Do the Focal's have Beryllium tweeters? I have heard the 761 with Paradigm Persona 9H (791 was preamp and DAC)..It was a bit fatiguing to me.
Pulled the trigger on a Moon 861! Hope it pairs well on my Focals
Well, I pulled the trigger and ordered a Moon 861 amp! I am very excited! It will be coming next week. I have a pair of focal Sopra n1 speakers that I'll be using on it. I've never heard them paired before. I heard a moon audio 761 on dynaudio towers and so that's what turned me on to The Moon North collection.
I'm feeling a little bit nervous. Hopefully it pairs really good with good synergy with the focals. Has anyone ever heard the moon north gear on Focals before?
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I think you bought a great amplifier. I’ve had a chance to hear the 761 and 861 and owned sim products in the past. I suspect you will find you will have enough power for any speakers, and that the sim audio will not color the music in any way, instead any coloration will come from the preamp and speakers. Congratulations |
The MacIntosh preamp may have the balancing effect you are hoping for. Tell us what happens. Don't forget that a new solid state amp typically starts out very trebly and then softens over the first 100 to 200 hours. I know this, but I just can't help but draw conclusions when I put a new amp in my system, even after knowing this for decades. I get all upset... then it settles down. This happened to me recently... and it settled down so much, it was as if it was a completely different amp. |
@fastfreight yeah, you’re right. I’ve heard Focal on Macintosh which is supposed to be warm and even on that some recordings sounded bright. It really depends on the recording in my opinion. I find that with my Luxman 595, guitar music will sound a bit hard to listen to after a while because it’s recorded with a lot of treble in my opinion. But other music like classical, jazz, and reggae, the brightness of the focals turn to pure magic
Just to note I haven’t got my new amp yet talking about the Luxman that I currently use which is a great amp to. I’ll be keeping it as a extra |
@dman777 it sounded bright because your speakers have a more present presentation to their mid treble and upper treble. So combine that with records that may be mixed and mastered bright and yes some stuff will sound bright it is not an annoying brightness as it isn't peaky but a gradual uplift in their balance beyond lower treble. |
I've had the Moon North on Focal beryllium (Kanta, Sopra, and Utopia) and it's a great match. The Moon is never harsh and everything is controlled well. Warmer than I expected. I have not tried your pre. I've only run with Moon North 891. My friends that don't like Focal beryllium were not run out of the room with only two setups: the Moon North, and Classe Delta power/pre. Everything is smooth and well balanced and never offensive. |
Mac does have a mellow sound, but there’s only so much they can overcome. A few years back, I listened to a lovely system that was all new Macintosh equipment and the newest B&W 80? Speakers. No matter where I sat, no matter how I readjusted the speakers, they hurt my ears at levels in the 75-80 db range. |
Simaudio Moon electronics are clear and transparent. Pair them with very revealing speakers and a front end that’s not on the same level and you’re in a world of trouble. |
My speaker is like a Beryllium based speaker, the Yamaha NS5000 (the child of the Be Original Gangster, so to speak). It uses Zylon for the drivers, and it is as detailed as Be. After hearing the 761 I wanted to get it to pair it with the NS5000, because that would be something special. Great detail but no harshness and also lots of power. I would have rotated the CODA #16 amp and the 761/861 between my 2 system. Luckily, I am tapped out $$ wise and went with a cheaper amp (good enough for now). |