Moon by Simaudio 680D streaming DAC

REVIEW
Eric Neff
Nov 10, 2021

Moon’s goal for the 680D was to provide as much of the capability of the flagship 780Dv2 for a lot less money, which – given the 780Dv2’s reputation for high performance – is no small achievement. However, Moon’s 680D more than delivers the goods. The 680D is also an expensive piece of audio equipment and the engineering team is very aware of the investment being made by their customers. Their goal was to give the end user many years of high-end sound with low maintenance or fuss. I like the idea of years of set it and forget it. I would heartily agree that they accomplished their mission. The 680D is certainly not inexpensive, yet after spending time with it you wonder how much farther could you go for better sound and at what price? Add to that the now required function of streaming and a ten-year warranty with an essentially obsolescence proof upgrade path and you have the beating heart of a modern high-end system. Do yourself a favour and seek out a Moon dealer for an audition. This one should go home with you and stay there for a long time.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: Streaming digital converter
Digital inputs: USB, AES/EBU, SPDIF, Optical, Ethernet,
Wi-Fi and aptX audio for Bluetooth
Music providers supported: Spotify Connect, Tidal Masters, Deezer Hi-Fi and Qobuz Sublime+ Music Services, HighResAudio (where available)
AirPlay 2: compatible
Roon: Roon Ready
PCM Bit-depth range: 16 – 32 bits
PCM sampling frequency rates: 44.1 – 384 kHz
DSD sample rates: DSD64, DSD128 & DSD256, DSD and MQA decoding from all digital inputs
Multi-room synchronized playback
Power supply: MOON Hybrid Power (MHP) DC output, 12 stage DC voltage regulation with two stages of M-LoVo (MOON Low Voltage Regulation) and 4 stages of i2DCf (Independent Inductive DC Filtering)
Frequency response (full range): 2Hz–100kHz +0/-3dB
THD @ 1kHz, 0dBFS (A-weighted) 0.0005 %
Intermodulation distortion 0.0003 %
Dynamic Range: 123 dB
Signal-to-noise Ratio: 123 dB @ full output
Channel Separation: 120 dB
Intrinsic Jitter: 1 Pico seconds RMS
Analog Output @ 0dBFS: 2.0 V
Analog output impedance: 100 Ω
Shipping weight: 18 kg.
Dimensions (W×H×D): 47.6 × 10.2 × 42.7 cm
Price: £8,900