The Moon 371 is a streaming integrated amplifier, or, as Simaudio defines it, a network player/amplifier. In a single case measuring 3.5″H × 16.9″W × 15.2″D, the 371 combines a preamplifier, stereo amplifier, DAC, streamer, and phono stage. Its claimed technical specifications include 100Wpc output into 8 ohms, 200Wpc output into 4 ohms, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 108dB at full power output. Visually, it resembles models in the North Collection—but surprisingly, despite being cheaper than any component in that series, it has a couple of design cues that I like better. These include a revision of the company’s signature “cheeks,” which now blend more smoothly from the front to the sides, and rectangular pushbuttons that are vertically aligned to the left of the 17cm color front screen, which to me look more modern than the round metal buttons used for the North components.
Two proprietary Simaudio technologies are central to the design. One is MDCA (Moon Distortion-Cancelling Amplifier), used to reduce distortion and improve linearity. It was first introduced in the North Collection. Instead of the traditional feedback mechanism that most amplifiers use to lower distortion, with MDCA an error signal comparing the input to the output is combined with the main signal after the voltage-gain stage but before the current stage. Some might be tempted to refer to this as a feedforward type of design, but co-owner and CEO Thierry Dufour, who conceived of the idea and passed it to the engineering team to perfect, and product director Dominique Poupart say that’s not accurate. Nor is it correct to call MDCA feedback. Nevertheless, it is unique to Simaudio and now implemented in the 371.
