Simaudio Moon i3.3 Integrated Amplifier & CD3.3 CD Player (TAS 198)

Sim-ply Superb

“Wow, this baby’s loaded,” I muttered to myself as I scanned the back panel of the Simaudio Moon i3.3 and its sister, the CD3.3, which was idling nearby. I do my own fair share of high-end tire-kicking, but the Canadian firm’s latest mid-priced integrated amplifier and CD player caught me off guard. Particularly the amp, with its four digital inputs plus an on-board DAC to service them. It turns out this DAC is only one of three options that Simaudio offers to prospective i3.3 buyers—packages that when fully installed transform a handsome 100Wpc integrated amplifier into a system hub for sources that might include a satellite TV, a computer, a turntable, and more. (For technical particulars see the accompanying sidebar.) However, there are two items that seem to be standard equipment on every Simaudio I’ve reviewed—rewarding sonics and surefire performance. The i3.3 and CD3.3 certainly follow suit here.

The i Has It

Simaudio and I have a history. Beginning with the Celeste PW-5000 integrated amp, and later the Moon Equinox CD player and Moon Evolution SuperNova, I’ve listened to and written in admiration about the consistent musicality and fidelity of Simaudio gear. Sonically the new i3.3 and CD3.3 remain faithful to Simaudio virtues. What’s even more interesting is that you can hear what is basically the same sonic signature in both the amp and the player, which is why, unless otherwise noted, my impressions are mostly an aggregate of listening to both.

Like a lit fuse the Moon 3.3 Series embodies a familiar sensation of eagerness relative to the reproduced signal. Call it Jonathan Valin’s jump factor, or a freedom from lag time, or a lack of leading-edge distortions, or all three, but the Moon 3.3 launches rhythmic volleys, percussive accents, and transient cues with the speed and smoothness of Usain Bolt bursting from the starting blocks. And it’s not adding a scalpel-edge analytical signature to produce this impression. It’s not grafting etch or grain onto leading-edge transients. Rather, it reproduces them as a continuous and organic part of the entire instrument or voice.

Whether driving a full-range loudspeaker like the new Sonus Faber Liuto (review to come) or my own ATC compacts the i3.3 had terrific bass control, good extension, and a smooth, refined top-end. Instruments seem to pop out of the blackness and silence of the soundstage with a purity and lack of noise that foster an almost addictive involvement in every performance. Although I’ve usually felt that Simaudio amps had the “speed thing” down, my experience suggested that the earlier amps tended to lean a bit toward the cooler side of the harmonic spectrum. I believe this has changed with the i3.3. On Clark Terry’s “Just For A Thrill” from One on One [Chesky], Geri Allen’s piano has all the drive and energy that I recall from the 3.3’s predecessors but also a warmer expression of tonality and dynamics, as if the player had found a greater range of tonal colors that revealed more of Allen’s inspired touch.

On orchestral works the Simaudio tandem are nothing less than spirited, high-output performers. Even at sometimes extreme levels during the Korngold Concerto for Violin and Orchestra [DG], the duo maintained an iron-fisted command and control that culminated in a final deep crescendo that seemed to settle in the hall’s foundations, gradually vaporizing into the earth below. Did the i3.3 have quite the terrifying impact of the 300Wpc Plinius Hiato integrated that I’ll be reviewing soon? Well, maybe not, but believe me, it was a horse race.

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Sidebar: The Goodies and Extras

Options for the i3.3 fall into three categories—a digital package which includes inputs for USB-2, two for S/PDIF, a TosLink, plus a built-in DAC, in this case a Burr-Brown PCM 1793 24-bit/192kHz convertor. The Old School package is an internal RIAA phono preamplifier with circuitry and layout derived from the Simaudio LP3. It’s selectable for impedance. capacitance-loading, and gain adjustment for either moving magnet or moving coil. Finally, a set of balanced line-level jacks is offered as an option on both the i3.3 and CD3.3. Available singly or in any combination, these options can be acquired either at the time of purchase or as future upgrades.