Simply an "excellent product". I have not yet heard any better product at this price level. Better said, this is one of the best int.amp at any price level. Superb detail, soundstage and stage depth. Imaging is quite precise and smooth as a frozen yorgurt. This amplifier works best after brocken in (obviously), and warmed up without power interruption for 3days. This is not difficult as this unit is left on all the time with stand-by mode. For me, after brocken in and approx. 2days of warm-up I can notice a considerable difference. It started to sound slightly warm more like tube units. Each and every instrument grows and started sound even smoother. For those of you don't believe in cables, it's a night and day with better cables. As poor quality cable will be a bottle neck with such an excellent product as I-5. I use DHLabs through out (another excellent value manufacture). I have compared I-5 to Bryston B-60, Classe CAP-80, and Sim Audio Celeste PW-5000. Although B-60 is an excellent product, it didn't come close to Moon I-5. Classe CAP-80 was quite good but lacked smoothness and bottom end detail. PW-5000 another good product but compared to I-5, treble was slightly grainy and bottm end lacking in detail and richness. Don't take my word for it though, have a listen yourself. For those of you who live in Canada, this is the bargain of this millenium.

This Canadian made ampt is top of the line. Len has given me one to use with me C-8's speakers, boy you sure can hear the difference between the Yamaha 995 and this Amp. I will be taking emails on this ampt, if anyone would like one, just email me. With the US exchange rate, you can't beat the price. Shipping this Canadian made product Duty free is no problem.

Exceptional clarity and dynamic range; natural sound; quality remote; nice looking (new black model); 10-year warranty

no phono stage (external is option), or headphone jack; user manual a bit light on detail

This is an outstanding integrated amp. Drives my Energy C-6s effortlessly and brings out the best in my CD player (Marantz CD-67SE). The onboard volume control is very smooth and allows excellent fine-tuning of volume level. Ditto for the remote, which adds balance control by permitting adjustment of left- and right-channel volume levels. I really like and use this feature for fine-tuning balance levels.

As others have noted, the amp takes some time to break in but is well worth the wait. The improvement at around 100 hours or so was significant. The sound mellowed and the soundstage (if that's term) was far richer.

My previous amp was the Yamaha 770, a decent receiver actually, or so I thought until switching to the I-5. The I-5 is far less bright and fatiguing and much more faithful to the music at all volume levels, especially higher volume levels. I had thought the brightness was attributable to my speakers, but the I-5 has totally tamed this problem.

The remote is, as already noted, hefty. I like this. My one complaint is with the layout of the control buttons on the remote. The ones I use most often--the various CD track controls, are placed at the bottom of the remote unit and therefore not convenient to touch while holding the remote in one hand. I usually have to hold the remote in my left hand while using these controls with my right. On the flip side, I'm just delighted that the remote is compatible with the Marantz's Philips transport. One remote does all!

The amp is obviously well made, inside and out. The new styling is a big improvement in the appearance of the I-5, IMO. It looks great. But most important, the sound is exceptional. I eventually plan to upgrade my digital source component (waiting a bit on developments in DVD-audio and SACD), and will probably upgrade my speakers sometime after that. However, in the Moon I-5 I think I've hit on the amp that will keep me happy for many years.

For anyone interested, I purchased my amp from A&B Sound (Abbotsford, BC) and was delighted by the service I received from Len and John.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX770 receiver

Smooooooth high frequencies married to a (virtually) tube-like midrange and solid bass.

at 70 watts per channel, there are MUCH more powerful integrateds in the same price range ... but it is not about quantity, its about quality

This is my first experience (at home) with a solidstate integrated and I have been more than pleased. The Sim is VERY well built with sound quality to match. I auditioned several other integrateds (Krell KAV 300i, Plinius 8150, Classe CAP 150) and preferred the Sim to them all. It had the right synergy with my system - Naim CD3, Vienna Acoustics Mozarts- and listening tastes.

Very musical & captivating

Starts to sound hard & grainy if pushed due I suspect to it's modest 70wps rating

Absolutely fabulous amp for low to moderate listening levels,efficient speakers needed like the Paradigm Studio 100 V.2 that I am currently using.I hear the I-5 sounds fantastic with the JMlabs Electra 905,probably my next speaker as Paradigms are not up to the quality that this amp offers

Numerous, see below

Few, read on

I'm on an integrated jag lately. Like the idea behind the simplicity, space saving, cost factor, and also coz integrates are no longer an audio afterthought but certified audiophile equipment. Loved the Puccini. Fat sound, very tubelike, but lacked drive, pace and bass. Went with the I-5 last summer. Extremely impressive. Super build quality, pre-outs, finally redesigned the huge remote and scaled it down; sophisticated optical volume control, etc. You get a lot for the retail of $2,600. (Though you could get good seps for that cash). The sound. Neutral on the whole. If it's on the disc this amp will pass it to your speakers like the proverbial crap through a goose. Bad CDs will sound thin and bad. If you want something to warm up the sound, this is not it. But with improved CD sound and SACD, etc, releasing more titles daily, this should not be a huge issue. The amp is punchy, fast, dynamic. The music is right there, vivid, invested with life and light. Play classical and beware when you have wide dynamic swings; the I5 will get you hoppin' out of your chair. The bass is about as tight as I've heard; it is taut, fast, not flabby at all. Amazing bass really for 70watts into 8. I haven't been able to clip the Sim, and have had music cookin' up to 104db, maxing out my ears. Mids are not as full as tubes, but I think they're very honest, no sugar coating like you get with some amps. This will appeal to some not others; I thought the Puccini was more EMOTIONAL, though with the right source the Sim can give you a real tight connection with the music. I think the highs are fine, very localizable in the soundstage, which some people dig. Major drawbacks of the I5? None really. I wouldn't match it with a bright source or tizzy speakers. If your sys leans toward dark or neutral this could be pig heaven. 10 year warranty, and the Sim guys are funny and friendly with their Quebequois Aglais! Enjoy!

Similar Products Used:

Audio Analogue, Puccini; Jolida 302a; Rega Mira, etc.

Exceptional build quality and superb look. Very neutral and detailed sounding. Powerfull enough to drive virtually any speaker.

As good as it is, it still a lot of money !!!

Wow, what a great integrated amp ! This is my first good
hi-fi component. So far, not a big difference from my receiver since I kept the same crappy speakers. Looking forward to buy a pair of Totem Forest for my amp.

Any other speaker suggestion for the Moon I-5 ?

I heard my amp with a pair of JMLab Cobalt 815 and it was playing VERY loudly. The 815's are very sensitive and the I-5 was able to drive them quite easily with no effort.

I live in Quebec and this product is also built in Quebec
so I got a really good deal. Proudly Canadian !!!

I also got an email from Jean Poulin (Sim Audio big chief)
and he said that they are currently working on a more
affordable CD player. It should be there in spring 2000 !

Similar Products Used:

None

Exceptionnal build for both amp AND remote. Beautifull sounds.

I wish the volume would reset to zero upon switching off to standby mode. But it's academic when compared to all the qualities.

I have been listening to the I-5 for less than one month.It is simply a magical product, combining beautiful design, robust construction, and above all, beautifull sonics. Upon first listening, I started doing what most of us audiophiles do, analyzing the sound,and looking for shortcomings and flaws: high end frequencies, low end, soundstage, forward, backward, you know the routine.(If you dont you are not missing much. And I did find some flaws at first. Only to realize that these "flaws" were mainly differences between this amp and my previous one, which after all was really not all that good. We do get accustomed to the sounds of amps we own for years. In a way, it becomes our "reference" as bad or as good as it is in reality. My first listening of the I-5 was ordinary, even somewhat disapointing.

However, after about 5 days of "warming up" (the unit is always "on" in standby mode)something strange happened. I stopped analyzing. Not because I wanted to but because the beauty and emotion of music took over in a commanding way.This amp is night and day from day 1 to day 5.

Listening to music was know so much more enjoyable, so much less complicated. I dont know how precise an instrument the Moon I-5 really is and I dont really care. Hell, I never read specs anyways. On sheer musicality the I-5 is the best integrated out there period. And at double it's asking price,maybe more, it's still very much comparable and will beat many separate components. Not on specs, but on emotion and musicality, still.

By comparison, I've had the following in my home: The Krell integrated - a 150 watter with certain qualities(bottom end) but too stident and fatiguing.If you are into '70's disco, this is the amp for you. The Classe cap 151, more powerfull but not as refined. YBA integre too "cold" and aseptic with so much detail it will do the best job in extracting the worst of your components.But if you have $ 1,500.00 cables your O.K. Also had the Goldmund integrated. Very nice but 2 to 3 times the price.

So my search is over. I am a satisfied audiophile, about to go back to the "casual listener" status, as I have stopped analyzing and started enjoying...If you are looking for an amplification device in this price range and up to 2-3 times more, you will not be indifferent to this sonic piece of art. It's beautifully made, and it sounds beautifull too.The heavy remote is a bonus. Sure it's heavy, but these guys at Sim audio want us satisfied for the long term, I guess, with tank-build quality. I have no problem with that.It's actually insulting when you pay a lot of money for a mercedes amp with a Lada or Yugo,cheesy plastic remote.

Very much recommended by me.

Associated components: No more time to list them all, but I can say that my I-5 is the least expensive of my components.

Similar Products Used:

Classe cap-151, Krell 300i, YBA integre, Naim separates.

Musical, easy to use, great value per dollar spent.

Not the last word in power for low impedance loads.

Compared to similar products in the same price range, the SimAudio Moon I-5 offers a lot. Those considering purchasing an integrated amp do so for various reasons with space and cost considerations usually at the top of the list. The above manufacturers all produce good products, but SimAudio has the edge. The I-5 sounds most near to SimAudio separates than do any of the competing integrated amps and their respective separates. The "trickle down" effect into the I-5 is readily apparent in both sound and workmanship.

The cost of entry is not inexpensive - $2595 list (U.S.). However, to better the sound appreciably, you probably need to break the $4000 barrier with separates plus the cost of interconnects.

With a conservative power rating of 70 wpc into 8 ohms and 110 into 4 ohms, the I-5 does it's best work at low to moderate listening levels. Very musical. Excellent imaging. Bass is well defined, however, the highs can be a little rolled-off at times. Also, not a powerhouse but more than adequate for the majority of two channel applications. Very easy to set up and use with break-in taking about a week.

Highly recommended if an integrated amp fits your needs.

Similar Products Used:

Classe, Krell, and Bryston integrated amps.