Κώστας Φ.
Truth hurts. Here's a teddy bear.
- Μηνύματα
- 8.978
- Reaction score
- 895
Description: Fully balanced, solid-state integrated amplifier.
Line inputs: 1 pair balanced XLR, 4 pairs single-ended RCA.
Output power: 150Wpc into 8 ohms (21.75dBW), 250Wpc into 4 ohms (21.0dBW).
Input impedance: 23.7k ohms.
Input sensitivity: 490mV.
Voltage Gain: 37dB.
Frequency response: 10Hz–100kHz, + 0/– 0.1dB.
THD: <0.015 % at 1W, <0.04 % at 150W.
Intermodulation distortion: "Unmeasurable."
Weight: 58 lbs (26kg).
Price: $6000.
Warranty: 10 years.
"The Moon Evolution i-7 is one of Simaudio's statement products: a good-looking, surprisingly heavy (58 lbs), solid-state integrated amplifier built into an aluminum alloy chassis more or less equal in size to that of the SuperNova CD player, which Wes Phillips wrote about in the January 2007 Stereophile. The i-7 comes with a nice-looking remote handset, built into a molar-shaped alloy enclosure so heavy that, when I accidentally dropped it, it dented the floor. Seriously.
The i-7 is fully balanced, although the single-ended inputs outnumber their balanced counterpart four to one. There's also a tape loop, a pair of auxiliary line-level outputs (their output impedance is a low 50 ohms), special jacks for communicating with other Simaudio products, and a nine-pin RS-232 port: something else I don't know much about.
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A large knob off to the right actuates an optical encoder, which itself selects among many combinations of metal-film resistors for signal attenuation. (The knob is also used as a selector switch during the setup routine.) This is Simaudio's M-eVol, a resistive-array circuit with 130 discrete steps, intended to avoid the distortions associated with old-fashioned potentiometers. The M-eVol system is also speed-sensitive, which is something no potentiometer can match: In the lowest portion of its overall range, from 0dB to 30dB, loudness is adjusted in 1dB steps; above that, the speed with which the knob is turned determines whether loudness is to be adjusted in steps of 0.5dB (slow turning) or 1dB (quick turning). Incidentally, the mute control works not by clamping input signal to ground, but by instantly switching the M-eVol system to zero—from whence it can, of course, be switched immediately back to the previous setting.
The Moon i-7 lacks a mono-blend or channel-reversal switch. Side-to-side balance is adjustable, but only from the remote—which makes more sense than doing it while standing next to the amp itself, I suppose. In any event, the user can adjust the left-to-right loudness differential in accordance with a hundred small steps; that was certainly enough for me.
To look inside the Moon's well-made chassis was to conclude that the i-7 is in fact a monumentally well-designed, high-tech power supply, with a nice integrated amp along for the ride. From the two wildly overspecified toroidal transformers forward, every bit of the power supply is discretely dual-mono. (Actually, the power supply for the logic circuitry isn't dual-mono, but then, I've always suspected that logic comes only in mono.) Everything looked stiff but sensible, and my search for a flaw in the layout—some weakness that might leave the power supply open to hum, or create ground points of differing potential—was as fruitless as playing chess with a master: Someone else had already thought of everything.
The audio circuitry is also dual-mono, built with a combination of discrete transistors and integrated circuits. The i-7 is a fully balanced differential design from input to output, and, in the interest of banishing timing distortions, does not use global feedback—a philosophy that Simaudio refers to as their Lynx technology. The i-7's preamp section operates in class-A, and the power amp operates in class-A up to 5Wpc, beyond which it works in class-AB.
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Conclusions
As Fee Waybill of The Tubes sang on that group's eponymous debut: What do you want from life? A powerful amp that does no more or less than boost the signal it's given, for better or for worse? An amplifier that imbues all recorded music with an indefinable sense of artistic nuance and intensity? A meaningless love affair with a girl you just met tonight?
Simaudio's Moon Evolution i-7 is very good at one of those things.
Some reasonable comparisons: At $6000, the Moon i-7 is significantly more expensive than the Naim Nait 5i ($1425) and Cyrus 8vs ($1795), but offers more than both of those amps in terms of ergonomic refinements—not to mention sheer output power. The Moon is on a par with the best I've heard in terms of rhythm and pacing, yet offers a wider bandwidth. Various tubed integrated amps, ranging from the Primaluna Prologue One ($1195) to the curvaceous Viva Solista ($9900), offer a slightly better, more human sense of flow—not to mention extra personality, assuming that's what you want.
As an engineering accomplishment and objet d'art industriel, the Simaudio Moon Evolution i-7 is a success, and its price is a fair reflection of the effort required to make it real. It is also a safe buying recommendation for anyone who wants power, neutrality, and flexibility—and doesn't want to jump through hoops o' flame to get them. A lovely thing." -- Art Dudley
Kαι, όπως πάντα, τα σχόλια του Atkinson:
"Simaudio's Moon Evolution i-7 amplifier offers excellent measured performance, as I have come to expect from this Montreal-based company." -- John Atkinson
Full Review: Stereophile.com
