Moon Nea 430HA Headphone Amplifier

jdandy

jdandy

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Has anyone auditioned the Moon Neo 430HA headphone amplifier? Thoughts and impressions?

http://www.simaudio.com/DATA/PRODUIT/37_en_detail~v~headphone-amplifier.pdf




SimAudio-MOON-Neo-430HA.jpg
 
Here is a look at the balanced headphone outputs that exist behind a sliding door and a peek inside the fully balanced Moon Neo 430HA headphone amplifier.




SimAudio-New430HA.jpg







MG_6093-1024x683.jpg
 
I listened to that, thought it was very bland. I cannot believe the asking price of that unit. I'm sure there are $500 amps that are better.
 
vortrex said:
I listened to that, thought it was very bland. I cannot believe the asking price of that unit. I'm sure there are $500 amps that are better.
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vortex.......Perhaps it was the headphones you were using. Perhaps the 430HA was not broken in when you heard it, or just maybe it was the source material. I audition head amps with a headphone that I am intimately familiar with and always use music I have heard many times.

Interestingly, Steve Guttenberg who writes audio reviews for CNET reported the Moon Neo 430HA headphone amplifier didn't make a strong first impression. He let a tuner play through the headphone amplifier for a week, then reported an entirely different impression. In his words, "the transparency and purity of the sound jumped ahead of any amp I've auditioned at home, almost every headphone sounded better than ever!"

I will agree that its $3500 price will make a person gulp, and with the DAC option the price goes to $4300. That puts it in the same price range as the new McIntosh MHA100 headphone amplifier at $4500. Considering the capabilities the Moon Neo 430HA offers, the state of the art specifications, and Moons robust build quality and solid reputation I don't think the asking price is out of line.

I have owned a few head amps in the $300 to $500 range that were good performers but none of them holds a candle to the $1600 Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amplifier I am presently enjoying with my Sennheiser HD800 headphone. Whether or not the Moon Neo 430HA headphone amplifier outperforms the Sennheiser HDVA 600 is something a direct A/B comparison would require for me to have an opinion. What I am fairly certain of is there are likely no $500 head amps in the same league as the Moon Neo 430HA. You may prefer the sound of a much lower priced product but whether it is better than the Moon headphone amplifier is debatable in my opinion.
 
I went to the audio store to demo headphones. I listened to the HiFiMan HE1000, HiFiMan HE560, Grado GS1000e, Grado PS1000e, and a couple of others. All sounded like crap. Thin and lifeless with no power. You are right, I did not know what DAC the iPad was controlling. They all sounded so bad I lost interest pretty quick and left. Now that I know the price of the Moon I can assume the dealer was using a source to match. The Moon is the only amp they were demo'ing with and that plus the headphones looked well worn in. Honestly, I never heard of Moon and I thought it was probably $500. It's not a matter of preferring a certain type of sound, it was just bad.
 
Double D, I have no experience with the Moon product, but I would encourage you to add the Auralic Taurus to your demo list. I have used a Taurus with a number of different headphones to excellent results. There are plenty of reviews out there on it.
 
annapolis Raider said:
Double D, I have no experience with the Moon product, but I would encourage you to add the Auralic Taurus to your demo list. I have used a Taurus with a number of different headphones to excellent results. There are plenty of reviews out there on it.
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annapolis Raider.......Thank you for the suggestion. It will take a very special headphone amplifier to make me abandon the Sennheiser HDVA 600. I will check out the Auralic Taurus.
 
vortrex said:
I went to the audio store to demo headphones. I listened to the HiFiMan HE1000, HiFiMan HE560, Grado GS1000e, Grado PS1000e, and a couple of others. All sounded like crap. Thin and lifeless with no power. You are right, I did not know what DAC the iPad was controlling. They all sounded so bad I lost interest pretty quick and left. Now that I know the price of the Moon I can assume the dealer was using a source to match. The Moon is the only amp they were demo'ing with and that plus the headphones looked well worn in. Honestly, I never heard of Moon and I thought it was probably $500. It's not a matter of preferring a certain type of sound, it was just bad.
Click to expand...

Moon is the premium product brand for Simaudio. Their reference level products are branded as Simaudio Moon. Simaudio Moon Neo is one level down from Simaudio Moon. The fact that all those phones you demoed through the 430 sounded bad does not automatically point the finger to the headphone amp. There could have been a glaring setup issue with the source/DAC, etc...the fact that you assume that the dealer was using a "source to match" tells me you were not familiar with the playback set-up, the source material, and so your conclusions are at best inconclusive to my reading of the situation.
 
Anything is possible, but considering this dealer hosted the last Can Jam in MI I assume they know how to set up a DAC. I mean, what is there to set up anyway? This is not a turntable.
 
I own the Moon Neo 430 HAD, along with the Moon 600i. The 600i is better in all regards (it's incredible for headphones), but the 430 is very, very capable. The onboard DAC is a steal.

I used the 430 with the Abyss and it was a VERY good combination. I was happy for a long time. The Abyss are hard to drive!
 
Double-D said:
I will agree that its $3500 price will make a person gulp, and with the DAC option the price goes to $4300. That puts it in the same price range as the new McIntosh MHA100 headphone amplifier at $4500. Considering the capabilities the Moon Neo 430HA offers, the state of the art specifications, and Moons robust build quality and solid reputation I don't think the asking price is out of line.
Click to expand...

Don't forget that the Mc is also a very good integrated amp. Even though it is only rated at 50W, it is a gutsy McIntosh amp... powering my KEFs louder than I would ever want them to go... has a very good PCM DAC and is McIntosh's best headphone amplifier. And it is just dam good looking :)... it is a McIntosh and made in Binghamton New York :D... so if you are going that price range... simply choice, get the Mc!
 
I own the Sennheiser HD800S and HDVA600 amp. Very happy with the combo but I just wondered if anyone has compared the Sennheiser amp with the Moon Neo 430HA? I have the Moon Neo 260D as my source which is why I'm looking at the Moon headphone amp.
 
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