SimaudioMoon Evolution W-8usedSimaudio Moon Evolution W-8 Reference Amplifier > 500 Watts @ 4ohm > Stereophile Class A > MSRP $13,000Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 Reference Amplifier> Stereophile Class A > MSRP $13,000The Outstanding - World Class - Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 Reference Amplifier is priced way below Audiogo...4300.00

Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 Reference Amplifier > 500 Watts @ 4ohm > Stereophile Class A > MSRP $13,000

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Condition
8/10
Payment methods
Ships fromDanvers, MA, 01923
Ships toUnited States
Package dimensionsunspecified
Shipping carrierUPS
Shipping cost$85.00
Original accessoriesBox, Manual
AverageResearch Pricing

Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 Reference Amplifier

> Stereophile Class A > MSRP $13,000

The Outstanding - World Class - Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 Reference Amplifier is priced way below Audiogon Bluebook Value for a Quick Sale.

Category: Amplifiers > Solid state Notes: 250w /500w, 2ch

Avg Private Party Trade-In
$6,662.50 $7,128.88 $5,196.75

It is in impeccable condition, looks the same as a new amp. Cleanest example anywhere. It is easy a 9/10 but I am rating 8/10 just to be safe but trust me (read my feedback) this is as mint of an amp as you will find anywhere at any price. Dealers sell amps brand new that are not this clean. I can not overstate this point.

Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 Amplifier 8/10 Retail $13,000.00
* Original OEM Box's (2) and Shipping Contents
* Factory AC Cable
* Bonded Manual and Brochures
* 250 wpc/8ohm, 500 wpc/4ohm, 1,000 wpc/2ohm

I have a trade deal that I am considering if I don’t sell this here but it's such an amazing amp I thought to put it out here for an Amazing Price for a quick sale. Trust me there is nothing even remotely close at this price. Nothing! The Solid Tech amp of Silence amp rack is also available for a great price for the buyer of this amp only. If interested just ask. Thanks

I would never sell or trade it but I bought $26,000 Mono blocks and was hoping to just keep it as an extra amp because it cannot be replaced for anywhere near this price.

Sound quality wise it is the very best SS amp I have ever owned and it is every bit as good as they say. It is so good. I am not even sure my new mono blocks are even better.

I guarantee you there is nothing close to this amp price wise for performance. Nothing!! So I am offering is this great amp in great shape for well below its value. It will flat out compete and beat any of the other solid state amps on here for $6,000 - $15,000 and even above. They charge $32,000 for the 860 that looks and sounds and is built very similar.

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The MOON W-8 Power Amplifier is a dual-mono balanced differential design, representing the next generation of MOON high-performance audio components. Producing 250 watts per channel of uncolored high-current output power at 8 ohms (500 wpc into 4 ohms & 1000wpc into 2 ohms), the W-8 will drive virtually any loudspeaker to its maximum capabilities with incredible ease. This achievement is due, in part, to our new proprietary "Lynx" amplification circuit. Further raising the bar, the MOON W-8 can be fully integrated into a custom-install environment via an RS-232 port and 12V trigger. As well, a plethora of user selectable cosmetic options are available at the time of purchase.


Significant Design Features
An over-sized power supply · Full unsolicited RS-232 bidirectional feedback · Lynx circuitry which is a "no overall feedback" design resulting in real-time amplification, a more accurate musical reproduction with respect to tonality, virtually non-existent inter-modulation distortion and the elimination of common phase errors resulting from feedback · Custom proprietary toroidal transformer design with lower magnetic, electrical and thermal loss, yielding an improved power transfer and lower regulation factor. The result is increased current speed and better dynamics · 12 Volt trigger for remote operations · "Class A" output to 5 watts for greater efficiency · Precision matched and fully decoupled Bipolar output devices which offer superb linearity throughout the entire audio frequency spectrum · A high damping factor yielding superior musical dynamics, improved signal speed and refined timbre accuracy · A very short capacitor-free signal path for a faster transient response · Pure copper circuit board tracings with extremely low impedance characteristics · Stable to any known speaker impedance · Ultra rigid chassis construction to minimize the effects of external vibrations · Accurate matching of the very finest quality electronic components in a symmetrical circuit design · Designed to be powered up at all times for optimal performance.

Type ................................................... Solid State
Configuration ................................... Dual-Mono / Fully Balanced
Power Supply ................................... Transformers 2 x 1.3kVA
Power Supply Capacitance ............ 240,000µF
Class Of Operation .......................... A/AB Balanced
Inputs ................................................ XLR (1 pair) RCA (1 pair)
Input Device Type ............................ J-FETs
Input Impedance .............................. 47.5K ohms
Input Sensitivity ............................... 1260mV RMS
Output Device Type ......................... Bipolars - 16 per channel
Output Binding Posts ...................... WBT - 2 pairs
Output Power @ 8 ohms ................. 250 Watts
Output Power @ 4 ohms ................. 500 Watts
Output Power @ 2 ohms ................. 1000 Watts
Output Power Bridged Mono .......... 1000 Watts
Frequency Response ....................... 10 Hz - 200 kHz (+0/-3 dB)
Output Impedance ............................ < 0.01
Damping Factor ................................ (static)> 800
Gain ................................................... 31 dB
Signal-to-noise Ratio ....................... 106 dB @ full power
Maximum Output Voltage ................ 50 Volts
Slew Rate .......................................... 42 V/µs
Maximum Current ............................. Peak 64 amperes
Maximum Current ............................. Continuous 26 amperes
Crosstalk @ 1kHz ............................. 105 dB
IMD .................................................... Unmeasureable
THD ................................................... (20 Hz - 20 kHz @ 1 watt) 0.015 %
THD ................................................... (20 Hz - 20 kHz @ 250 watts) 0.04 %
12 Volt Trigger Operation ................ Direct Logic (0V = off, 12V=on)
RS-232 Port ...................................... 9-pin female db connector
Power Consumption ........................ @ idle 50 watts
AC Power Requirements ................. 120V / 60 Hz - 240V / 50 Hz
Fuse Replacement ........................... 120V 10A long fast blow
Fuse Replacement ........................... 230V 5A long fast blow
Shipping weight ............................... 92 lbs / 42 kgs
Dimensions ...................................... (w x h x d )18.75 x 7.5 x 16.5 in.


Stereophile Recommended Components RECOMMENDED COMPONENTS Stereophile Staff | | Components listed here have been formally reviewed in Stereophile and have been found to be among the best available in each of four or five quality classes. Whether a component is listed in Class A or Class E, we highly recommend its purchase.

SOLID STATE POWER AMP REVIEWS

Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 power amplifier

Kalman Rubinson |

Exerts:

Inside, the W-8 is a fully dual-mono, balanced differential design that uses Simaudio's new, proprietary Lynx amplification circuit, which eschews any overall feedback loop. Vertically mounted behind the front panel are two zaftig toroidal transformers; eight large power supply capacitors fill most of the remaining space. There are no capacitors in the signal paths, and the W-8's class-A output is supposedly maintained up to 5W.

The W-8 was extremely open and revealing at the top end, and was adept at complementing the beauties of the B&W 802D's diamond tweeter. Together, they offered the detail and grain-free clarity one associates with ribbon drivers, but without any artificial zing or vagaries of radiation pattern. The gaudy percussion that flavors much of Concerto Köln and Sarband's Dream of the Orient (CD, Archiv 474 992-2) sounded brilliant, but remained in place and in balance with the rest of the instruments—all too often, such excellent delineation is at the expense of balance or is simulated by a spectral tilt. I heard something similar with brass instruments, whose overtones can be splattery or remind me of sandpaper. The W-8 retained both the exquisite detail and the requisite balance of the brass in the fortes of Benjamin Zander and the Philharmonia Orchestra's recording of Mahler's Symphony 1 (SACD, Telarc 2SACD-60628). My listening notes on the W-5 reveal this to be a welcome advance; the older amp had a notably softer, more forgiving treble.
Deep voices were cleanly defined, and low bass was tight and granitic. All the great things I heard from the lower strings in Boccherini's La Musica Notturna delle strade di Madrid, from the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra's Die Rohre—The Tube (SACD, Tacet S74), and from Béla Fleck's Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (CD, Warner Bros. 26562), were best appreciated with the 802Ds driven by the W-8. For the first time, the bass was better in my New York City system than in my system in the country, even with the latter's subwoofer and all its acoustical treatments.

The W-8's midrange was not much different from the W-5's: superbly transparent. However, the W-8's midrange was presented in the context of greatly improved clarity and balance in the frequency bands above and below. This smoother, wider integration permitted a much greater appreciation of vocal reproduction. And, although I would have expected the above-noted warmth to color male voices, it was apparent only with radio announcers; male and female singing voices were equally well delineated. When I'd feverishly unwrapped Zander's greatly anticipated Mahler 1, I'd neglected to notice that the hybrid SACD's first tracks were actually Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. When I hit Play, instead of quiet, leisurely string passages, I heard what I thought was a real but soft human voice. Christopher Maltman's baritone is mixed almost entirely in the center channel of the disc's multichannel layer; in the stereo two-channel tracks his voice was nailed dead-center, starkly present. It was one of those moments that tell me that the equipment is doing something—many things—just right. Eerie recognition, indeed.


With all that clarity and balance, the W-8 was also capable of impressive dynamics—from subtle to stupendous, there seemed no practical limit to its responsiveness. As usual, I relied on great piano CDs to assess this: Russian music from Olga Stern (Rachmaninoff, Taneyev, Liadov, and Balakirev, Harmonia Mundi HMU 907399) and Evgeny Kissin (Scriabin, Medtner, and Stravinsky, RCA 65389-2). Especially in the Rachmaninoff, the combination of Moon Evolution W-8 and B&W 802Ds easily conveyed Stern's range and power, as well as the rich tone of her Hamburg Steinway, recorded in the warm acoustic of Skywalker Studios. Kissin, by contrast, is more brilliant, with sparklingly punctuate fingerwork, and his Hamburg Steinway, recorded in a Freiburg studio, has the agility of a sports car compared to Stern's limousine. The W-8 fueled my travel both ways, drawing out the best from each recording.


Survival of the fittest
It was clear from my many weeks with the Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 that it was a superbly musical power amplifier. That it seemed a bit richer in the midbass than other amps might have been predicted from its lineage, but that was evident only in direct comparison. The W-8 was an outstanding match for the Revel Ultima Studios, but easily revealed the midbass ripeness in the B&W 802Ds revealed by the graphs in JA's "Measurements" for that review (Stereophile,). This distinction between the speakers remained when I switched to the Classé Omicrons, but as both the Revels and the B&Ws now sounded more lean, my preference shifted slightly, to the 802Ds.

However, the impression remained that the W-8 sounded always a bit warmer than the Omicrons, even when I substituted the Moon Evolution P-8 Reference for the Bel Canto Pre6 preamp and the perceived differences between the amps decreased. The synergy of the W-8 and P-8 was not surprising, and is further evidence of the need to match components carefully in order to optimize a system's performance. The W-8 remained spot-on with the Revel speakers. With the B&Ws, the W-8 now sounded only marginally ripe in the upper bass at very low levels—but, counterintuitively, the combination really opened up when driven lustily.

This was most apparent with Douglas Marshall's marvelous recital, Opus 1, performed on the Marshall & Ogletree pipe organ recently installed at Manhattan's Trinity Church (CD/DVD, Seemusic SMD-051). This organ is an interim digital replacement for the original, destroyed on September 11, 2001. The two-channel recording captures the ripe acoustic of the church and the brilliant colors of this double organ (its two sets of pipes can be controlled, separately or together, from the front and/or rear consoles). At levels about 10dB higher than those at which I usually listen, there was no trace of any 100Hz-region excess from either the W-8 or the 802Ds. The ambience of Trinity Church filled my room, and the background noises of the valves and control whirred busily in the background as the music of Handel, Bach, and, especially, Franck sang and roared with clarity and power. It was counterintuitive, all right, but decisively right, with no trace of imposed coloration.

Conclusion
The Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 is an outstanding power amplifier. It was powerful, clean, and transparent, with all sorts of music and with all of the speakers I tried. My observation of a subtle warmth with certain combinations was context-dependent, and is as likely to be a positive contribution as not. One might just as easily refer to other amps as "cool," thereby shifting the implication of fault from one to the other. But neither statement is more true than the other. Depending on speaker and context, one can only express preference, not absolute superiority. Earlier Moon amps have been particularly well suited for full-range panel speakers such as Quads and Magnepans; I think the W-8, too, would do well with such speakers.

While the W-8 is not cheap, it is sonically competitive with any amp I've used, and better than most. Regardless of size or price, few amps have more than a few dB more useful output at the W-8's power ratings of 250Wpc at 8 ohms, 500Wpc at 4 ohms, and 1kWpc at 2 ohms, the Simaudio Moon Evolution W-8 is capable of state-of-the-art performance. Did I like it? You bet.


Sidebar 3: Measurements

The Moon Evolution W-8 is surprisingly heavy for its size, suggesting a goodly amount of essential iron in its power transformer. Stone cold, the amplifier's THD at one-third power into 8 ohms was low at 0.017% but featured some crossover distortion. After 60 minutes at this power level, the THD had dropped to 0.004% and was almost pure third-harmonic in nature. The heatsinks were too hot to touch by this time. The W-8's voltage gain into 8 ohms was almost 4dB higher than average, at 30.9dB, this the same through both the unbalanced and balanced inputs. It preserved absolute polarity through both inputs, and its input impedance was a usefully high 50k ohms unbalanced and 96k ohms balanced over most of the audioband, dropping slightly at 20kHz to 40k ohms unbalanced and 86k ohms balanced.

The Moon W-8's output impedance was a very low 0.065 ohm across the audioband, rising inconsequentially to 0.08 ohm at 20kHz. (Both figures include the series resistance of 6' of speaker cable.) As a result of this low source impedance, the variation of frequency response into our standard simulated speaker load was negligible (fig.1, top trace at 2kHz). This graph also reveals a sensible degree of curtailing of the amplifier's ultrasonic response, though the –3dB point was different for the two channels: 85kHz left and 74kHz right. (This graph was taken using the balanced inputs; the unbalanced response was identical.) Even with this ultrasonic rolloff, the W-8's reproduction of a 10kHz squarewave was excellent (fig.2).

image: https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/306SIMFIG1.jpg

Fig.1 Simaudio Moon W-8, balanced frequency response at 2.83V into (from top to bottom at 2kHz): simulated loudspeaker load, 8, 4, 2 ohms (0.5dB/vertical div., right channel dashed).

image: https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/306Simfig2.jpg

Fig.2 Simaudio Moon W-8, small-signal 1kHz squarewave into 8 ohms.

Channel separation (not shown) was better than 100dB below 1kHz, while the background noise level was also very low. Referenced to 1W into 8 ohms with the input shorted, the A-weighted signal/noise ratio was 96.5dB, and decreased to a still good 87.4dB with a wideband, unweighted measurement. Given the high output power, the W-8 offers a very wide dynamic range, joining current designs that comfortably exceed 16-bit CD in this respect.

Fig.3 shows how the percentage of THD+noise in the amplifier's output varies with output power into 8, 4, and 2 ohms. The broad inflection point in the 8 ohm trace between 3W and 5W suggests that this is where the THD starts to rise above the noise floor. The W-8 is certainly a very linear design. The maximum output powers (at 1% THD) were 310W into 8 ohms (0.9dB above the 24dB specification), 590W into 4 ohms (24.7dBW), and 990W into 2 ohms (23.9dB). The 0.1dB shortfall in the 2 ohm power output is explained by the fact that my AC supply voltage had dropped to 119V at this point. While I was performing these measurements, keeping the amplifier operating the highest power levels into 4 ohms and 2 ohms for more than a second or so caused the 10A rear-panel fuse to blow. Replacing the fuse restored normal operation.

image: https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/306SIMFIG3.jpg

Fig.3 Simaudio Moon W-8, distortion (%) vs 1kHz continuous output power into (from bottom to top at 1W): 8, 4, 2 ohms.

At small signal levels, the THD+N percentage was always low, but did rise into low impedances and toward the top of the audioband (fig.4). As mentioned earlier, with the amplifier warmed up, the distortion content was almost pure third-harmonic (fig.5), though some second harmonic appeared at high powers into lower impedances (fig.6). Intermodulation was very low (–92.5dB) with respect to the low-frequency difference product (fig.7), but higher-order products reached a still-low –76dB (0.015%).

image: https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/306SIMFIG4.jpg

Fig.4 Simaudio Moon W-8, THD+N (%) vs frequency at 3.5V into (from bottom to top): 8, 4, 2 ohms (right channel dashed).

image: https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/306Simfig5.jpg

Fig.5 Simaudio Moon W-8, 1kHz waveform at 75W into 8 ohms (top), 0.016% THD+N; distortion and noise waveform with fundamental notched out (bottom, not to scale).

image: https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/306SIMFIG6.jpg

Fig.6 Simaudio Moon W-8, spectrum of 50Hz sinewave, DC–1kHz, at 205W into 4 ohms (linear frequency scale).

image: https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/306SIMFIG7.jpg

Fig.7 Simaudio Moon W-8, HF intermodulation spectrum, DC–24kHz, 19+20kHz at 162W peak into 8 ohms (linear frequency scale).

Simaudio's Moon Evolution W-8 joins that select company of modern amplifier designs that offer high power combined with a very low noise floor and excellent linearity.—John Atkinson



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True world class, the pinnacle of international Hi-End Audio Amplification product...

I am rating at a 8/10 but again it is just to be conservative as this amp is mint.

I have the original box and all shipping contents

This Simaudio Moon Evolution Series amplifier is located in the North Shore area of Boston, Massachusetts.

Please take a look here at the most recent market data for these items. Here is the Audiogon Blue Books Values as of this afternoon 11/10/2018

Avg Private Party Trade-In
$6,662.50 $7,128.88 $5,196.75

These values are based on actual sales history and it is the most credible, third party authority the market has to offer in our hobby. This one of the best deals on Audiogon and you will not be disappointed.

Please take some time to read my Feedback. It shows how I genuinely care about the other Audiogon members and the small group of other fellow audiophiles. I don't do this for a living but for me it's fun, it's my hobby. I buy some new gear and I am happy that there is a great place to either buy more or when it's time to sell and try some other gear.

I take the greatest care of my items and I am offering a world class product for a great, well below market price. I am professional business person by trade and an audiophile by hobby and you can count on having a first class buying experience to go with some great top of the food chain Hi-Fi products .

I appreciate your taking the time to read my posting. Thank you for the time and consideration. Feel free to reach out if I can answer any questions. Shipping to be paid by the buyer and Only 3% for PayPal please. Paypal friends and family is Free… Thanks

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