Monos Sim Moon M400 versus Pass 260.8

@roxy1927 

Yes - in my view, the North 761 amp is significantly better than the M400s. it is quite close to the 861. 

If your room is large and/or you listen at medium to high volumes, I might suggest you skip the Atma Sphere monos as I can imagine them running out of steam. However, if you listen at modest volume or are in close proximity to your speakers, they might be more than enough. 

But, if you can swing it, the 761 will likely be very pleasing to you - assuming you’ve heard the 861.

And, none of them will heat your room up.

I'd vote Pass

I have no input on the amps themselves, but it being summer my thoughts go to heat. The Pass idles at close to 400 watts, something to consider.

 My speakers are 89 db. Yes I was thinking of the 761 but thought the M400s would be the equal at a lesser price. Right now the 861 is way out of my price range. But you seem to like the 761 a lot better than the M400s.

This is very helpful.

Thank you.

I haven’t heard the Pass amps you reference. I’m sure they are very good. 

I have heard the M400s and know them to be quite good. However, am I correct that what you really wanted was the Simaudio North 861?  I auditioned the 861 and own the 761 which has the same sonic qualities - just a bit less effortlessness. Is the 761 in budget? They’re very close. Both the North amps are significantly better than the still very nice M400s in my opinion.

And if not, I’m curious if you know how much power you need. If not too much,  the Atma-Sphere Class D monoblocs are fairly similar in sonic signature to the 761 as I own both sets of amps and have compared them directly. Yes, I like the 761 better and it certainly has more headroom.  But it was also 2.5x the cost. The Atma Sphere monos are remarkably good overall sonically, and a spectacular value. I’d favor those over the M400s unless I needed more power than they offer (100 W into 8 ohms).  Please note - they do take > 400 hours to break in. 

Just an option to consider. Hope this helps a bit.