moon 850P Owner's Manual

850P Evolution Series

Reference Dual-Mono Preamplifier

Owner’s Manual

850P Evolution Series

Owner’s Manual

Important Safety Instructions

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Follow all instructions.

5. Do not use this apparatus near water.

6. Clean only with a dry cloth.

7. Do not block ventilation openings. Install in
accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as
radiators, heat registers, stoves or another
apparatus that produces heat.

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or
grounding type plug. A polarized plug has two
blades with one wider than the other. A grounding­type plug has two blades and a third grounding
prong. The wide blade or the third prong is
provided for safety. If the provided plug does not fit
into the outlet, consult an electrician for
replacement of the obsolete outlet.

10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or
pinched, particularly at plugs, convenience

receptacles, and the point where they exit from the
apparatus. Unplug mains cord during
transportation.

11. Only use attachments and accessories specified by
the manufacturer.

12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or

table specified by the manufacturer
or sold with the apparatus. When a

cart is used, use caution when
moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid
injury from tip over.

13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or
when unused for long periods of time.

14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.
Servicing is required when the apparatus has been
damaged in any way, such as when the power cord
or plug has been damaged; liquid has been spilled
or objects have fallen into the apparatus; or the
apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture,
does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

15. No naked flame sources, such as candles, should be
placed on the apparatus.

WARNING:

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT
EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

850P Evolution Series

Important Safety Instructions (cont’d)

The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral triangle, is
intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within
the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the
presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying the appliance.

Marking by the “CE” symbol (shown left) indicates compliance of this device with the
EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) and LVD (Low Voltage Directive) standards of the
European Community

Please read all instructions and precautions carefully and completely
before operating your MOON 850P Preamplifier.

1. ALWAYS disconnect your entire system from
the AC mains before connecting or
disconnecting any cables, or when cleaning any
component. To completely disconnect this
apparatus from the AC mains, disconnect the
power supply cord plug from the AC receptacle.

2. The

3. AC extension cords are NOT recommended for

4. NEVER use flammable or combustible

5. NEVER operate the

MOON 850P must be terminated with a

three-conductor AC mains power cord which
includes an earth ground connection. To
prevent shock hazard, all three connections

must ALWAYS be used. Connect the
850P only to an AC source of the proper
voltage; Both the shipping box and rear panel
serial number label will indicate the correct
voltage. Use of any other voltage will likely
damage the unit and void the warranty

use with this product. The mains plug of the
power supply cord shall remain readily
accessible.

chemicals for cleaning audio components.

MOON 850P with any

covers removed. There are no user-serviceable
parts inside. An open unit, especially if it is still
connected to an AC source, presents a
potentially lethal shock hazard. Refer all
questions to authorized service personnel only.

MOON

6. NEVER wet the inside of the MOON 850P with

any liquid. If a liquid substance does enter your

MOON 850P, immediately disconnect it from

the AC mains and take it to your MOON dealer
for a complete check-up.

7. NEVER spill or pour liquids directly onto the
MOON 850P.

8. NEVER block air flow through ventilation slots
or heatsinks.

9. NEVER bypass any fuse.

10. NEVER replace any fuse with a value or type
other than those specified

11. NEVER attempt to repair the
problem occurs contact your MOON dealer.

12. NEVER expose the
high or low temperatures.

13. NEVER operate the
explosive atmosphere.

14. ALWAYS keep electrical equipment out of
reach of children.

15. ALWAYS unplug sensitive electronic
equipment during lightning storms.

16. WARNING: Do not expose batteries or battery

pack to excessive heat such as sunshine, or fire
or the like.

MOON 850P to extremely

MOON 850P. If a

MOON 850P in an

Owner’s Manual

Table of Contents

Introduction 6
Unpacking 7
Installation & Placement 7
Connecting the 850P Preamplifier & Controller 8
Front Panel Controls 9
Software Setup 10
Rear Panel Connections 15
SimLink™ 16

Operating the 850P

16
Remote Control Operation 17
Balanced Operation 19
Specifications 20
Quick Reference: Setup Menus Appendix

www.simaudio.com

Simaudio Ltd., 1345 Newton Road

Boucherville, Québec J4B 5H2 CANADA

Date Code: 20150805

850P Evolution Series

Introduction

Thank you for selecting the MOON 850P Dual-Mono
preamplifier as a part of your music/cinema system. This
preamplifier has been designed to offer state-of-the-art
high-end performance in an elegant package, while
retaining all the sonic hallmarks on which Simaudio has
made its reputation. We have spared no effort to
ensure that it is the finest two-channel preamplifier
available. We have been building high-performance
audio equipment for over 30 years, and the know-how
gained through our cumulative experience is an
important reason why MOON preamplifiers are so
musically satisfying.

Your new preamplifier is a true dual-mono design,
whereby each channel operates completely
independent of the other. The performance of your
850P will continue to improve during the first 400 hours
of listening. This is the result of a “break-in” period
required for the numerous high quality electronic parts
used throughout this preamplifier.

Before setting up your new MOON 850P, we encourage
you to please read this manual thoroughly to properly
acquaint yourself with its features. We hope you enjoy
listening to the MOON 850P dual-mono preamplifier as
much as the pride we have taken in creating this fine
audio product. We understand the power and emotion
of music and build our products with the goal of
faithfully capturing these elusive qualities.

The information contained in this manual is subject to
change without notice. The most current version of this
manual is available on our official website at
http://www.simaudio.com

Your MOON 850P dual-mono preamplifier incorporates
many significant design features to achieve its “world­class” level of performance. This is an abbreviated list of
the more important features:

2-chassis design with one chassis (Controller) housing the
power supply, digital controller circuitry, software processing

and the LED display. The other chassis (Preamplifier) contains
ONLY audio circuitry.

Our proprietary M-Octave Damping system that virtually
eliminates the sonically degrading “microphonic effect” by
mounting the main audio circuit board on an 8-point floating
suspension.

Custom proprietary toroidal transformer design with lower
magnetic, electrical and thermal loss, yielding an improved
power transfer and lower regulation factor. The result is
increased current speed and better dynamics.

An oversized dual-mono power supply features 6 stages of
DC voltage regulation and choke filtering.

SimLinkTM controller port allows for 2-way communications

between other compatible MOON Evolution Series
components.

M-Ray volume control circuit based on the R-2R resistor array
configuration that uses thin film surface mount resistors with

0.1% tolerances, resulting in no sonic degradation of the audio
signal regardless of the selected volume setting.

530 individual volume steps in 1dB and 0.1dB increments.

M-Lock circuit for “user selectable” maximum volume setting

lock-out for each line input.

Power supply voltage regulation includes i2DCf (Independent
Inductive DC Filtering); 1 inductor for each and every IC in the
audio circuit’s signal path – 40 stages in all.

Full unsolicited RS-232 bidirectional feedback.

Gain offset for each line input with a ±10dB range.

Each line input is fully configurable to be “home theater

ready”, where the volume control of the 850P is bypassed.

Four-layer PCB tracings; The advantages include better

ground and power supply circuit layouts resulting in a much
shorter signal path and dramatically improved signal-to-noise
ratio.

Ultra rigid chassis construction to minimize the effects of
external vibrations.

6

Owner’s Manual

Unpacking

The MOON 850P preamplifier and power supply/controller should be removed from its crate with care.

The following accessories should be included inside the box with your preamplifier:

9

AC power cable

9

FRM-3 remote control with three ‘AAA’ batteries

9

Three (3) color-coded cables to connect the preamplifier to it’s power supply/controller chassis

9

SimLink™ cable with 1/8” mini plug terminations on each end

9

This owner’s manual

9

Warranty and product registration information (USA and Canada only)

Once the 850P is unpacked, inspect it thoroughly and report any damage to your dealer immediately. We suggest
that you keep all of the original packaging, storing it in a safe, dry place in case you’re required to transport this
product. The customized packaging is specially designed to protect the 850P from any potential damage during
transit.

Please write the serial number of your new MOON 850P in the space provided below for future reference.

Serial Number

Installation

The MOON 850P dual-mono preamplifier is very heavy
and should be placed on a solid, level surface. You
should avoid placing it near a heat source or inside a
closed cabinet that is not well ventilated as this could
compromise the preamplifier’s performance and
reliability.

If the surface you have chosen isn’t perfectly level, each
of the four (4) legs of both your 850P and it’s power
supply / controller are height adjustable; carefully using
your fingers, you can either raise each leg by turning the

cone underneath clockwise, or lower each leg by
turning it counterclockwise.

We strongly recommend that you leave these cones
mounted to the component at all times for reasons
related to both performance and aesthetics.

7