POS high end engineering if it's 'normal'. Simaudio and your dealer are FOS! Return it and demand a properly fuctioning unit or switch manufacturers and perhaps dealers.

RG

I would suggest that if the dealer has another one in stock or in demo service, that you ask to borrow that one and try it at home. I could not conceive of the dealer denying that request.
Also, I have heard one of these recently and am jealous of you. I have always been impressed with Simaudio gear each time I have heard it. My Cary 120S amp does the same thing, but it is tube. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Tom

An FYI: in an upcoming issue, we will feature a review of the Simaudio 700i.

Tom,
I will try in the coming weeks to bring back my amp to the store and compare it to the one they have as demo.
will see
But I'm really wondering what can be the cause, and for now they told me that it's normal.
For now, I'm not impressed by the kind of service that Moon is giving. 2-3 weeks ago, I sent an e-mail directly to them, and for now I'm still waiting.
Too busy selling new gear?

Ariel, can we know who will do the review
your help would be really appreciated

mat

Fred Kaplan will be doing the review along with measurements from John Atkinson.

I know what that gear costs. In your situation, I would share your disappointment. Considering what that piece cost, that dealer should volunteer to bring a new one to your house for a comparison. I man who will spend that kind of money will surely know other people who are willing to spend that sum as well and it would not be worth the risk of offending him, if I owned that business.
let us know the final result.

tom

Did you listen to the speaker from 6" when you were at the dealers before you purchased this amp? Take the amp back and then listen to your speakers, they will be really quiet.

Next, watch your big screen TV from 6". Get a microscope and check your milk for germs before you drink it. Get a micrometer and check the play in your steering wheel on your Mercedes. Get a laser beam and make sure your mansion is square. AND most IMPORTANT, get a labratory to make sure your money is really clean.

Do you hear it with the amplifier turned on but the volume control set to its minimum? You shouldn't hear any noise at all from the tweeters when the amplifier is in stand-by. As Ariel Bitran said, we will be reviewing this amplifier in our March 2011 issue and it is not an excessively noisy design.

There will always be a little HF noise audible with your ears close to the tweeter, but this should be a very faint, characterless hiss rather than the "zzzz" you describe. Is your AC properly grounded? Are your source components and the amplifier on the same phase of the AC supply?

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Mr Atkinson,

I thank you for your time and your good advice.
You, and all your team are doing such a good job, it's a delight every month to read your magazine. Only my wife would complain that she is missing me for two days when I receive your magazine, although she enjoy your CD recomendation.
You seem to receive many complaints regarding the price of the gear you review, but I would say please keep your orientation. Even if perfection is not attainable, and that's fine and maybe preferable like this, I think we have to support and encourage the people who strive for it!
Besides there are enough magazine who review low priced gear. The consumers today seem to be oriented on volume, not quality. You have to get everything, crappy stuff but everything!

If I go back to my amp, the noise is noticeable with the volume control set to minimum and also on standby.
This past w-e, I switched amps, using my 30 years old Mission 777 and there was no noticeable noise, really quiet.
I think there should be no phase problem since they are connected on the same bar.
I called my store again this w-e and they told me that someone from Moon will probably come to my house to check this out.
I will keep you informed,

warmest regards

My new W-7 developed a hum in the left channel after eight months of use that Sim was able to reduce in volume but not completely eliminate (it is now in for service for the second time in five months).  They may try to blame the hum on your home's electrical system, your cables, and/or your other equipment.  If you're sure that's not the problem, be firm and simply demand that they repair the problem, and they will.  And if they don't completely fix it the first time, send the unit back again.  I did, and I will continue to do so until my amplifier is silent, as it should be.  This is why we pay so much for a state-of-the-art product with a 10-year warranty. For perspective, the hum in my amplifier occurs all the time, even when the amp is off and connected only to the speakers and an A/C outlet.  I have owned a P-5/W-5 and an I-7, all of which were terrific and evidenced no noise at all, so I'm sure Sim will be able to fix the problem with my W-7.

So for now I sent back the amp to Moon, my retailer confirmed the problem and lent me a 600i in the meantime.
the funny thing, last evening when I went back home, the 600i was supposed to be in stand-by but instead, It was showing HiTemp.

It's not very reassuring... At least there is a 10 yr warranty
I should have some news within 2 weeks,
I will keep you informed

I hope Simaudio is able to fix your problem the first time, unlike my W-7.  I was going to buy a matching P-7 but am now waiting to see how the repairs progress.  I haven't heard from Sim since I dropped off the amp about 10 days ago, but my dealer is supposed to call tomorrow with an update.

I sent Moon two emails right before the holidays. I was on the doorstep of making a huge investment in Moon products and had a couple of questions ...
While their web site promises all emails will be answered in short order, I am still waiting.
Now, given this thread ... I am really looking forward to some sort of response from Lionel Goodfield and/or Moon before I consider a purchase.

Jeff

I sent it back to Moon 3 weeks ago and so far, no news.
they never responded to my emails, probably a new marketing technique Jeff.
I'M not that impressed,

3 weeks and no news or response to your emails ... and you're located about 15 miles from their front door ... if it were me a visit would be in order.
What I find most disturbing is the lack of response from Simaudio to their existing customers and their potential new customers, as evidenced here.
Perhaps it's just me but I would think if a customer is willing to spend the dollars it takes to own their products and then has to go through the frustration of returning it for repair and then, even after multiple emails, you cannot even get Simaudio to respond with a simple "Yeah, we got it. We're looking at it. We should have answers for you in "X' amount of time. Thanks, have a good day." I think I would be asking myself (and I am) if this is the kind of company you want to do business with.
You do not survive 30 years in this business if you have these kinds of issues, I would like to think that this is just some sort of mix-up on an epic scale.
They have received a lot of great ink over the years from Stereophile and seem to be on great terms with all concerned ...
any thoughts JA?

I finally received my amp on the w/e
They changed both toroidal transformers

Now, the 700i is working perfectly

interestingly, I used the 600i for a month, and it's amazing the difference between the 600I and the 700i.
I think the difference is worth it,

That is great news indeed.

I am glad that your 700i is now in perfect working order. I suspect that your issue was an isolated event as opposed to some general problem with Simaudio.

I still, however, find it disturbing that you did not get a response to your emails from Simaudio.

I am still waiting for a response to the two emails I sent to Simaudio back in December.

Enjoy the music!

Jeff

Glad to hear everything worked out fine, although given the price of 700i, it would bother me to have to go through everything you did.

Call me "demanding" but I would expect them to either replace yours with brand new or at least loan you the same unit until the work on yours is done. Perhaps things are different now, my personal experience with their customer support is as good as it gets.

As for 600i Vs. 700i difference, I have no doubt, but I'd be very interested to compare i-7 to 700i head to head, given 5K difference in retail price and specs that are pretty close (yes, I know specs. aren't everything, still...)

http://www.simaudio.com/moon700i_specs.htm
http://www.simaudio.com/mooni7_specs.htm

Interesting that Stereophile reviewer didn't make this comparison in recent issue, it would seem like a "common sense" thing to do.

I just got an email from Simaudio stating that they were finally able to fix my W-7.  They never did contact me during the second repair period (about three months), but I'm very glad they were able to diagnose and resolve the problem.

It was an intermittent failure of some kind, so I think it was harder for them to figure out.  But I'm very happy, and impressed, that they spent so much time to fix it properly.   Since this first happened, I purchased a PS Audio GCHA headphone amp that was DOA when it arrived.  PSA also wasn't great about communicating what was happening after I returned it for repair, but they too spent a great deal of time to diagnose and repair the problem.