Simaudio Moon 310LP Phonostage and 320S Power Supply

Simaudio’s Moon 310LP is a highly articulate phono preamp. By which I mean that here is a design that can take, say, the maddeningly intricate fingerwork of a Glenn Gould—many examples abound, but let’s settle on Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major from The Six Partitas [Columbia]— and deliver it as pure musical poetry. This isn’t to say that Gould’s brilliant Bach isn’t plenty poetic when heard through other fine vinyl-playback gear, but that the ability to “speak” with such graceful effortlessness and spill out the rapid-fire rush of notes with such beautifully nuanced changes of tempo, mood, and dynamic shadings is, for me, the most immediate way of conveying the heart of what this Simaudio piece is all about.

In addition, the $1900 310LP is also a highly flexible device designed to mate perfectly with pretty much any cartridge out there. Impedance loading options are 10 ohms, 100 ohms, 470 ohms, 1k ohm, and 47.5k ohms; capacitance loading is 0, 100, and 470pF, while gain settings are at 40, 54, 60, and 66dB (add 6dB when using the 310LP’s balanced output circuitry). There is even the option for a subsonic filter, in case you run into low- frequency vibration issues from over-excited subwoofers.

The advantages of so many options are especially evident for reviewers, who often juggle several types of cartridges over a relatively brief time period. But the ability to micro-tune a phono preamp to a cartridge is a huge plus for all LP lovers. And though most cartridge manufacturers provide detailed specs, phonostages often provide a limited range of settings that may or may not always apply to every situation (and/or taste). Simaudio’s relatively easy-to-swap jumpers make it possible to really tweak your setup, though not all changes are equally audible and one can run the risk of going a bit batty with too much back and forth. My advice is to adjust with a range of LPs over a window of time—as opposed to a single marathon session. Regardless, use both your ears and your gut instinct. Besides, this baby does require several hundred hours of burn-in time to fully blossom—Simaudo states 250–300 hours, but, frankly, I wasn’t counting. Before that magic moment, the 310LP, like so many designs, could sound rather tight and slightly disjointed. Indeed, the Bach partita previously mentioned was fine enough out of the gate, but hardly as mellifluous as I described it above, after the preamp fully burned-in. (Before burn-in, it was as if Gould were still Gould, but on an off-day.)

Visually, the 310LP is a clean and simple design that’s available in either black or silver finishes. It’s got a small footprint (7.5″ x 3.2″ x 11.3″) and, as Simaudio likes to point out, much care has gone into lowering the noise floor. Signal paths are kept as short as possible, and away from the power supply, which is mounted on its own isolated circuit board. In my experience with other extremely-low-noise units, such as the Sutherland 20/20 I reviewed in Issue 215, reducing electronic hash and haze is one reason why so many of today’s best models are delivering such excellent results with the kind of grace mentioned above.

Of course, less sonic stuff between our ears and the music not only allows us to experience greater low-level detail but also to “peer” more deeply into recorded events. For example, when I listened to MoFi’s outstanding mono release of Sinatra’s Only The Lonely, his every breath and turn of phrase were delivered with such effortless purity of resolution and natural tonality that there was an almost eerie sense of being able to walk into the studio with the musicians. Playing Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 on the San Francisco Symphony’s vinyl release [SFS Media] was equally instructive (I was lucky to get test pressings for my article in Issue 216). The 310LP did a fine job delivering a large, wide, and deep stage, with impressive air between and around the players. Not perhaps quite as multi-layered as the Sutherland 20/20, but very fine nevertheless.

If you’re a listener who favors lushness and warmth in your presentation, note that the 310LP’s tonal balance and presentation hews to the more neutral, perhaps even a tad to the cooler side of the spectrum. I’m splitting hairs here but on the Sinatra disc there was no added warmth to his baritone (or silk to orchestral strings on that recording or the Mahler First). This is more observation than criticism, as in this regard each reader must choose his or her own preference.

One area where the Simaudio clearly excels is bottom-end power and weight. Bowed basses in the Mahler first were thick and powerful, while percussion had terrific physicality and impact. Which of course also came across throughout Jack White’s Blunderbuss [Third Man], reviewed in this issue, or with a chestnut like The Who’s Tommy [Classic Records/Track], where Keith Moon’s kit was conveyed with both weight and dexterity.

Should you like what you hear with the 310LP as a solo player, wait until you add the optional 320S power supply.

Sharing an identical chassis, the $1400 320S takes all the good things heard with the 310LP, and raises the musical bar by more than just a little. As with, say, the addition of one of Naim Audio’s power-supply upgrades, what you’re essentially getting is a whole new component. The 320S not only brings 35,200uF of capacitance to the table, but also far greater levels of power-supply regulation and filtering. Indeed, Simaudio claims that the 320S lowers the noise level of the DC supply to an eye-popping -150dB. But before installation one needs to do some minor surgery by removing a pair of jumpers inside the 310LP. At that point the 320S is wired in via a 1 meter umbilical, and you’re ready to go. At the risk of waxing too rhapsodic, let me say that if your initial budget can’t quite handle both of these units at once, start up a fund for the 320S right away—heck, this might even be an innovative way to use the Internet business-funding site Kickstarter—because it takes everything I’ve already stated about the 310LP up several notches. The already low noise floor is reduced, not in ways, perhaps, where you actually hear less noise, but in ways that make you notice more inner details and turns of phrase, greater depth, and more precise spatial relationships. The stage opens up further, in both width and depth; bass becomes that much more detailed and authoritative; and, yes, if you prefer more warmth, silkiness, and richness, these, too, are benefits heard with the 320S.

Finally, it is worth noting that Simaudio continues to manufacture all of its components in-house, and that these units come with a 10-year warranty. For those who choose to purchase the 310LP either separately or with the 320S power supply, that decade will bring a lot of musical pleasure. Perhaps then it will be time for an upgrade.

SPECS & PRICING

310LP Phonostage
Gain: 40dB, 54dB, 60dB, 66dB (add 6dB for balanced outputs)
Impedance loading: 10 ohms, 100 ohms, 470 ohms, 1k ohms, 47.5k ohms
Capacitance loading: 0, 100, and 470pF
Output: 2V
Inputs: RCA
Outputs: RCA, XLR (balanced)
Dimensions: 7.5″ x 3.2″ x 11.3″
Weight: 7 lbs.
Price: $1900

320S Power Supply
Dimensions: 7.5″ x 3.2″ x 11.3″
Weight: 8 lbs.
Price: $1400

SIMAUDIO LTD.
2002 Ridge Road
Champlain, New York 12919
(877) 980-2400

Associated Equipment
TW-Acustic Raven One turntable; Tri-Planar Ultimate VII ‘arm; Benz Gullwing and Transfiguration Phoenix moving-coil cartridges; Rega P3-24 and RP3 turntables and Rega Elys 2 moving-magnet cartridge; Sutherland 20/20 phonostage; Cary Audio SLP 05 linestage preamplifier; T&A A1560 power amplifier; Magnepan 1.7 l and Electrocompaniet PSB1 loudspeakers; Tara Labs Zero interconnects, Omega speaker cables, The One power cords, and BP-10 Power Screen; Finite Elemente Spider equipment racks