Moon 390 Network Streamer

I’ve heard nothing about Sim struggling. They came out with the North line which appears to be doing well. Many dealers - lots of support. Great warranty, reliable build quality  It seems to me that they’re more likely to be around longer than the vast majority of companies.

Yes - tariffs are and poor economic policy that willl hurt all consumers universally (I’m a finance/economics person) by triggering price inflation. That will spill through for domestically manufactured (assembled) products.

I heard the 390 several years ago and came away thinking it very nice and functional for the price. Fairly detailed - a touch bright at output. Their software is different but competitive. There are others to consider that will offer a different flavor, but I think most would be pleased with the price/performance.

Costa: glad you’re here and participating in these forums. 

Also glad to hear your company is doing well. I recently bought your new 761 amp for one of my systems. I considered the 861, but it wouldn’t have fit in my cabinet well. And, I considered several other considerably more expensive amps. I’m delighted with it overall and on a price/performance ratio, it’s exceptional. Thank you.

Regarding the political/economic climate, I sincerely wish it weren’t so, but here we are. My best wishes to you and all at Simaudio.

@singere 

And so it goes with this hobby.  

I’ve listened to a fair number of high dollar amps. I now own the 761 in one of my systems. While you should never stretch your budget such that it might impact your finances, if you do end up going upstream here, take some comfort in the notion that the 761 is a high value amp. It’s not cheap, but it’s better than many amps I’ve heard for which the cost is significantly greater. 

Good luck,

@singere 

Thanks for the kind words. It’s been an evolution for both systems. I started out relatively simple but, like you, heard some things I couldn’t “unhear” which led to upgrades. I’m pretty much done in system 1, but system 2 is in the midst of that process with an analog source in addition to digital. All fun. All $$$.

I am pretty happy with the 761 - certainly for the price. I also auditioned the 861 but that - fortunately - would not fit in my cabinet. They are very similar tonally and in resolution. The bigger amp just a bit more ease to it. 

I purchased the 761 at University Audio in Madison, WI. Ben Gottlieb, the owner, is a great guy - honest, candid, and helpful.  I’ve purchased quite a bit of gear from him.

I’ve heard the previous versions of the Moon amps, as well as mac, Parasound and a wide variety of “uber” amps which impressed more with their size and cost than they did with better sonics. Were they better? Of course. Were they worth the $50k -to >$200k the asking price? Not in my view. I had also listened to a number of tube amps but passed based on worries about maintenance. I loved the sound, but control wasn’t as good, and didn’t want room heaters either. That said, I did just purchase a tube preamp for system 2.

Simaudio is a fine company with a strong warranty who stands behind their products. I also like supporting Canadian companies these days.

fyi: the only caution I would note. They use speaker terminals with a safety shield (to avoid accidental shorting) that was too small for my speaker cables which have large spades. They offered to build me an amp customized with speaker lugs of my choice for an additional fee which i thought reasonable. I just got banana adapters and problem solved but I came away impressed with the company’s willingness to help, even though I was frustrated initially. Cables with normal spades fit fine. Anything with bananas is fine.

Best,.