Oh Canada. What have they done to the place where I was born; 4 weeks premature and already waving an American flag and dreaming of dried out beef (there’s nothing better than Biltong — not even a Kurnatzel from Pancer’s or Schwartz’s).
3 decades of NHL futility without a Stanley Cup, unaffordable housing, architectural mass murder in the Greater Toronto Area, shameful levels of homelessness and the mentally ill roaming the streets, and a petulant bartender pretending to be the Prime Minister who is finally stepping down but not until he steals all of the hair dryers and mousse from Rideau Cottage on his way out.
You get whom you “woke” for.
Even the cultural cognoscenti in Forest Hill and Westmount will understand the dark humour in that one.
Put aside any notion that Toronto is a “world class” city (born and raised so I’m speaking from experience); when you feel the need to mention that designation in all of your promotional material — you probably are not.
Before we take a deeper look at the MOON 250i v2 Integrated Amplifier ($2,400), it’s worth thinking about what is happening right now in Los Angeles and remembering that this is only a piece of Hi-Fi equipment and nothing more.
eCoustics is a Southern California-based company and all of us here know people who have been impacted over the past week.
Tens of thousands of people experienced an apocalyptic nightmare in the second largest city in this country and those of us who can go to sleep tonight in our homes should be beyond grateful and think about how fragile all of this really is.
How can you help those who really need it?
Red Cross
The American Red Cross has hundreds of volunteers deploying to Los Angeles to assist with emergent needs of those displaced by the fire.
Click here to donate.
North of the Border
Do you know what Canadians are really good at? Making Hi-Fi electronics and loudspeakers.
MartinLogan (started in Lawrence, Kansas…and you can listen to my interview with Gayle Sanders here), Paradigm, GoldenEar, Bryston, Meitner, Oracle, Gershman Acoustics, Totem Acoustics, PSB, NAD, Bluesound, and Simaudio — all Canadian companies.
Simaudio began in St. Hubert, Quebec, in 1980 by the late-Victor Sima who passed away in November 2024. Not only did it become one of the most successful Canadian high-end audio brands, but also one of the most recognised around the world for its superb sonics, world class engineering and build quality, and 10-year warranty.
How many brands outside of Simaudio and Bryston offer such generous warranties for their products?
Montreal has always been the “heart and soul” of Canada from a cultural perspective and there is no better place to get a bagel or smoked meat on rye, or drink at midnight whilst kvetching about how bad the Canadiens are right now — so it makes perfect sense that the best high-end electronics in Canada come from a Montreal-based company.
The Moon 250i v2 is probably the least sexy model in their extensive lineup — but that’s also what makes it such a deal at its asking price.
My review of this “old school” integrated amplifier will appear next week but selecting it for our “Best Integrated Amplifiers: Editors’ Choice 2024” list was very easy.
The Montreal-based manufacturer is a little obsessive when it comes to engineering and build quality and it shows.
We’ve also included the MOON LP110 v2 on our “Best Phono Preamplifiers: Editors’ Choice 2024” list for over 2 years because there is nothing better below $600.
The LP110 v2 is one of the few really affordable components in the lineup, and we’ve wondered for the past year if they planned on bringing back any of their legacy products at prices that more audiophiles could afford.
The new MOON 250i v2 builds on the foundations of the previous award-winning models. The upgraded circuit design uses next generation semiconductors to provide an improvement in sound quality, and the addition of the MM phono preamplifier increases functionality — the previous iteration did not include one.
The class A/B integrated amplifier outputs 50 watts/channel into 8 ohms and 100 watts/channel into 4 ohms. The 250i v2 includes a headphone amplifier, pre-amplifier out, and there are no streaming capabilities.
The chassis is on the compact side for a Simaudio amplifier at 16.9 x 3.5 x 14.4 in and you will definitely notice the 23 pounds when you lift it from the packaging.
Pros:
- Built like a tank
- Reliable
- Very robust presentation
- Neutral sounding with a hint of warmth in the midrange and treble
- Excellent MM phono pre-amplifier
- Can be used as a pre-amplifier
Cons:
- No DAC
- Not ideal for overly neutral sounding loudspeakers
French Canadian with a Stiff Upper Lip
The French and British have fought a number of conflicts on this continent but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a rather strong synergy between the Hi-Fi that comes out of both countries.
The Focal/Naim marriage has been successful beyond all expectations and it’s somewhat incredible how much great sounding and affordable equipment is being engineered right now in both places; Naim, Q Acoustics, Triangle, Devialet, Rega, Spendor, Focal, REL, Michell, Goldring, KEF, Wharfedale, Cyrus, QED, ProAc, Cambridge Audio, and that’s barely scratching the surface.
Some of them have relocated their manufacturing to Asia — but that’s how they’ve managed to keep prices affordable.
Quebec went off the rails during the pandemic with its authoritarian rules and it has been disheartening to witness the frightening surge of antisemitism on the streets of Montreal over the past 14 months — but Montreal still has a pulse and it beats rather strongly through the products manufactured by Simaudio.
The birthplace of Leonard Cohen, William Shatner, Saul Bellow, Mordecai Richler, Léa Roback, and Charles Krauthammer — is definitely worth saving.
The specifications on paper may not convey the idea that the MOON 250i v2 is a powerful sounding amplifier — but in practice it has more than enough for the loudspeaker that makes sense from a tonal perspective, but also in the context of the system price point that we are trying to stay under. $7,500 USD or $14,000 CDN (have you seen the value of the Loonie lately? Mon Dieux!).
The 250i v2 will take hold of it in the bass range which can present a problem in small to medium-sized rooms (16′ x 13′ x 9′ as a reference point) if the amplifier on the other end sounds too fat or plays loose in the secondary.
Wharfedale Super Denton BookShelf Speakers ($1,399)
It would be so easy to recommend the Wharfedale Linton Heritage Loudspeakers with the 250i V2, but 2025 is all about being a lot more honest and rather contrarian — am I the only person who finds the Linton Heritage slightly overrated and too thick in their presentation?
Wharfedale has sold so many pairs of the Linton Heritage and upgraded Super Linton that I’m definitely on the outside looking in at all of the cool kids having fun (story of my life), but I rather prefer the most underrated loudspeaker from its Heritage series — the Super Denton.
The original Denton was introduced in 1971 and it surprised me a great deal to discover that the high-end press on this side of the pond has largely ignored this excellent pair of loudspeakers that would be my choice over the other models in the Heritage range.
The dimensions make it slightly large for a bookshelf (14.2″ H x 9.7″ W x 10.8″ D) and they are not light at 21 pounds apiece; the decision to utilise two rear ports also hinders their use very close to the wall behind them. The rear panel also features a single pair of binding posts which are of high quality.
What makes the Super Denton unique is the choice of drivers and layout on the somewhat wide front baffle.
The Super ‘D’ feature a 2-inch soft-dome midrange driver and 1-inch soft-dome tweeter that are offset from the center to help minimise reflections off the edges of the speaker cabinet.
The Super Denton’s interior features a substantial amount of bracing and internal acoustic damping that incorporates layers of long-hair fiber. Both the midrange driver and the tweeter have their own separate enclosures to minimise the impact of the 6.5-inch black woven Kevlar cone bass driver on their performance.
As with all models from the Heritage series, the Super Denton features hand-matched and hand-veneered exteriors, inset front baffles, and removable cloth grilles; Black Oak, Walnut, and Red Mahagony are the 3 available finishes.
Stick with the Walnut which makes them look slightly bolder and far more expensive; for those who enjoy a glass of Glenrothes and some sugar cookies with their Taylor Swift.
Rooibos tea, Biltong, and veal sandwiches are more my thing whilst listening to Nick Cave, the Animals, and Sia.
Unlimited Power?
The 87 dB (6 ohms, 3.4 ohms minimum) sensitivity rating doesn’t look all that daunting but reality is a slightly different story. Wharfedale’s 25 to 120 watts power suggestion isn’t wrong but the Naim NAIT 50’s 25 watts (8 ohms, 40 watts into 8 ohms) feels a tad underpowered in this scenario.
The tonal balance was spot on – but the bottom end felt like it wasn’t really showing off what it could do. In a very small room – this combination might be great but in a 14’ x 12’ or 16’ x 13’ space – the Super Denton needed more low end control and that extra kick in the tuchas when required.
The MOON 250i v2 took control of these with very little effort and illuminated one of their hidden strengths; low end impact that extends beyond their quoted 52Hz rating.
These boxy looking loudspeakers color outside the lines in the bass range and with more punch than expected. Extended, textured, and forceful would be accurate descriptions with electronic music, rock, hip-hop and 1980s New Wave that was the foundation of my youth.
Could the bass be tighter? Without question and a lot of that will depend on the amplifier driving them.
Coherency, texture, detail and presence from the upper bass through the lower treble are strong parts of the experience; the treble is clean and detailed without exhibiting any degree of hardness and the soundstage is wide enough.
Male and female vocals are rich, clean, and pulled just slightly forward of the cabinet and rather balanced sounding overall; this 3-way loudspeaker with a wide front baffle sounds larger than it should and images with a surprising degree of precision if you get the set-up correct.
Setting these up properly is the key; in the same way that Alex Ovechkin has managed to make space for himself near the left face-off circle for almost 20 seasons and put himself in a great spot to pass Wayne at some point between now and March. #GR8 #RocktheRed
The Super Denton require some space from the wall behind them (18 to 24 inches) and solid stands. They also sound more coherent and image better with the midrange dome on the inside.
Separating them (more than 6 feet) and angling them toward your listening position will pay off in a few areas; superior imaging and a cleaner sounding lower midrange that can be slightly thick if these are positioned too closely together.
The 250i v2 offers the right tonal balance, a firm grip, enough power reserves to push them across the finish line, and an excellent MM phono pre-amplifier that might be the best part of the entire package.
Musica?
Before we start looking at some sources that make a lot of sense for the 250i v2/Super Denton combination – a quick reminder about pricing.
$2,400 for the amplifier and $1,399 (plus another $300 to $400 for stands) for the loudspeakers takes this system to around $4,100 to $4,200 USD.
The goal was to stay below $7,000 (or maybe even $6,000) and it’s most certainly doable with something like the Pro-Ject Debut PRO B and the Sumiko Wellfleet or Blue Point No. 3 (high output version) cartridges.
The phono stage inside the MOON 250i v2 wants to see 3mV or higher.
That takes this system to around $5,800 USD.
The WiiM Ultra Music Streamer at $329 makes sense as a starting point (which might make you happy from its analog outputs and you’re done) but I think adding an external DAC can take this player to another level.
It’s not something you have to do right away, but adding something like the Schiit Audio Bifrost 2 or HoloAudio Cyan 2 would elevate the sound quality to another level for the long haul; more detail, higher level of resolution, better dynamic capabilities, more texture and color, and greater presence.
All of this comes in under $7,000 and would not take up a lot of space.
The Super Denton are so good for the price, that my experimentation has just begun with these loudspeakers; expect to see a number of network and tube integrated amplifiers try to do their worst in the coming months – and in a much smaller space.
My Audiolab 6000A and a new amplifier from Unison Research will likely create magic with these and warm up my listening space.
It can get rather cold in Maine.
For more information: simaudio.com
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