Has anyone heard the new SimAudio budget phono stage???

gooberdude · « **on:** 12 Jun 2007, 08:22 pm »

I think this model is brand new and based off their $1500 stage. Its for sale at Music Direct for $500 and a good friend just picked one up after having a horrid 4 day stretch with the $190 Cambridge Audio phono stage.

Just by going off initial impressions of a 1hr demo, this is a heck of a stage. My bud went into Music Direct and discussed stages with those guys for a while. Considering that they sell Graham Slee and a host of other stages, it was surprising they talked up the Moon stage as highly as they did. One salesman proudly exclaimed, "there's nothing else in this price range that comes close".

Its in the same chassis as my CI audio vpp-1, but shares no other similarities that I can see...other than the DIP switch adjustments are of the same values.

So far, killer bass and a deeper/wider/grander soundstage than my tricked out Channel Islands set up. i'll report back in a few weeks, i'm gonna lend out my Granite Audio phono burn-in CD and let that play for a while.

Just wondering if anyone has had a chance to hear it???

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #1 on:** 13 Jun 2007, 02:28 am »

Cool Goobs - haven't heard it. Seems impressive. Dual Mono, JFETS, 14,000 picofarads of capacitance

Daverz · « **Reply #2 on:** 13 Jun 2007, 03:00 am »

How does it do on surface noise?

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #3 on:** 13 Jun 2007, 06:08 am »

Info link here.......and... here.....

gooberdude · « **Reply #4 on:** 13 Jun 2007, 02:03 pm »

I've only heard it for 2 difft 1 hr sessions, but i am quite impressed. The only other stage i can compare it to is my VPP-1 with all the fixins...and the Moon has better bass and seems to throw/place musicians on stage in a wider and deeper style. All this w/o requiring an external psu or expensive power cord. In this regard its $400 cheaper than my set-up.

It only has 20 hrs on it too

In terms of surface noise i don't hear any, but i'm also listening to a TT that's still unfamiliar. Even with the Cambridge there was no surface noise...but i think a lot of that has to do with the stylus. Going from the Grado Gold to the AT 440MLa reduced surface noise to the same degree that vacuum cleaning my LP's reduced it.

If anyone is looking for a $300 - $500 stage, this might be it.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 Jun 2007, 02:26 pm »

Oh, thanks to the link wolfyChris provided, I realize that I was looking at the big brother to this one, the LP5.3.

This one isn't dual mono or indicate any JFETS...so they've saved a bit to reach a price point. $500 is a fair price for a good phono stage, anywayz....

gooberdude · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Jun 2007, 03:06 pm »

The LP5.3 sounds like a great stage, lots of good things said about it...

i like the fact that this new budget stage is in the same chassis as my VPP-1.

beyond that though, looks like there aren't other similarities internally. If i weren't on the hunt for a stage with a lot of flexibility and adjustments I'd be happy with the Moon performance for a long time (i think).

$500 seems like a deal... There's no external PSU and you can't use an aftermarket power cord. And with the small chassis, there's little tweaking to be done besides a set of Herbie's tiny feet or similar.

Grover · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Sep 2007, 05:03 pm »

I've had the Moon LP3 phono stage for a few days now, so thought I'd resurrect this thread and add my input.

The first thing I'd say is don't even try to listen to it for the first five hours. Mine has maybe 10-15 hours on it now and it's really beginning to to come out of its shell. I can't compare it to any of the obvious competition because I haven't heard the main contenders in this price range - Graham Slee Amp 2 SE; CI Audio VPP-1, Musical Fidelity XLPSv3.

I chose the Moon LP3 because of the good things I've read about its big brother the LP5.3 and also I've just always wanted to own a Simaudio product.

So what's it like:

Nice soundstage, both width and depth.
There is nice weight to the bass with good articulation, so instruments and male vocals have body.
Highs are not overly fatiguing and have good air.

My other phono stage is a Hagerman Cornet that I built myself using upgraded parts. It's a tubed stage for those not familiar with it.
I need to give the LP3 more time before I do any comparisons. My initial impressions are that I like it - a lot.

It is detailed and organic, meaning that instruments and voices sound like real things, not two dimensional approximations of real things. Is it a $500 miracle that will make your life complete? Probably not. Is it a darn good phono stage for $500? You bet!