifiers: Simaudio Moon Evolution 870A, Accuphase A-70, TAD M2500, Jeff Rowland Model 201 monoblocks
- Loudspeakers: Legacy Audio Aeris, TAD Evolution E1
- Interconnects and speaker cables: AudioQuest Wild Blue Yonder, AudioQuest Redwood, Stealth Audio PGS-16, Stealth Audio Metacarbon, AudioQuest Vodka
- Power conditioning: Nordost Thor (modified), Nordost Valhalla, Block Audio Snakeblock
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