By John Loranger, Pearl Audio
Tara and I recently toured the Simaudio factory in Boucherville, Québec, where every MOON component is designed and built. Tara wrote about the visit in Proudly Made in Canada: A Factory Tour of Simaudio. For about an hour we listened to MOON's four phono stages in order, cheapest to most expensive, and then to the top one again with its optional power supply. Each step was better than the one before it. What I did not expect was how clearly the four sort themselves into two pairs, and that Simaudio played each pair in its own room.
Four phono stages, two rooms
The prices are $600, $2,300, $8,500 and $13,500. Those gaps are not an accident, and they match what I see in the shop.
The 110LP v2 and the 310LP were in the smaller room, with the Compass Collection components they match (the 371, the new 341, and the 491 and 461 separates) and a Technics SL-1210 with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge. They are built for the turntables most people buy as their first quality turntable: a Rega Planar 6, a Technics SL-1200, a Clearaudio Concept, or a Majik LP12.
Turntables like these are good enough to benefit from an external phono stage, and few components do more for vinyl. The signal from the cartridge is tiny, generally 0.5 to 6.5 millivolts on turntables like these. Raising it to line level in a box of its own, away from DACs and power supplies, lets that circuit work undisturbed, and the benefit is bigger than most people expect. It is why the word I kept writing down all hour was quiet. Simaudio recognizes this buyer, and the 110LP v2 and the 310LP are made for them.
The 610LP and the 810LP were in the larger room, with a VPI Classic turntable, Simaudio's 888 and 861 amplifiers and large, high-performance loudspeakers. That is a dedicated listening-room system. The 610LP is for a different group of turntables, and sits on a higher shelf than most of the first group call for. The 810LP serves some of the same turntables and also the ultimate-level ones.
110LP v2: the place to start
The 110LP v2 is a compact phono stage for moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges. Its circuit is symmetrical on four-layer boards, and its power supply borrows the inductive DC filtering idea from the 810LP. Positive Feedback called it “what I would call an entry level audiophile product.”
What I heard. Quiet and clean, the rhythm right, voices where they should be. A clear step beyond the phono input in most amplifiers.
Why it is my first recommendation. At $600, this is my go-to phono stage for new turntable owners. It is about the highest-performing piece I have heard at its price, and it is very adjustable. Within a year, the entire $600 credits toward a 310LP. The turntable is set up, with its cartridge fitted and aligned, and is not something you replace lightly. The phono stage is a small plug-and-play box: pack it up, bring it back to us, and take home a 310LP.
Settings: five gain settings from 40 to 66 dB, four resistive and four capacitive loads, RIAA or IEC equalization.
Pairs with: the Sumiko Rainier, Olympia and Moonstone, Clearaudio Concept MM, Rega Nd7 and Hana EH cartridges, on a Rega Planar 2 or Planar 3, or a Technics SL-1500C.
310LP: the background goes dark
The 310LP brings the power supply inside, on its own board with a toroidal transformer and two stages of regulation, and adds balanced outputs. SoundStage! Hi-Fi's reviewer wrote that “the 310LP isn’t really forward, it’s just quiet.”
What I heard. The background went darker and the music stepped out of it. Voices had more body, the bass more shape, and for the first time I could hear the room around the players. Same record, with more of it there.
Settings: 40 dB for moving-magnet cartridges and 54, 60 or 66 dB for moving coils, with 6 dB more from the balanced output; five resistive and three capacitive loads; RIAA or IEC.
Pairs with: the Hana SL and ML, Sumiko Songbird, Linn Adikt and Koil, Clearaudio Concept MC and Benz Micro Glider cartridges, on a Rega Planar 6 or Planar 8, a Technics SL-1200GR2, a Majik LP12 or a Luxman PD-151 Mk II.
610LP: the biggest step
The 610LP shares the 810LP's full-size chassis and circuit: dual-mono and fully balanced from input to output, with 24 stages of inductive DC filtering. It also takes a balanced input, so a cartridge's naturally balanced signal reaches the first stage without a ground reference. SoundStage! Hi-Fi called it “a scaled-down version of their top-of-the-line 810LP.”
What I heard. The biggest single step of the hour. The stage got wider and deeper, the two channels felt completely separate, and loud passages came up without strain. Nothing is pushed at you.
Settings: this is where adjustment becomes very fine: 16 gain settings from 40 to 70 dB, 64 resistive loads from 12.1 ohms to 47 kilohms, and 16 capacitive loads from 0 to 1,120 picofarads. We set the gain by ear with you, on your records, and step the loading until the top of the cartridge's range is neither bright nor closed in.
Pairs with: the Hana Umami Blue and Red, Lyra Delos and Kleos, Linn Krystal, Clearaudio Concerto and Benz Micro Gullwing cartridges, on a Rega Planar 10, a Rega Naia, a Selekt LP12, a Technics SL-1200G, a Luxman PD-191A or a Clearaudio Ovation.
810LP: where we finished
The 810LP is the design the 610LP comes from, with the same balanced, dual-mono circuit and the same range of adjustment. It adds a five-point gel suspension that keeps vibration from the turntable, floor and speakers away from the audio board, and a lower noise floor still. The Absolute Sound wrote that it is “astonishingly quiet, even at the upper end of its gain range.”
What I heard. The instruments simply hung in the room. It was the quietest of the four, so the smallest things came through: the decay of a note, a breath, the back wall of the hall.
With the 820S added. We finished with one more step: the 810LP again, now with the optional 820S external power supply. The noise floor fell further still, more than I would have thought possible after how quiet the 810LP already is. The music became more transparent and detailed, more tangible, and the sense of the real performance in the room increased tremendously. After that I understood what the other three had been reaching toward.
Pairs with: the Lyra Etna Lambda and Atlas Lambda, Linn Ekstatik, Clearaudio Da Vinci and Benz Micro LP-S cartridges, on a Klimax LP12, a Clearaudio Innovation Wood or a Technics SL-1000R.
Where the others fit
There are more phono stages in the MOON range than these four. Several streamers have one built in, and the 820S can lift more than the 810LP. Simaudio gave us its own ordering, from the entry level to the best:
- The 110LP v2, with the phono stages in the 371 and the 341 at about the same level
- The 491's phono stage, a definite step up
- The 310LP
- The 791's phono stage, between the 310LP and the 610LP
- The 891's phono stage, closer to the 610LP but not past it
- The 610LP
- The 610LP with the 820S
- The 810LP
- The 810LP with the 820S
The 791 and 891 circuits are very nearly the same; what lifts the 891's is the MOON Damping Base that isolates it from vibration. The 820S, which can serve the 610LP, the 810LP and even the 310LP, lowers the noise floor and adds a little to the dynamics. Few people would give a 310LP an 820S of its own, but it makes sense for someone who also owns a 681 or 791, which the same supply can power. The streamers are on our network player tour.
Side by side
| 110LP v2 | 310LP | 610LP | 810LP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Room | Smaller | Smaller | Larger | Larger |
| Gain settings | 5, from 40 to 66 dB | 4, from 40 to 66 dB, plus 6 dB balanced | 16, from 40 to 70 dB | 16, from 40 to 70 dB |
| Resistive loads | 4 | 5 | 64, from 12.1 Ω to 47 kΩ | 64, from 12.1 Ω to 47 kΩ |
| Capacitive loads | 4 | 3 | 16, from 0 to 1,120 pF | 16, from 0 to 1,120 pF |
| Circuit | Symmetrical | Symmetrical | Dual-mono, fully balanced | Dual-mono, fully balanced |
| Inputs and outputs | RCA | RCA in; RCA and balanced out | RCA and balanced, in and out | RCA and balanced, in and out |
| Signal-to-noise at 40 dB gain (MOON figure) | 104 dB | 110 dB | 112 dB | 115 dB |
| Extras | External AC supply | Internal toroidal supply | 24-stage filtering; 820S ready | Gel suspension; 820S ready |
Why the trade-up program suits vinyl
The phono stage is the component a vinyl lover is most likely to outgrow. With most brands, each step means selling the old one for what it will fetch. Simaudio's Reach For The MOON program works differently: in the first year after you buy a MOON component new from an authorized retailer, the full amount you paid counts toward a higher model, and in the second year, 75% does. Each time you move up, the two years begin again.
Two examples, both a 110LP v2 moving up to a 310LP, at current list prices and before tax and shipping:
- First year. A 110LP v2 bought at $600 is brought back within a year. The whole $600 is credited toward the 310LP at $2,300, and the difference is $1,700.
- Second year. The same 110LP v2 is brought back after a year but before two are up. It is credited at 75% of $600, or $450, and the difference is $1,850.
The component has to be registered with Simaudio when you buy it, which we do with you at delivery, and kept in good condition with its packing. Trading up your MOON works out the figures for the component you own.
Hear the steps yourself. Bring a record you know well. We will bring the phono preamplifiers that interest you into a listening room, with a turntable and cartridge close to your own. Call (503) 222-2599 or arrange an audition.
