The even more sensitive NAD VISO HP50’s picked up the hiss as well through its single-ended connection.
On the LCD-XC’s I could barely detect a low level hiss when inserting the balanced connector. My stereo setup also precluded me from trying the 430HAD as a preamp since my integrated amp (an Ayre AX-5 Twenty) doesn’t have a traditional preamp section that can be separated from a power amp section.Ī word of caution to those with sensitive headphones – the Neo 430HAD is not the quietest of amplifiers. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to test DSD functionality with the onboard DAC over USB.
Windows users will need to download a driver. I tried the onboard DAC option with Linux / ALSA and it worked flawlessly with PCM files out of the box. You might have to flip it on before you insert your power cord. Those with aftermarket power cords take note, the housing may make it difficult to access the rocker switch. If you don’t have the onboard DAC option installed, operation is pretty straightforward – flip the rocker switch in the back to ‘on’ and press the ‘Standby’ button on the front face plate to take the amp out of hibernation. An IEC inlet allows you to swap power cables to your heart’s content (and perhaps your spouse’s consternation) with a co-located power rocker switch allowing you to truly shut down all the internals. Curiously, there is no balanced output which seems a little out of place since all the amplifiers in the Neo line are fully balanced, like the 430HAD. Analog outputs are all unbalanced, with a fixed and variable line level out. Analog inputs include two pairs of unbalanced RCA and a single pair of XLR jacks. For the optional digital section, you have a choice of optical (Toslink), SPDIF (two unbalanced coax inputs), and USB. The rear panel sports all manner of inputs and outputs. The silver buttons above that display select the gain, power up / down the amp from standby, select the active input from the rear panel, activate the custom crossfeed filter, mute audio output, or select the media player input for amplification. Hidden behind a sliding transparent panel are the balanced headphone outputs – a single 4-pin XLR and a pair of 3-pin XLR jacks which sit on the right flank of a large segmented red LED display. Above that is a 1/8 inch input for connection to the analog out of a media player. Neat. To the left of the volume knob is a 1/4 inch headphone socket. The volume knob spins smoothly and freely – no potentiometer here! Instead, the input signal is attenuated in the analog domain using a DAC in current steering mode. The large, sculpted volume knob and tiny silver buttons have high quality actions and feel. Admittedly, I’d rather have most of the effort go to the circuitry powering the headphones than a fancy remote. The one weakness is the remote – it’s made of cheap plastic, feels rather flimsy, and the buttons are pretty small. Case edges are rounded over and panels are finished in differing textures / materials to provide a little tactile and visual variety. Overall, the design and workmanship of the amp itself befits the price tag. Since its dimensions largely match the rest of the Neo series, this implies a homebound presence where it can be stacked with the rest of its siblings into a tower of Simaudio power. It’s more portly than the previous size champ, the Airist Audio Heron 5, and not likely to be unassuming when placed on a desk. The 430HAD is a serious piece of audio equipment clad in masculine black steel. It was how I felt after I dropped the Simaudio Moon Neo 430HAD into my headphone system. Maybe you’re lucky and you’re reminded of this feeling every time you turn on your gear and cue up a track. They cut through that hard-boiled shell and turn you back into the awestruck budding audiophile. Yet there are those moments where everything’s clicking in a system.
The hyperbole can be numbing and over time calcify into jadedness. There are reviews out there of uber-priced components that jump from superlative to superlative.