Simaudio Moon 240i vs 250i vs 340i vs i5 vs All In One ACE?


Does anyone know anything about these? I found some threads with similar questions here with underwhelming responses. Any help would be appreciated...

All I care about is how they sound - with one analog input at low to medium volumes. 

grislybutter

Showing 2 responses by freediver

grisly I have owned the i5,now own the 240i & have demo’d the 340i several times with Harbeth M40.1,M30.1 & Dynaudio Excite X18 speakers..
IMO the i5 was the Pinnacle of their lower priced units..It’s build quality was a step up compared to more plastic in the current options..The sound to me was just a bit sweeter,NOT a huge amount but just a touch,like moving from current production EL34 tubes to some NOS Wing C’s if you can relate to that analogy..
I haven’t heard the 250i or the Ace but I can’t see there being ANY difference between the 240i & Ace as they are the EXACT same except for the Ace having the Streamer built in...When I demo’d the 340i with the M30.1’s & Excite X18’s I found almost no difference between the sound of the 240i & 340i...Changing the the huge M40.1’s made a big difference between the 240i & 340i,those big cabinets & woofers really needed the extra power,solidifying the bass & opening up the imaging & staging...
Currently I own the 240i driving Harbeth M30.2Xd’s & feel it’s about as good as I can possibly get from a Solid State system..The staging could be a touch deeper but I don’t think that’s possible without switching back to a tube set up...

No,actually as I said,I felt the i5 was just a touch sweeter..Like changing from current production EL34 tubes to NOS Winged C or NOS Gold Lion tubes..NOTHING night & day but with SUPER resolving speakers, a slight highlighting of the midrange,like the sun going from a beautiful warmish yellow(240i) to a deeper redish/orange(i5) as it sets..
If the speakers are NOT really,REALLY good,I doubt any difference will ever be heard!
I also felt the build quality of the i5 was slightly better,just a small step up using all metal & aluminum in it’s build where the 240i has some plastic in it’s facia..You really can’t tell the 240i face is plastic unless you tap on it with a fingernail but it is there...Also note:used i5’s are VERY hard to find & priced at a premium nowdays as opposed to used 240i’s...