Recording - May 2013 - 40

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

and a rear-mounted master power switch
for the unit’s dual internal toroidal transformers, one designated for the audio path,
and the other for phantom power.
In front are a pair of matching channels
separated by an embossed silver Moon logo.
Each channel consists of a large stepped 24position Swiss-made gain pot with gold-plated contacts and surface-mount film resistors
with a 1% tolerance. Each one offers 8 dB to
66 dB of input gain in 2.5 dB steps. A smaller variable knob allows you to trim your input

Moon Professional 3500MP Microphone Preamp
A new name in pro audio creates a startlingly beautiful new preamplifier
If you are not of the audiophile persuasion in terms of home-audio, high-end stereo
systems and such, then you have most likely
never heard of Moon Professional. That was
the case for me; I learned in the course of
this review that Moon Professional is a division of Simaudio, in business since the early
’80s, which in 1991 launched a new division called Moon to be the home of its highend Reference Series, including high-end
CD players, integrated amplifiers, reference
amplifiers and more.
About a year ago, Moon decided to
make the move into the professional studio
gear market, by creating audiophile-quality products for just this market segment.
The first product in this new venture
debuted at AES; it is the 3500MP 2-channel microphone preamp, billed as “a
purist design for optimal sonic performance and lowest possible noise floor”.
Audiophile—the concepts
As I see it, boutique audio gear falls into
three camps, both physically and cosmetically. On one side are a few of the larger
companies whose bread and butter is affordable mass-market devices, but who will on
occasion create a high-end flagship piece
that benefits from the company’s manufacturing expertise and resources, resulting in a
high level of both execution and consistency.
On the other side are the smaller and
more plentiful “garden shed” companies,
with pieces that are usually hand-built and
assembled in small runs. They offer great
audio quality, but occasionally with minor
cosmetic inconsistencies from unit to unit.
Luckily, most audio engineers tend to be
forgiving of looks and fit-and-finish anomalies if the piece sounds incredible. (More
points still if it looks and feels “vintage”!)
40

RECORDING May 2013

A third avenue is the audiophile route,
and audiophiles by nature tend to want
both an impeccablly flawless build and pristine sound quality. They want it noticeable,
and they will pay for it. I know I am speaking in general terms, but I have observed
the build and design process of a close
friend’s audiophile company (Indiana’s Indy
Audio Labs), and I know that when someone spends big dollars on a monoblock
amplifier or integrated device, they expect
at minimum a thick aluminum faceplate, the
best switches, buttons and dials, immaculately laid-out circuit boards, perfectly banded wires, and, on top of that, it better look
worthy of a gallery showing.
You can probably guess why I am speaking obsessively about this last point. From
the moment I pulled the 3500MP from its
box I knew I was gazing at a full-on audiophile unit, with all that implies. My visual
assumptions were confirmed the moment I
turned it on, touched a knob and listened to
the results... but more on that in a moment.
Physical build and beauty
The Moon 3500MP is a two-channel
microphone preamp, housed in a 2-space
19" rack enclosure. To call it robust does not
do it justice! Finished entirely in black, it does
indeed feature a brushed black aluminum
faceplate that is just a hair shy of 1/4".
Its sides are designed as matching
heatsinks, and even the unit’s internal chassis and bracing are of 14-gauge satin-coated steel. Nothing on this unit, including its
knobs, is plastic. All of this contributes to its
hefty 18 pound weight. The unit is equally
at home in a rack or on a desktop, thanks
to 4 large rubber tipped aluminum feet.
Its sparse backside features matching
balanced XLR ins and outs for each channel

signal down another –3.5 dB for precision,
and I found this knob smooth enough to use
for minor vocal rides in real-time in session.
Each channel also contains a trio of silver
toggle switches with corresponding red
LEDs. The first two, phantom power and
phase, are common on a preamp; the third
one is a mute switch that is handy to kill the
signal when switching mics or even when
the unit is idle. Additionally, the unit will
automatically enter mute mode for a few
seconds when phantom power is engaged
or disengaged, keeping your speakers and
headphones free from popping and spikes.
The last silver switch on the unit is a frontpanel power switch with a blue LED. The
unit is designed to be left on at all times via
its rear power switch, and the front power
switch is better thought of as a standby.
It‘s what’s inside that counts
I have already mentioned the unit’s internal
power transformers; on the audio side the
unit is an AC-coupled transformerless design
with a “purist” signal path, meaning nothing
is there that does not need to be. Each channel makes use of its own impeccably laid out
circuit board with copper tracings and gold
plating. All switches and relays are sealed
and the entire signal path was designed to
avoid RF and EMI interference, and, like a
true audiophile stereo device, the unit is also
designed to minimize external vibrations.
See the sidebar for some pretty impressive
specs; if you are not scientifically inclined, all
you need to know is that the Moon 3500MP
is clear and quiet, and one of the louder
microphone preamps on the market.
Sound and use
This unit sounds like... pretty much
nothing! What I heard was the character

Recording - May 2013

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