MOON by SIMAUDIO 891/861

MJ19.05.2024

Power amplifiers

Simaudio have reworked their catalogue for this year, and they have done so thoroughly. Although they stick to confusing model numbers for some reasons, their current portfolio is laid in just three tiers, each with a source and an amplifier. Let’s check the top tier in this review and get back to the other two in another one.

100% reference

Function and form

96%

Ease of use

94%

Sound

99%

Appearance

Moon, or in a more correct way Moon by Simaudio, has always been a kind of the North Star to me. No matter what, it has been a certainty, a guiding star. If someone was not sure which components to buy and asked me, I recommended Moon for guaranteed results. It is interesting that the history of the company started in 1980 with Victor Sima started Sima Electronics that became Simaudio later. The name of “Moon” kicked in much later, at around the turn of the century, when Moon was used for the first time to make the company’s flagship range more distinct. Since then, it has remained an inseparable part of the Simaudio’s image. This year, Simaudio has decided to launch a new collection, called North.

Why North? The North means up, it is a compass in the high-end world, showing a direction. And it shows it with the aforementioned three-tier structure, 800, 700, and 600 ranges. In each there are two components: 891 (a Network Player, a DAC, a phono, and a preamplifier in one chassis) and 861 (stereo power amplifier), 791 (a Network Player, a DAC, a phono, and a preamplifier in one chassis) and 761 (stereo power amplifier), and 681 (a Network Player, and a DAC, and a volume control in one chassis) and 641 (an integrated amplifier).

Bass management

Weight

Slam

Articulation

The North collection deliberately moves towards more lifestyle products with, as the company puts it, “less units that are needed for no compromise on sound.” No matter how much die-hard audiophiles may protest it is a lost battle, not unlike horse-riders refusing cars: Simaudio announces that the future is digital. To make the devices operational, you will need a network. As the player and the amplifier communicate via the proprietary Moonlink ethernet cable, both must be connected to the same network.

All the North devices share the same design format. It is unmistakably Moon, yet with more refined, sleeker, smoother and more dynamic appearance. Simaudio is proud of making the whole casework inhouse, and I am happy to see the level of immaculate finish that is usually reserved for Japanese high-end. To simplify their production program, the North collection is only available in the combination of silver/black anodized aluminium. Subtle details like concave cooling fins and the flush-mounted Moon plaquette on the lid exude luxury too. To bring a touch of colour in the sterile life of a digital audiophile who just clicks in an app, the guys in Simaudio designed a very special remote control that is a component itself. The BRM-1 control unit is sold separately and provides fantastic haptic control of the Moon devices through a large smoothly rotating knob and a touch sensitive OLED display. The BRM-1 uses wireless Bluetooth protocol and its Li-ion battery charges via a standard USB charger.

With the Simaudio devices you can do without a rack because their components are stackable one atop the other, and the company sells connecting bridges designed specifically for this purpose. On the other hand, I can confirm that the Moons perform much better when properly isolated – Stillpoints ESS Rack worked magic on how they sounded.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail

Air

Transparency

The 891 Network Player offers streaming (MiND2 aka Moon Inteligent Network Device streaming platform) from local libraries (PC, NAS) or from internet with support for AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and TIDAL Connect in a Roon Ready solution. It also works as a DAC, employing dual ESS 32-bit ES9038PRO chips, with a custom FPGA that provides precise “Femto” re-clocking. It also works as a preamplifier with max gain of 13.5dB and fantastic transparent volume control that uses discrete resistors in 0.5dB increments. And finally, it also works as a phono preamplifier for MM and MC cartridges, for which all parameters can be configured on the fly. The centre of the 891’s fascia is occupied by a high contrast 5” OLED display that is miles ahead of the old-school screens that Metronome, Mark Levinson, and many others keep using for no reason.

The digital connections include AES/EBU XLR (PCM), coaxial S/PDIF (PCM), optical Toslink (PCM), USB-B (PCM, MQA, DSD), and HDMI for integration with a TV set (PCM). The playback is also enabled from a portable USB-A drive, e.g. a memory stick. Analog inputs and outputs are both RCA and XLR, and they can be configured as variable or fixed. The 891 Network Player also features connectors for an external power supply (the 820S, for the time being).

The 861 stereo power amplifier’s sole purpose is to amplify (quite high 31dB gain, 2x 600W into 4 ohms, 2x 300W into 8 ohms). There are RCA and XLR inputs, one pair of speaker outputs, and an AC/DC switch that may help block DC signals on the input. The 861 can bridged for a monoblock (1x 800W, 8 ohms). The two massive toroids are placed vertically just behind the front plate and are responsible for most of the substantial weight of the amp. As usual with Moon amps, there is a high damping factor of 900, and a beautiful 120dB S/N ratio. Simaudio says that thanks to their new MDCA (Moon Distortion-Cancelling Amplification) circuit topology and no feedback of any kind, as well as due to improvements in isolation, mechanical damping, and power supply the new 861 easily exceeds the 860A v2 it replaces and that was a fantastic sounding power amplifier.

Tonal accuracy

Timbre

Dynamics

Temporal resolution

Simaudio designed the 891+861 to work as a couple. Based on my previous experience with the Moon electronics, and based on my listening sessions with the North collection units, I fully encourage a future owner to follow their advice. Yes, with some effort it is possible to find good matching partners from other brands, but why should I do it? Here, the 891 offers a 3-in-1 package (streamer/DAC/preamp) and why not to take advantage of it?

Should I single out just one parameter where the new 891/861 combo beats the 740P/860A v2 combination, it would be separation. It is very apparent while listening to well recorded classical pieces, like The Snow Maiden of Rimsky-Korsakoff (Tutti, Dance of The Tumblers, Minnesota Orchestra, RR, FLAC 44.1kHz). The way the Moons make each instrument distinct within the orchestra is breath-taking. The imaging is superb too so the sound becomes very visual, and one can swear to see horsehair of the bows sliding on the strings, left-to-right, front-to-back and in the vertical plane too. The Moon combo is superbly fast in transients and builds dynamics effortlessly, from soft sounds to fortes, and that makes the music very alive and present. Take brass, for instance – the sound is blazing and has the room-shaking power of a horn of a steamship, yet it is deeply resolved and colourful. There are some superb D-class amps, based on Putzey’s Eigentakt, that can do similarly clean dynamics, but never with the colours. Here come the Moons, with the tone structure and weight that is harmonic and rich without achieving it through added harmonic distortion like tubed amps do.

Spatial resolution

Holography

Soundstage width

Soundstage depth

The ability to work with subtle dynamic gradations is indispensable if natural decay of a tone should be heard. But it also takes the separation and the absence of noise to let the decay fully develop. You cannot achieve that with vinyl, no matter how good; digital will always show its supremacy in this respect and Lofgren’s guitar in Keith Don’t Go is a good proof of it. Each string decay lingers with such a beauty in the air that I completely agree with a guy from the audience, who at around 9 seconds into the track exclaims Oh, man!

The top North collection combo certainly has some magic built into it. The asking price is less magic, though. After cross-referencing all the new Moon devices, I see some light for those with lighter bank accounts. You cannot really skip the 861, as it is the workhorse of the two, but you can replace 891 with 681. Although you will miss some of the 891’s refinement, it is still a very good combination. At least ad interim, before you save for the 891. And, in my opinion, such a combination outperforms the 791/761 combination.

The software will need some updates and Simaudio needs to improve on this – there are moments when the devices don’t see each other. It worked well with previous generations, so there is no reason for why it should not work well with the North collection. Other than that, the new 891/861 system is very hard to beat.

Price as reviewed:605 000,- Kč

Recommended resellers

CZ: Mareka Audio, Horoměřice, +420 603 259 667

CZ: Avitsmart, Praha, +420 605 836 876

SK: Platan Audio, Hlohovec / Bratislava, tel. +421 905 409 802

Manufacturer's website: http://www.simaudio.com

Associated components

Sources: Simaudio Moon 891/791/681 Network Player, Ayon CD-35 HF Edition
Amplifiers: Simaudio Moon 861/761/641, Audia Flight Strumento No.8 MkII monobloky
Interconnects and speaker cables: Nordost Valhalla V2, Synergistic Research SRX, AudioQuest Vodka
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Confidence 60, Silent Laboratories Melodee, Silent Laboratories Equilibrium
Power conditioning: RD Acoustic RD EMI Neutralizer 4,6 kW, Synergistic Research SRX, Nordost QPoint, Nordost QBase, GMG X-Blocker, AAI Maestoso 2

Gallery

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