I have Coda CSiB and it’s a killer integrated. I’ll bet your Coda 16 is super competitive. It’ll take a lot to beat it.
SimAudio Moon North Collection
Anyone thinking about buying an amp from the North Collection?
I heard the 860A v1 and enjoyed it. With the new lineup there will be a some 860A v2’s coming up for sale. I am considering the older models and the North Collection. The 860A v1 was surprising good even with the sort of hot Paradigm Persona I demoed it with.
I was thinking at one time of buying 2 Benchmark AHB2 monos to drive the not so difficult to drive and slightly warm Yamaha NS5000’s. A neutral amp like the AHB2 would be great (I owned the AHB2 before) however, I think the 12-inch woofers will unfortunately not be best served by AHB2.
I am using my CODA #16 with the NS5000 right now and I can see where lots of power makes those woofers shine. So I am looking for another amp that is a bit more neutral to use with the NS5000. I can then move the CODA #16 to my Magnepan LRS+. I put these together temporarily in my office to keep the amp safe from my guests (kids). Unfortunately, I love this combo too much now to break it apart.
I am looking for some powerful and neutral sounding amps for the NS5000. I read up on the Classe Delta but that fan is a bit of a deterrent. I am testing out a Class D Peachtree GAN400 with it but it does not have that great bass like the CODA #16. Class D so far has not impressed me on the bottom end as Class A and AB amps I have owned.
So as of now, the SimAudio gear seems like to the top of the heap, and the price is already a bit over what I want to spend. I will just have to work a little longer.
Any other amps with a neutral signature that I should consider?
My preamps are Benchmark LA4 and Holo Serene. The LA4 will stay with the NS5000 system. Both do not seem to add to the signal.
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@yyzsantabarbara did you end up with Moon? I have/love a humble 240i integrated and drool over their separates. I have my own choices for DAC, streamer, and phono stage though, so I don't see the new North 791/891 as a great value if I'm just going to bypass everything but the preamp. |
@hoodust I heard the 761 | 791 | Paradigm Persona 9H. It was very good, especially in the bottom end where the 761 was not really involved in. I had some issues with the top end (a bit of fatigue), and I also thought the 791 may not be as good as the Yggi+ OG DAC that I own, and think is incredible (at any price). The 761 maybe the reason that the details I was hearing was amongst the best I ever heard. Like a Benchmark AHB2 but with a much calmer tone. I have a fiber optic streamer | Yggi+ OG DAC | Holo Serene preamp. I think the combination of these 3 are better than the 791 that I heard. I would really need to do a lot more listening side-by-side, but from what I heard and my knowledge of the best way to stream, I take my setup over the 761, However, the ease of use of a sometimes-complicated feature (streaming) is great with the single unit 791. I would recommend the 791 over my setup for ease of use. With further listening tests I bet could confidently say my stack sounds better (and is cheaper). I am hoping to get a job next week. My reward for doing this extra job will be to buy either the Luxman M10x amp or the SimAudio 761 amp in Aug 2025.
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