Audiophilepure

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/moon-681

In our experience, Moon’s products tend to have a distinctive sonic character that majors on refinement, spaciousness and clarity. The 681 treads much the same path while delivering a level of insight that competes strongly with the class leaders. This streamer has an impressively clean presentation that digs deep into the fabric of the recording and paints on a pleasingly large-scale canvas. As we listen to a 24-bit/192kHz file of Mahler’s Symphony No.4 we can’t help but be impressed by the authority on show and the streamer’s ability to transition so fluidly from loud to quiet and back again. There is a strong sense of authority here, helped no doubt by the punchy and muscular way the 681 renders low frequencies.

There is no questioning the 681’s level of control and organisation either. It can follow low-level instrumental strands with ease while never losing grip of the musical whole and also keeps a steady hand when the music becomes demanding. Tonally things are full-bodied and balanced with no part of the frequency range getting undue emphasis. It is a smooth presentation with no sign of hardness or unwanted edge unless it is in the original recording to start with. Even then, the 681 is loathe to make a meal of things; an ideal trait if your music collection is built around what you like rather than recording quality.

Did my time with the Antipodes Oladra provide me with the clarity I needed to make a decision about music servers? To tell the truth, I think that day is still off in the future, and I wonder if my own digital rig will be sophisticated enough to explore the potential of this astounding and organized device. So yes, I’m going to suggest that a device that can accomplish this much and sound this good might be reserved for those of you who already have a magnificent DAC and streamer in place. You know what great digital is supposed to sound like–a lot like analog–and the Antipodes Oladra is it.