The sound

The MOON 600i V2 is an energetic sounding amplifier. In the bottom end, there is a lot of punch and rhythm. That is the first thing we notice. With tracks like Orde van de Nacht by Eelke Kleijn, we hear a warm blanket, but also the punch in the bass, which is necessary to give the song rhythm and energy.

If we click on some Radiohead in our Alpha Playlist, then we hear the very typical Radiohead bass drum, present in Present Tense. It gives the song the necessary drive. If it’s not there, the whole thing gets boring and ‘silky’ very quickly.

Character

Let’s check the midrange. The middle-area of the MOON 600i is crystal clear and very neutral. Voices – for your editor one of the most important elements – are easy to follow. Over and over again, they get the characteristics needed to stand out. Thom Yorke sounds like Thom Yorke. Adele like Adele and Beth Gibbons like… you get the point.

That sounds very simple, but it’s not. It takes a lot to get a voice right: good phase behaviour, solid impulse behaviour, speed… everything has to be right to do that at a high level. The MOON 600i certainly knows how to do that. So if you want to enjoy a clean and open mid-area, you can certainly consider a MOON 600i (or 700i).

Smooth

Then the high range. The Focal Sopra No1 is a pretty critical loudspeaker when it comes to clean control. So is the Bowers & Wilkins 805D3. The Focal has a Beryllium tweeter, the Bowers a diamond. Both not very forgiving. But the MOON drives it effortlesly. Wonderful. No edges, no grain. Clean. It doesn’t matter what genre we play. Metal, vocal, electronic, blues… …as long as it’s properly recorded, it’s fine. We do notice that the 805 throws the music a little further into our room than the Sopra. The Focal is also a bit rounder at the bottom and – surprisingly enough – a bit milder with playing forward. The MOON 600i shows this difference well.