Audition a Simaudio Moon W5 if at possible. I have the W3 (which is reportedly sonically similar), and it is the finest SS amp I've heard.The W-3, then, is a beautifully transparent amplifier It has pretty much the same sound characteristics as the bigger Moon W5 amp,and a lot of power

Detailed yet smooth, liquid highs; taught, driving, controlled bass; super build quality; very quiet background, unique & attractive cosmetics; no transformer hum nor fan.

Nothing obvious.

Wow, I was really impressed with this old demo when I auditioned it. My wife & I both actually preferred it to Bel Canto's newer Evo 6 (Gen I then), at least with neither bridged (and both using XLR). The bass was noticeably better, and it seemed even faster than the Evo. The Evo was better with bell-like sounds, as noted seemed to decay more slowly & gently, and vibraphones would ring with realistic clarity that the Simaudio did not match, however. But both amps on test clearly beat my (also excellent at its price) Chiro C-500 amp, which previously ousted my (again, great for the price) NAD T760 AV receiver. All of the above (except the NAD receiver) won out over power amps from B&K and Rotel, too. And Anthem's amps are about on par with the Chiro (and also priced right), but no match for the Simaudio W-3.

Similar Products Used:

Chiro C-500, Bel Canto Evo 6 Gen I, Anthem MCA-30, B&K Reference, Rotel, etc.

WELL LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I HAD BEFORE AND REPLACED THIS AMP WITH, I GOT RID OF THE KRELL FULL POWER BALANCED 300,I THINK THAT SHOULD TELL SOME PEOPLE OUT THERE ABOUT HOW PRICE SOME TIMES DOESNT MEAN THAT ITS GOING TO BE BETTER CAUSE IT COST MORE, DONT FALL INTO THAT TRAPP. I DID, BUT I DONT REGRET IT, ITS A LESSON , OUR MISTAKES ARE LESSONS. KRELL IS OVER RATED,YES THEY MAKE A GOOD PRODUCT BUT NOT WORTH THE PRICE,I STILL OWN A KRELL KRC PRE AMP AND ITS A GOOD ONE, NOT BECAUSE I HAVE IT, BUT TO SAY ITS A GREAT PREAMP,THEY HAVE TO MAKE SOMETHING GOOD.AND ITS A GREAT PRE AMP CAUSE I MATCHED IT UP AGAINST A LOT OF PREAMP, EVEN PASSIVE ONES AND IT WAS BETTER.THERES A SAYING ABOUT KRELL,THAT THERE AMPS ARE BETTER THAN THERE PREAMPS, WELL ITS THE OTHER WAY AROUND, AND ITS ALL ABOUT MATCHING. BUT I CAN SAY THAT SIM IS BETTER. IT OUT PERFORMS KRELL AMPS.I WOULD TELL PEOPLE TO IF YOUR GONNA HOOK UP THIS AMP TO AN OVER DAMPED SPEAKER YOU MIGHT NOT THINK THIS AMP HAS ENOUGH BASS, BUT YOU WONT KNOW TILL YOU TRY. BUT I THINK THE BASS IS OUT STANDING,THAT GOES FOR EVERYTHING ELSE IT DOES, IT GIVES YOU GREAT IMAGE OF THE MUSICAL EVENT THATS TAKING PLACE. IT GIVES ME A GREAT PICTURE AND AMAZING SOUND.I ALSO HAVE THE NAIM CD PLAYER 3.5 WITH THE FLAT CAP POWER SUPPLY WHAT A GREAT MIX.SPEAKER CABLE MONSTER SIGMA RETRO SPEAKER CABLE $3000.10 FOOT PAIR, AND XLRS 1M $1000.NOT CHEAP, BUT LESS THAN TRANS PARENT AND ITS BETTER, I KNOW CAUSE I HAD IT.GREAT CABLE.I ALSO HAD MANY OTHER AUDIO CABLES TO TRY AND HAD.THIS SET UP THAT I HAVE IS AMAZING AND I ALSO HAVE A PAIR OF SOLILOQUY SPEAKERS 5.3, ANOTHER GREAT MATCH WITH THIS AMP,WIDE OPEN AS EVER HEARD, YOU HAVE TO HEAR THESE SPEAKER, BOTH COMPANIES DESERVE A GOLD MEDAL AND THEY MIGHT HAVE GOTTIN ONE ALREADY. IVE HAD MCCORMACK ARAGON ROTEL KRELL SONICFRONTIERS KRELL KAV2500A PLINIUS,AND MORE,SIM IS BETTER,AND ITS HEAR TO STAY THANK U SIM AUDIO.

NONE

ITS A GREAT AMP BUY IT, I HEARD THEIR 80 WATT INTERGRADE AMP AND I WAS BLOWN AWAY 80 WATTS ASIDE AND DROVE MY SPEAKERS WITH KNOW PROBLEM. ALL THE OTHER AUDIO COMPANIES OUT THERE LOOK OUT HERE COMES SIM.

Tremendous grip; deep, powerful bass

Burn-in time

This is a great amplifier. It has power on reserve and a real grip on the music. My ears give out long before the amp shows any material signs of strain.

Overall presentation is very neutral. Bass in particular is very deep and powerful compared to other amps auditioned in my system. Midrange is clear (perhaps the slightest bit forward compared to other offerings). Higher frequencies are silky smooth AFTER a lengthy burn-in. For the first 3-4 weeks out of the box, high frequencies were a bit etched and bright. However, all traces of this have disappeared now after 4+ weeks of continuous burn-in.

Highly recommended. Make sure you audition a burned-in unit before buying anything else in this price range.

Associated equipment: Audiolab 8000C pre-amp, Rega Planar 3 turntable, Arcam Alpha 5+ and Linn Ikemi CDP, Reference 3a La Veritas speakers, Wireworld cables.

Similar Products Used:

Audiolab, Classe, Musical Fidelity, BAT (all ss)

This amp has it all. Im following up on my last review I wrote and only had the w3 for 1 month now I have it for six months and it only got better as it broke in. Its here to stay and thats saying a lot from a person like me cause all my friends and family think Im nuts with this stuff and my wife gave up but learned a lot while putting up with me and my hobby. Now I can say she does say the truth when she means she likes what she hears. She tells me now when ever she goes to someones house and there blasting there consumer grade stereo she can't take it for long and she gets annoyed so all that maddness paid off to some degree. I had lost a lot of money searching for a product to stand up for its name and Sim is great and it stands up to its name for performance and looks and of corse sound.:O)

None whats so ever. Not to what it can come up against and out perform amps 5 times its price.

I still have faith in this hobby now that I found sim. And also companies like MSB you should try out the MSB gold link try it and you'll see or hear what I mean. Oh by the way I use the p5 SIM preamp also, Just wonderful.

Similar Products Used:

Krell- PLINIUS-CLASSE-Arrogon-Naim-Virtual Mode(amp)Bryston-YBA-NAD-ROTEL-CROWN MACRO ref.E. AUDIO REASEARCH-SONIC FRONTIERS-MSB gold link.

Very neutral, extended highs, clear mids, bass slam, I guess everything!! Looks is awsome also. Runs cool, amazing power reserves.

Long break-in period, don't turn it off, you'll have to wait a week to get the bliss again.

First of all, I never buy new stuff if I can. There are some really good deal to be made. Enough said,lets get to the review. I had a Celeste 4150se which I thought sounded very good. My local dealer got this used W-3 and told me take it home for a listen. I wasn't convinced, the W-3 is a 4150se with a big face plate if you look closely at the 2 machines. Was I wrong. The W-3 takes you to the next level along with the big guys, (ML, Krell, YBA Passion etc). What you get is amazing transparency, highs that you thought never existed on CDs, grain free sound, absolutly no solid state grit (almost tubelike), bass control unheard of. The Totems Model One are not the easiest speakers and required a lot of current. The W-3 takes control of the Dynaudio woofer. Even thou I run the Model one full range, woofer motion is kept at a minimum. I guess I really, or should I say really like the Moon W-3 amp. In compairing with the Threshold, the sound was less open, soundstage was closed in, the bass was recessed. I had less of everything. The Bryston in contrast was more analytic, less sweet, highs were more brittle.
My final recommendation, if you want to get audiophile sound and a thigh budget, go get the Moon W-3 and you wont be sorry.
Associated equipment:
Cyrus DAD3 used as transport
California Audio Labs Alpha DAC (tubed)
YBA 3 Alpha pre-amp (remote version)
Moon W-3 power amp (230 WPC at 4 ohms)
Totem Model One Signature bi-wired (running full range 4 ohms)
2 home-made subs 2 x 10 inch Peerless drivers each in isobarik config (-3 db at 20 hertz at 97 db, 4 ohms)
Parasound HCA-1500 power amp for subs (315 WPC at 4 ohms)
Energy active X-Over
Mains cable and speaker cables are home made
Interconnects Monster M1000 all around.

Similar Products Used:

Celeste 4150se, Threshold S-300, Bryston 3-B.

Top to bottom, one of the best amps I have ever heard, period. Great price too.

I had a chance to listen to this amplifier after I borrowed it from a local dealer. This is a refined, smooth sounding amplifier. The high's were produced without the grain that is characteristic of most solid state amps. The mid-range was transparent and fatigue-free. The bass, while very tight, lacked the kind of slam that I am looking for. The best way to describe it would be polite, not in your face, but not very assertive either. I was using a BAT tube preamp (3ki) which made the Moon sound too bright and muddied in the mid-bass and lower-bass region. When using my Meridian solid-state preamp, the bass was more defined with more authority. Overall, this is a good sounding amplifier which needs to be paired with the right preamp. I don't think that matching it with a tube preamp is a good idea. I would be interested in listening to the larger Moon W5 for the bass slam that this smaller sibling was missing.

Everything

None

This is serious stuff!!!! Im not sure if you can get better. Huge soundstage, openness, airiness, power, articulate, awesome. If you like sound of tubes but solid state timing, get a W3. Smooth yet not rolled off (perfect). I cannot see bettering this amp. I love it with my 5.3 speakers. You have got to hear this amp. Do not purchase another expensive amp without hear this baby.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston B60 as preamp, Arcam Alpha 9 CD, Soliloquy 5.3

Top to bottom, one of the very best amplifiers I've heard, and now own. It has pretty much the same sound characteristics as the bigger Moon W5 amp, but with less power. If you don't need the power of the W5, then the Moon W3 is the amp to get. Tough to beat for the money.