An integrated bargain?


TAS Alan Taffel reviewed the Simaudio Moon 641 Integrated Amp in Stereophile:

“…What I heard was disarming. The 641 did an immaculate job a preserving the purity a Sufjan Stevens “Pittsburgh”. Resolution and openness were within spitting distance of my far costlier reference CH Precision l1 integrated amp. Vocal, guitar, and piano timbers were spot on. Further, the tracks emotional thrust was undeniable….”

1) It is not easy to surprise a seasoned reviewer like AT.

2) Sonics close to the 3-4 times more costly CH amp ~ bargain

Will be seeking a demo

kennyc

Simaudio is a reputable quality brand with a 10 year warranty program. After that it becomes a matter of sound preference at similar price point. I agree with kerrybh about the 390 - pream with integrated DAC and phono stage of high quality and functionality. I own one and run it with a Pass XA25. It is difficult to beat at this price point. 
There North Collection is definitely worth a listening test.

Bargain means something different to everyone. Now that’s out of the way, the SimAudio equipment is excellent and worth a listen. I’m a little puzzled that Sim doesn’t have a bigger presence in USA. I really like their digital gear, both source and DACs. Very natural sounding to me. 

"I’m a little puzzled that Sim doesn’t have a bigger presence in USA"

While I totally understand that point of view, we have always taken a very conservative approach to selecting our retail partners.  We would rather not have any retailer in a particular city, for example, than having one that does not meet our standards of quality representation, customer service and business integrity, which in turn would be a disservice to customers.  We are working towards expanding our retail network, but it is a slow and careful process for us.

Costa Koulisakis

Simaudio Ltd.

 

@costa94109 I love my Moon phono preamp and I would love to hear an integrated but I would have to drive 3 hours to hear one. And would the dealer let me borrow it?

I have been using a Simaudio Moon ACE (a much less expensive integrated) for about a year now.  I use it for streaming as well as a phono preamp with my Marantz TT-15.  It drives my Dynaudio speakers well, and I use the headphone amp with my HD650's and Quad ERA-1's.  The MiND interface is very easy to connect and easy to use.  The ACE looks and feels very high quality, and the output from this integrated unit is really impressive.  The sound quality is extremely satisfying.  I love it, and I would absolutely purchase it again.