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Post by hifinutt on Jan 1, 2022 11:36:49 GMT
Some may have heard of moonriver . made in sweden i think . they have 2 amps . Hoping one will land here from sweden on demo soon to try with various bits of kit there have been one or two criticisms of these but others love them . the ref is about 4.4k and standard about 3k drive.google.com/file/d/1H-9moOKNGmf5DiYgCO5mY4Tm05VHJwv9/viewstereophile put it on their recommended amps and said : Moonriver 404 Reference: $4995 As supplied for review, this Swedish amplifier included optional digital and MM/MC phono analog inputs. The digital module, though, was based on an AKM DAC chip that is no longer available following the disastrous fire at the Japanese manufacturer's factory, so the review didn't discuss the digital input. But with the single-ended line inputs, JVS wrote that while the sense of air wasn't as breathtaking as through his expensive reference amplifier, "the music sounded airier and more colorful and seemed to emerge from a quieter background" than what he'd recently heard through the two more expensive integrateds. "Plenty of bass showed that the low-powered Moonriver 404 Reference has what it takes to drive the challenging Wilson Alexia 2's," he added. Summing up, JVS wrote that the Moonriver 404 Reference "does justice to complex and demanding recordings. It sounds tonally spot on, well balanced, clear, and musical." Although the 404 Reference uses an output stage based on Texas Instruments' LM3886 chip, which is specified as being able to deliver 50W into 8 ohms and 70W into 4 ohms, JA found that the Moonriver clipped at 39.5Wpc into 8 ohms and 60W into 4 ohms. Although the Moonriver has single-ended preamplifier outputs, JVS found that these "buzzed" with his reference monoblocks and JA found that there was a high level of ultrasonic noise on the preamplifier outputs. (This may have been a sample fault.) In his measurements, JA also noted low-level power-supply spuriae and that the distortion signature was primarily the subjectively benign second harmonic. Intermodulation distortion was not excessive. (Vol.44 No.2 WWW) be good to try it  moonriver ref by , on Flickr |
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Post by macca on Jan 1, 2022 13:10:34 GMT
It's expensive for a 35 watt amp though. Three grand. I see the Stereophile reviewer felt compelled to use some £2.5K isolation feet under it.  |
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 1, 2022 13:57:20 GMT
Perhaps I'm still feeling some post-Xmas Bah Humbugness, but I'm a bit baffled at the attraction of this. Poor performing preamp section, under spec power output, uncertainty on the digital function as the chip factory has burned down, high price, dull looks. Does it have remote control? And the manufacturer seems to be expecting reliability problems as ease of repair seems to have been prioritised. It seems to me there are many other amps which deserve more attention than this. Bah Humbug! |
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Post by macca on Jan 1, 2022 14:07:50 GMT
lol - It does have a remote.
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 1, 2022 14:09:00 GMT
Ah, well, that's something positive!
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Post by antonio on Jan 1, 2022 14:12:49 GMT
It still got very good reviews We'll have to wait for hifinut to give us his 'unbiased' review as and when he lays his grubby hand on one. Only joking Phil, hope you can talk a dealer into a loan. |
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Post by misterc on Jan 1, 2022 15:13:58 GMT
In fairness they are quite good better than I expected give them 4-5 years and they will become popular.
If you are in the moodfor something a little different then worth a listen imho
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 1, 2022 16:13:01 GMT
It's expensive for a 35 watt amp though. Three grand. I see the Stereophile reviewer felt compelled to use some £2.5K isolation feet under it. 50 watts i think Inputs: 5 (line 1 and 4 optionally occupied by phono stage and USB DAC respectively, 1 x tape loop) Outputs: 2 x preamp out, 1 x rec out Max output power: 50 W / channel into 8 Ω Frequency response: 10 Hz to 50 kHz Total harmonic distortion: 0.05% Signal to noise ratio: 85 dB (line) Idle Consumption: 22 Watts Dimensions (mm): 430 (W) x 390 (D) x 135 (H) Weight: 13 kg |
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 1, 2022 16:16:02 GMT
Ah, well, that's something positive! ha ... i discussed this amp on another forum and it was not all positive i can tell you !! one chap wrote this Im perhaps the first person to heard it in this thread. This is on home demo paired with a pair of Falcon ls3/5a.
The build quality and look is quite seductive, but since it lacked any lcd screen and I believe even led, you can't really see the amp properly from some distance.
It is kind of sweet in its mid range, but it causes some hum to my speakers when music is not playing.
Also, when switching on, I remember it gives a big pop to my speakers. I can't really remember this detail for sure now though.
These two non-sound related flaws make me kind of dismiss the amp without doing much critical listening to it. So while the sound is kind of tube like, I cannot live with the amp in my system.
My hegel h190 on the other hand do not produce any hum or pop my speakers whatsoever. |
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 1, 2022 16:20:09 GMT
It still got very good reviews We'll have to wait for hifinut to give us his 'unbiased' review as and when he lays his grubby hand on one. thanks antonio . had 2 lots of components on demo over christmas . one gets 9/10 and really surprised me how good it was [ amphion 3s] and the other was ok,ish [ innuos ] but i would not buy one . hopefully the moonriver on its way . many years ago one of our members here let me borrow some fabulous monoblock amps from the USA . sadly we dont hear enough about them as they really are cracking [ belles ] |
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 1, 2022 16:22:08 GMT
lol - It does have a remote. remote is key ... so many of these integrated amps have lousy remotes including sugden and rega . notable exceptions include hegel and naim |
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Post by macca on Jan 1, 2022 18:12:10 GMT
It's expensive for a 35 watt amp though. Three grand. I see the Stereophile reviewer felt compelled to use some £2.5K isolation feet under it. 50 watts i think Inputs: 5 (line 1 and 4 optionally occupied by phono stage and USB DAC respectively, 1 x tape loop) Outputs: 2 x preamp out, 1 x rec out Max output power: 50 W / channel into 8 Ω Frequency response: 10 Hz to 50 kHz Total harmonic distortion: 0.05% Signal to noise ratio: 85 dB (line) Idle Consumption: 22 Watts Dimensions (mm): 430 (W) x 390 (D) x 135 (H) Weight: 13 kg If you look at Stereophile they got 37 watts at 1% THD in the test so no way it is 50 watt amp. If you take Leak's 0.1% THD as the benchmark then it's got even less power. |
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 2, 2022 17:00:12 GMT
ah thanks for update macca
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 9, 2022 15:28:54 GMT
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Post by macca on Jan 10, 2022 8:41:17 GMT
Can't say I'm that keen on the styling of it. Build looks solid but it's no looker is it?
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 10, 2022 11:23:55 GMT
i guess its an acquired taste maybe . a bit retro perhaps . its quite a neutral amp . marimbas sound very clear and realistic in the taus . imaging average but not as good as class A monoblocks . remote gives good control of music .
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Post by antonio on Jan 10, 2022 13:48:30 GMT
I quite like the look of the amp, but come on Phil, the sound, I assume it is just average or below average for the price.
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 10, 2022 20:03:12 GMT
The amphion 3s seem to like power and the moonriver is reputed to be under 40 watts output according to measurements . Playing superb tracks like oxygene on the 3s is not good at all . Normally it shimmers and has great imaging but no. I have tried quite a few amps with the 3s
Now with the 93db taus the shimmer and imaging is back .The amp has been left on for quite a few hours and it's getting better all the time . Listening continues
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Post by macca on Jan 10, 2022 20:41:05 GMT
I bet it doesn't like 4 ohm impedance that's why there's no 'shimmer' with the Amphions. Noticed that in the Stereophile review.
10db less sensitivity compared to the T'aus too. That's a lot.
You want at least 100 watts with those Amphions I reckon. Studio pedigree, those boys don't care if they need 1000 watts.
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Post by robbiegong on Jan 10, 2022 20:49:47 GMT
Actually doesnt look bad to me, quite a nice looking amp imo. If I had one small dislike in terms of aesthetics, its the 'rolo type, with hole in the middle' knobs
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Post by macca on Jan 11, 2022 9:20:20 GMT
It's those knobs that ruin the look of it I agree. Would not be a deal-breaker for me though, except that
It's expensive, it has low power, it doesn't like low impedance loads. Can't see much to recommend. I don't like amps that dictate my choice of loudspeaker.
Some say a loudspeaker that is a difficult load is badly designed. Maybe some truth to that, but I like my loudspeakers and since they are responsible for most of the sound quality, why would I want to change them just to suit the amp?
Plus most modern loudspeakers are a 4 ohm load so choice of a compatible speaker is limited.
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Post by robbiegong on Jan 11, 2022 10:35:37 GMT
It's those knobs that ruin the look of it I agree. Would not be a deal-breaker for me though, except that It's expensive, it has low power, it doesn't like low impedance loads. Can't see much to recommend. I don't like amps that dictate my choice of loudspeaker. Some say a loudspeaker that is a difficult load is badly designed. Maybe some truth to that, but I like my loudspeakers and since they are responsible for most of the sound quality, why would I want to change them just to suit the amp? Plus most modern loudspeakers are a 4 ohm load so choice of a compatible speaker is limited. Indeed, there are some damn nice amps can be had with £3-4k |
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Post by antonio on Jan 11, 2022 16:21:59 GMT
I think all price ranges are competitive now, but like you say Robbie 3-4k can get you a very nice amp indeed.
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 12, 2022 16:49:55 GMT
I bet it doesn't like 4 ohm impedance that's why there's no 'shimmer' with the Amphions. Noticed that in the Stereophile review. 10db less sensitivity compared to the T'aus too. That's a lot. You want at least 100 watts with those Amphions I reckon. Studio pedigree, those boys don't care if they need 1000 watts. agreed . the amphions really sing with more power |
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 12, 2022 19:50:57 GMT
It's those knobs that ruin the look of it I agree. Would not be a deal-breaker for me though, except that It's expensive, it has low power, it doesn't like low impedance loads. Can't see much to recommend. I don't like amps that dictate my choice of loudspeaker. Some say a loudspeaker that is a difficult load is badly designed. Maybe some truth to that, but I like my loudspeakers and since they are responsible for most of the sound quality, why would I want to change them just to suit the amp? Plus most modern loudspeakers are a 4 ohm load so choice of a compatible speaker is limited. I guess you could say that about some other amps like leben .this amp does seem very smooth and has no grain or hardness and is pretty good. Drums in particular strike you as very real and piano timbre is just right. It's about as close to natural as you can get .vocals not quite as good as the 10k silbatone but it's 50% of the price and most certainly not 50% of the performance of the silbatone. Nearer 75% or more |
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Post by macca on Jan 12, 2022 20:31:20 GMT
yes, you can say it about a lot of amps, no question.
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Post by hifinutt on Jan 20, 2022 11:50:42 GMT
moonriver going back today [ i think] have to say i am rather sad to see it go . it rather grows on you . i have a feeling its going to be popular . i went on FB recently and a number of folks using them with various speakers . some more pics . one is difference between standard and reference model  leben c300 and moonriver by , on Flickr  Moonriver-404 by , on Flickr |
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Post by misterc on Jan 20, 2022 12:09:03 GMT
Phil time for more auditioning
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Post by sq225917 on Jan 20, 2022 13:07:55 GMT
Really, a few more smoothing caps....
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Post by firebottle on Jan 20, 2022 15:19:23 GMT
It's called differentiation, or 'look guys we can sell this for more'.
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