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Should I get the Moon 891 streamer/dac/preamp for my Moon 861 amp? Or separates?

I own a Moon Audio 861 amp. Right now I have a McIntosh mc12000 preamp and a eversolo A8 streamer. With Focal N1 Sopra speakers (that I am happy with). Obviously, with the streamer I am not getting the best sound I can from my Moon amp. 

So, I decided I will sell my McIntosh M12000 pramp (it's so beautiful, it hurts to let go of it) and use the money for a dac/streamer/preamp. 

I was thinking about the Moon 891 streamer/preamp/dac. It makes sense because I have the Moon 861 amp. But 25k is so much money, I was wondering... would it be better to use that money on a nice streamer and dac instead? Like a 10k on a streamer and 10k on a Chord dac? Or would it be best to stick with the Moon 891 for the synergy between that any my Moon amp? Looking to get the best sound I can from my amp. 

 

dman777
ghdprentice
8,210 posts
 

Having owned Moon in the past, I would want a DAC and preamp that is warmer and more musical than Moon tends to be. So, perhaps this is good. 

dman777 OP
101 posts
 

@ghdprentice  I heard their past amps were like that. But that's not the case with North collection. It's definitely nice and warm but clear. I would save my Luxman is brighter

deer_creek_audio's avatar
deer_creek_audio
86 posts
 

Check out the miniDSP SHD

ghdprentice
8,210 posts
 

Yes Luxman is very bright. I would look into a good  tube preamp like Audio Research, Zesto, Conrad Johnson. Unless you like highly detailed analytical sound.

costa94109
13 posts
 

According to reviews and Moon, the preamp in the 891 is the best that Moon has offered at any price and hard to beat relative to other options under $35,000.

Not true.  The 891 is by far and away the finest "streaming preamplifier" (i.e. a preamplifier with a DAC and network player built-in) we have ever developed and one of the absolute finest in existence.  It's analog preamplifier section is pretty much State-of-the-Art, thanks in part to some key technologies developed for this product.

However as far as analog preamplifiers go, our reference continues to be our flagship dual-chassis 850P.  It is considerably more expensive than the 891, and has no DAC and no network player built-in.  To be realistic, the question of which is better sounding comes down to how they are compared, as it depends heavily on the quality of the source component used on the 850P.  In some cases, the 850P wins, in others, the 891 will be the better choice.  What this does demonstrate is just how good the 891 is, and how incredibly close it does come to the 850P.

Costa Koulisakis

Simaudio Ltd.

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