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Simaudio Moon 700i vs Boulder 865 Integrateds

I'm trying to decide between a Boulder 865 and Simaudio Moon 700i. Looking for your thoughts

I've heard the Moon 600i (but not the 700i) and the Boulder 865, but years apart and with different speakers. 
My general observations were:
The Moon was a bit darker and more about PRAT
The Boulder was a bit airier and more about details and stage precision. 
 
I would be using these w/ Sasha 1.  Does anyone have any thoughts? 

Thanks!
jo1mtb

Showing 1 response by hgeifman

hgeifman
2,310 posts
 

@jo1mtb, I have no experience with the Boulder 866 integrated amp.  My retailer carries the Boulder 866 amp but strongly ‘recommended’ the Ayre AX-5 Twenty amp for its excellent build and sound quality.  I eventually sold my SimAudio 700i V2 integrated amp and purchased the Ayre AX-5 Twenty integrated amp.  

My Ayre AX-5 Twenty amplifier sound is different in that the sound is more natural and less 'exaggerated' than my previous amps. This is very hard to put into words. The sound is there with no artificial extra stuff around it.  It seems my previous SimAudio 700i V2 integrated amp exaggerated the music, and this Ayre amp does not. The music sounds like music with no extra stuff in the way if that makes sense. 

I hope this helps.  Thanks....  

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