Gene, in addition to any advice you may receive from other forum members regarding your questions, I would urge you to go the Simaudio's web site, then click on Contact Us. Email your questions to Simaudio's Customer Service and Repairs, and I think you'll find that they'll be delighted to answer your questions and help you in your decision.

Gene, I'm curious as to whether you purchased your Simaudio Moon integrated amplifier through one of Sim's factory authorized dealers, as well as whether you properly completed and registered your amp's factory warranty with Simaudio? If so, you should have first discussed your questions with your authorized Simaudio dealer, who would have contacted Simaudio on your behalf, then reported back to you.

On the other hand, if you just so happened to have purchased your amp through an unauthorized source (or if you failed to register your factory warranty), don't expect Simaudio to automatically pay much attention to you.

On the other hand, if you purchased your Simaudio integrated amp through an authorized factory dealer (and if you've properly completed and registered the warranty), I'll again say that your authorized dealer would be the first person to address your questions.

As far as directly contacting Simaudio, I can tell you that I've had many email and phone conversations with Costa (as recently as the last few weeks, in fact) and I have nothing but the highest esteem for Costa and the entire Simaudio team of professionals, as well as having very high praise and esteem for my local Simaudio dealer (Archive Audio).

If you are in fact in good standing with Simaudio, please note that at the moment, they may not be as responsive as you'd like because they're currently in the midst of meeting the enormous production and shipping demands of their new Evolution Series components. (Moon components are largely hand-built.)

Perhaps more to the point, it's also worth reminding ourselves that Simaudio is a world-class manufacturer of high-end audio gear, and if they decide to offer a factory upgrade for one of their products, one may correctly assume that the benefits of the upgrade will be quite substantial and worthwhile, or they would not have taken the time and effort to offer such in the first place !

Thus, it's not inconceivable that they may view the answers to your questions regarding the merits of the upgrade in question, as being rather self-evident as far as they're concerned.

That said, (and if you are in fact in full compliance with Simaudio's warranty policies), if your authorized dealer is unable to answer your questions, I feel it's reasonable for Simaudio to at least offer you a brief summary of the sonic and operational benefits you should expect from the upgrade in question. Thus, I would urge you to politely and patiently continue to request this feedback from them, while also realizing that they're just extremely busy right now.

Allow me to set the record straight here: The only "affiliation" I have with Simaudio is that of a highly satisfied and enthusiastic customer (past and present) of Simaudio Moon electronics.

Over the course of my ownership of various Simaudio products over the past 1.5 years, on several occasions I've taken the time to initiate email and phone contacts with Costa Koulisakis, in which we've discussed various technical questions I've raised. I've always found Costa to be highly professional, courteous, helpful, enthusiastic, and attentive.

Furthermore, I have never worked in either the manufacturing or retail aspects of the high-end audio industry. In fact, I earn my living as a practicing physician, and I have no financial interests in Simaudio or any other high-end business. I'm merely an enthusiastic customer and audiophile who wishes to pass on my extremely positive experiences with a variety of Simaudio's products, which I believe are among the finest in the realm of high-end audio.