After looking at a 1992 calendar, I'd have to say that Ken, Roy, Patricia, and I embarked on our coastal California road trip on Friday, July 31, 1992. At Hokubei Mainichi, I made arrangements for someone else to cover my route, while I was gone.

Okay, in my last post, I talked about the innards of the late-80s 3-door Honda Civic hatchback. Continuing with that theme, I'd have to say that the pockets on the two doors were thin and not very long. IIRC, driver Ken could only place a pouch of beef jerky in his door. Roy, who was the front passenger, placed the paper maps (no Google Maps or Mapquest back then!!!) in his door. I think a first aid kit was under the driver's chair. Roy stashed our slippers/flip flops under the passenger seat.

As you are facing the Simaudio 750D, its main circuit board occupies the right rear. A fully balanced (dual differential) unit, the 750D sports mirror-imaged circuitry for the left and right channels.

[You know who you are], just stop. Quit it with the quips that the place to expand capacity was Patricia's* womb. Roy remarked that the only place to expand the Civic's capacity would have been to attach a ski rack to the roof. His dad's Civic did not have a moonroof.

In the 750D, the digital inputs have their own circuit board, piggybacked to the other boards.

Speaking of digital, I recall that, instead of bringing a large and bulky CD container, Roy had one of those Case Logic visors. You took individual CDs out of their jewel cases, and inserted them into the visor's protective sleeves/slots. The loaded Case Logic visor then attached to the car's sun visor. Roy specifically brought along albums (not just his own; he took along some of mine, Ken's, and Patricia's) which were new for 1992.

Well, there aren't any visors within the 750D. But pay attention, and let me advise you. Look between the IEC AC inlet and the top (and shorter/smaller) blue toroidal transformer. There, you will find the 750D's lone fuse. For North American units, the fuse is a 20mm slow-blow 0.200A jobbie. By employing after-market fuses, you will be able to pull the 750D's sonics to and fro, just as the wind and sometimes bumpy ride pulled me and Patricia to and fro. Again, while we drove past Serramonte and Skyline Boulevard, Patricia started getting cramps. She held up her hand, clenched her fist, said to picture that as her uterus. She then explained that the cramps felt like that clenched fist being pried open with a knitting needle. Opening the 750D's lid, and replacing the fuse are nowhere near as painful as menstrual cramps.

On that first day of the trip, some of Patricia's, um, innards would leak out. In order to keep the discomfort in check, Patricia (who did not bring any pain medication) avoided cold drinks, and opted for warm cans/bottles of soda and tea. Owners of the 750D will want to try several different after-market fuses. I'll have more on those later.

* I do not know what/when Patricia's birthday was. Therefore, during that summer of 1992, Patricia was either 19 years-old, or just shy of it.

Over on Audio Asylum's Music Lane, I once wrote about Electronic's "Disappointed." That song and the cover of the June 1992 The Absolute Sound inspired my friends (we were then 19- or 20-years-old) to embark on a road trip (and these were the days before cell phones and the internet) down the Big Sur coast. Time permitting, we thought about going all the way down to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego, to visit our friends who were living there.

None of us had a car, so my friend Roy borrowed a late-80s "3-door" Honda Civic [really a 2-door with a hatchback] from his biological dad. Nowadays, we tend to think of the Mini Coopers and Fiat 500s as small. But they aren't that much smaller than the ol' 3-door Civic. Because (a) the Civic was small, and (b) we were not going anywhere cold, Roy, Ken, Patricia, and I packed lightly, and tried to take advantage of every available space within that dinky Civic.

That particular Civic did not have a built-in CD player. Thus, Roy brought a Discman. He used the cigarette lighter for power. He then ran a cassette adapter from the Discman's lineout to the car's tape deck. That Civic had a flat enough surface on the dash, so that Roy could apply my AudioQuest Sorbothane self-stick sheet, and stick the Discman on top of that.

And that brings us to the Simaudio 750D CD player. At $14,000, it might cost more than that late-80s 3-door Civic!

Roy emptied the Civic, cleared out his dad's stuff, vacuumed, and made room for our belongings. He did leave paperwork, manual, flashlight, and a Swiss Army knife in the glove compartment. He opened up the hatchback, and placed a case (24-count) of soft drinks on the cargo area. We then placed raggedy towels (which we'd simply discard, after using them at beaches), on the bottom, adjacent to the drinks. We laid our bags (of the duffel, gym, and book varieties) on top of the drinks and towels. We really only packed underwear, t-shirts, and shorts. Initially, there was ample clearance, so that the driver could see out of the hatchback. However, the rear passengers' heads (mine and Patricia's) did partially obstruct the driver's view.

Open up the hood of the Simaudio 750D, and you get...nothing but empty space! Is this what we get for our $14,000?!

Ken did most of the driving, alternating with Roy. I sat behind the driver; Patricia sat behind the front passenger. Spare shoes on the rear passenger floors, she and I placed jackets along the car's side walls. Said jackets acted as cushions of sorts. There was no space in the middle of the backseat; that generation seated two, not three, rear passengers. The rear seats were split 50/50, unlike today's 60/40. So for the duration of the trip, Patricia and I sat arm-to-arm, shoulder-against-shoulder. Yes, Patricia dozed off/slept on my shoulder. No, she did not snore, drool, or catch flies. Anyway, she wedged her soft knit bag on that hump behind the center console, which held the parking brake.

Patricia probably could have wedged the 750D's M-Quattro CD disc drive there, as well. Hmmm, it's exactly the same as that found in the $2,000 Neo 260D. Is this what we get for our $14,000?! Anyway, note that, like the jackets lining the Civic's passenger side walls, the display and control circuit boards are posted vertically behind the 750D's faceplate. Incidentally, if you leave the 750D's top cover off [you guys can stop asking; when she went to sleep that night, Patricia left her top cover bra off], you can hear the CD spinning. No, it does not snore, drool, or catch flies. If you leave the 750D's top cover on, you'll have to press your ear(s) against the drawer, in order to hear the faintest of noise. IOW, the 750D runs quietly. You can use it, for example, at night, when all is calm and the room is silent.

Try as I may, I am not able to get a clear, sharp, or definitive shot of the two small blue-colored LEDs positioned inside of the drawer's two outer edges. Thus, if you are operating the 750D in the dark, the blue glow allows you to see where the drawer is, minimizing the risk of knocking it, or damaging your CD. Since the 750D is quiet and cool, you can leave it by your bedside. Damn it, [you know who you are], stop asking about fumbling in the dark with Patricia, knocking her, leaving protection by the bedside, and her being noisy and hot.

When I lived in UCSC's Crown College dorms, the (coed) bathrooms had three tiny single-person showers. On occasion, showering students wouldn't bother to close the curtain(s) behind them. So if you walked by, you would see someone's naked backside.

Forget the college kids' backsides. It's more important to explore the Simaudio 750D's backside.

Starting on your left-hand side, you will find the analog XLR and RCA outputs. Note that there is sufficient space for thick audiophile interconnects. Hooray! On the XLR jacks, pin-2 is positive. Hooray! Smartly, the output voltage for both XLR and RCA is 2V. If you are using a balanced preamp, the 750D's lower output voltage (standard is 4V, but most CD players/DACs are much higher) is a godsend. Hooray!

We used identical (other than terminations) balanced and single-ended interconnects. The 750D's XLR outputs sound smoother, or less ragged. Meanwhile, the RCA outputs sound livelier. Whether you use the XLR or RCA outputs, both sound fine.

Towards the middle of the 750D's rear panel are the digital inputs and outputs. The four digital inputs, which you have to scroll through, are AES/EBU (XLR); S/PDIF (RCA); Tos-link; and USB. Per the manual:

"If you intend to use the Neo [not a typo; it really does say, "Neo," not "Evolution"] 750D's USB input connection with a Windows-based computer, you will need to install our USB HD driver, which can be downloaded from the support section of our website.. [yes, they used two periods]

Note: Apple-based computers don't require this driver."

Current-production 750D's USB inputs now go up to 24-bit/192kHz.

The 750D also sports two digital outputs, AES/EBU on XLR, and S/PDIF on RCA.

Oh ho ho. Please turn your eyes not to people's moons, but to the 750D's "external supply input" label. These two jacks are for use with Simaudio's 820S outboard power supply, which, I believe, is $8000. The 4-pin "Input 1" is for "analog DC power," while the 5-pin "Input 2" is for "digital DC power."

The 750D sports a regular (hooray!) 15-amp IEC. Yes, that means you are free to experiment with after-powercords. Again, since the 750D runs cool, makes no noise, and uses only 25W when idle, it should be powered up all the time.

During my four years at UCSC's Crown College, I saw a lot of full moons. Mostly, the guys meandered or ran commando through the dorms. Occasionally, a girl would do likewise, especially when going to and from the showers. On weekends, because the staff and proctors weren't around, girls would sunbathe, mostly buns up, in the quad(s). At the Crown-Merrill apartments, girls would sunbathe on their balconies. My nonchalant nudist housemate Dave shrugged, "You see one naked butt, you've seen them all."

Our apartment's porch looked down on the unit of his four female friends, all of whom liked to sunbathe nude on their own balcony. Because (a) they were friends with and comfortable with us, and (b) no one else could see those girls' balcony, they often lay on their backs, meaning tits-up.

Simaudio's 750D is part of their "Evolution" series. But does the word "Evolution" appear anywhere on the unit? Nope. But the word "Moon" appears on top. Note that you will need to remove the eight hex-head screws, in order to remove the 750D's top cover. For most guys, that's easier than unhooking a bra. That top cover is what makes up a large percentage of the 750D's weight.

During my freshman year, I recall one neighbor being depressed, because she just had her 20th birthday. To cheer her up, her roommate bought some sexy lingerie. The panties had a flap over the crotch, for easier access to the vagina. The newly-20 birthday girl laughed, "Are you trying to tell me I need to ventilate my privates?"

Unlike the Evolution 600i integrated amp, the 750D does NOT have ventilation slots. That means that (a) no dust can get into the unit, and (b) the 750D does not generate heat. Hooray! Furthermore, when idle, the 750D uses only 25W of power. Since it also makes no noise, you may leave the 750D on all the time.

Hmmm, do you see the small gold logo in the middle of the front panel? This is the first time I've had an Evolution model with one. When I reviewed the I-7, 600i, P-8, W-7, Supernova, and Andromeda, they sported either chrome or pewter logos. All other 750Ds and 650Ds I've seen had chrome logos [when I temporarily had the Simaudio Equinox CD player in 2004, it came with a gold-colored logo].

One of Dave's friends made it a point to sunbathe, while lying on her side. We all thought that was kind of unusual. But she explained, "I don't care about my boobs," lifted up her arms, and showed the sides of her body. "I need to tan my ribs. They make me look malnourished."

As with other Evolution products, the 750D sports ribbed sides. As I have reported many times, I find these tricky to clean. Vacuum cleaners will NOT get out the dust hidden and buried in those slots.

If you flip the 750D onto her back, you'll find that her belly/underside is pockmarked with screws. Should you opt not to use the four screw-in spikes/cones in the corners, you could use your own after-market footers. The belly has ample flat surfaces for such devices.

When I was in the dorms, my neighbor Aaron said he looked like Daniel Ash of one of his favorite alt-rock bands, Love And Rockets. So much so, Aaron decided to get a black leather vest/jacket, complete with the little metal studs. One time, while Aaron was merely walking across the quad, those metal studs scratched/scraped him. He didn't think they looked sharp, but the studs sure were capable of scratching him!

Like the other Evolution series products, the 750D sports four sharp screw-in spikes/cones. In some ways, they remind me of Aaron getting scratched by his own leather jacket. But the Simaudio's spikes/cones are most obviously pointy, sharp, and dangerous. In the mid-00s, Simaudio offered these in gold or pewter (and possibly black). Not sure if they have any of these finishes left, but the standard is now chrome.

By loosening the spike/cone, you can say that it is "adjustable."

But for stability, most people screw the spike/cone in all the way. Get your mind out of the gutter.

To prevent the spikes/cones from damaging shelves, Simaudio have provided small cone cups. The underside has a spongy rubber-like material, to adhere to surfaces. As these are small, many audiophiles skip them, and employ after-market (usually larger, and sometimes made of different materials) cone cups.

In 1990, when I got into high-end audio, Simaudio were known as "Celeste." Although they wanted Celeste to equal "celestial," everyone associated it with cheap frozen pizza.

Interestingly, on Simaudio's modern products, they don't put their name in big, bold letters. Rather, they are more apt to say, "MOON." According to Simaudio, that is actually a clumsy acronym for "Music, Omega, O-class stars, Note." Uh, WTF?! Accordingly, one of my Audio Asylum Inmate friends laughed his moon ass off, and bawled, "They'd be better off as MORON without the R!"

My friends and I threw out words which started with the letters M, O, and N, and came up with: "Mash Our Orange Nuts," "Massive Overdose Of Narcotics," "Men Out Of NOS" tubes, "Monastery Of Orderly Nuns," "More Opportunities Of Nepotism," "Mountain Of Oppressive News," "Mud On Our Nub," "Multiple Orders Of Nightsticks," "Munch On Our Nachos," and "My Ovaries Ouch Now."

One AA Inmate thought, "If they are going with constellations, why not go Menda Octans Orion Norma?"

My teacher friend who lives in Oakland shouts, "Move Over, Oakland Neighbors!"

ACS piles on: "Merry Ol' Orgy Night," "Major Organization Of Nymphomaniacs," and "Multiple Orgasms Of Neapolitan." If you must know, "Neapolitan" means anal sex (chocolate), oral sex (vanilla from cum), and vaginal sex (strawberry).

Okay, back to 1990. When I was in the dorms, one of my neighbors was a wannabe hippie, who always had music playing. Instead of slapping her own thighs, she had this habit of palming her moon butt. Even if the music had no rhythm, she continued to pat her own butt. Moreover, she constantly encouraged her roommate to bounce along to the music, and pat her (the roommate's own) butt.

You're going to have exert more force than just patting the Simaudio 750D's box. It measures 23.75"W x 10"h x 22.25"d. According to the manual, the shipping weight is 35 lbs. However, according to the Fedex scale, the damn thing weighs 44 lbs., which is like a small power amp. Either way, patting it won't move it. Get a dolly or enlist the help of an able-bodied person.

This particular unit, I believe, was originally purchased in 2012. It has been through several hands, moon slappers or not. Thus, it has been used with a wide variety of gear, in multiple cities.

When we entered college, my freshman roommate Josh only had the clothes he was wearing, a backpack, a fanny pack, and sleeping bag. He could have fit all of his belongings into the Simaudio 750D's box.

Josh didn't come with much. The 750D comes with QC checklist, powercord, Simlink cable (mini headphone jack to mini headphone jack), screw-in cones/spikes, cone cup discs, and an infrared remote control.

Okay, when you were in college, you wish your roommates came with a warranty.

Nooooooo! Since this 750D was from 2-3 years ago, its retail price was $13,000, and it came with the CRM-2 preamp remote control. Current-production 750Ds now list for $14,000, but do come with a proper CD remote, the CRM-3 remote (not pictured, since we do not have one).

The CRM-2 also came with the Simaudio 600i, I-7, Supernova, Andromeda, and P-8, which I have previously reviewed in these pages. If you recall, it uses/subscribes to the Philips RC-5 protocol. Thus, any RC-5 remote will control the 750D. You will need a small allen key wrench, to remove three screws, and install three AAA batteries.

When it comes to powercords on the Simaudio Neo 260D, I've saved the best for last. Of my stable of powercords, the one which allows the Neo 260D to perform at its absolute best is the (properly burned-in on an audiodharma Cable Cooker) Pranawire Vajra with Oyaide M1/F1 plugs.

This Vajra itself is exceedingly neutral (characterless). But at the same time, its ability to keep noise at bay reveals the Neo 260D's true performance capabilities.

Quite clearly, the transport section is the weak link. While it does have full extension, something in the upper mids through mid-treble is down in level. It's as though your nose is slightly or partially stuffy. Thus, there is a diminution of air and breath around and between instruments.

When fed external digital sources, the internal DAC section shows no sign of this upper midrange to mid-treble diminution.

With the Vajra providing a quiet and neutral platform for the Neo 260D, you can easily hear the difference in not just the various fuses, but in the direction of those fuses. With the Vajra not introducing distortions and colorations, the Neo 260D will have a more even tonal balance when the F1 fuse points toward the front panel, while the F2 fuse points toward the nearby side wall.

With the Vajra maximizing the Neo 260D's abilities, we can now compare it to the "Big 3" CD players, the dCS Puccini, Simaudio Andromeda, and Wadia 781i.

Versus the dCS Puccini, the Neo 260D does not decode soundstage depth as well. Nor does the Neo 260D reproduce those refined and classy instrumental textures. However, the Neo 260D has better hold and grip of the music. Especially with the Synergistic Research Quantum Red fuses, the Neo 260D rocks, something the Puccini isn't really that good at. Note: if you want the Neo 260D to mimic the Puccini, become a Puccini alternative, use the Pranawire Maha Samadhi, instead of the Vajra.

No, the Neo 260D is not the equal of Simaudio's own Andromeda. The Neo 260D cannot touch the Andromeda's unparalled sense of liveliness, ease of resolution, and exquisite imaging.

The Neo 260D does not come close to the Wadia 781i's professional solidity, and unflinching resolution. The 781i has a mature poise, which is like a calm adult male lion, overlooking the plains. Unperturbed, this adult male lion is impervious to rain, heat, quakes, wind, birds, hyenas, ants, flies, other lions, humans, and other stimuli. The Neo 260D comes across as a dependable and well-credentialled adolescent lion. The adolescent lion may not have the grandiose stature and reverence as the adult lion, but s/he has the instincts, energy, curiosity, and fearlessness needed to explore and get across those plains.

If you primarily use the Simaudio Neo 260D for its DAC section, or if the rest of your system has too much treble, you could be in for a special treat. Though they retail for $175 a pop, the Audio Magic Premier Beeswax Super fuses transform the Neo 260D, make it sound quite different from what the other fuses do.

The bass and mids will be larger and rounder than the treble. But when you listen carefully, you'll find nothing wrong, qualitatively, with that treble. It's just that it will be smaller, and lesser in quantity than the bass and mids.

But by keeping distortions at bay, the Premier Beeswax Super fuse will allow the instruments' true textures to appear. This isn't the same as that ubiquitous Stereotypical Audiophile coloration and dishonesty of bloating or warming the mids. This is what, for example, the Cardas Clear interconnects tried, but failed, to accomplish. The Premier Beeswax Super will allow the Neo 260D to make instruments and people sound closer to reality, more believable. Close your eyes, and you may reach out to touch the music.

If you are going to use the Simaudio Neo 260D as a one-box CD player, you have to address its (well, the transport's) shortcoming in the upper mids/lower treble. Obviously, the Stereotypical Audiophiles' attempts are going to include expensive powercords and interconnects. Those are fine and dandy, but one of the most cost-effective solutions is to use Hi-Fi Tuning's $60 Supreme fuse. Since the Neo 260D uses two, that'll run you..........$120. Nevertheless, that's less than what a family of spends on a Costco run.

In the Neo 260D, the HFT Supreme preserves image size and focus. Other fuses erroneously expand, stretch, warp, enlarge, and bloat the images.

By not inflating image size, and by not being noisy, the HFT Supreme more cleanly and clearly defines the space or distance between those images.

The upper air can make it appear as the top 1/4 of the soundstage is disconnected from the rest of the spectrum. But that is far preferable to the other fuses sucking out the top 1/4 of the soundstage. And with more precise image outlines, the Supreme better preserves the snap of snare drums. This leads to better PRAT.

Of all the fuses we've tried in the Neo 260D, the HFT Supreme allows the Neo 260D to become its most chameleon-like. That is, the Neo 260D does not impose as much, and can now more accurately resolve what is actually on each CD. So on an overall basis, this will get the most out of your library (as a whole), if not specific individual discs. For everyday use, I find myself leaving the HFT Supremes in the Neo 260D.

When it comes to audio, I've gone through so many electronics, I am jaded. I really only get nostalgic about the system I had during my senior year of college. It comprised the Sony CDP-520ES II; Adcom GTP-400 and GFA-535; and Pinnacle PN-5+. If there were any other audiophiles at UCSC's Crown-Merrill apartments, I was not aware of them. My housemates, who were not audiophiles, also used and loved this system. With their untrained ears, they still heard the effects the Simms Navcom Silencers made under the components. They would have been open-minded enough, to accept that fuses could change or alter the sound of the electronics.

That Adcom GFA-535 was about what you'd expect for a cheap solid state amp: hard, with hardly any soundstage. With that type of sound, the GFA-535 probably would have liked the Synergistic Research Quantum Red. This fuse would have stretched the imaging, reduced some of the grain, and imbued the amp with whatever PRAT it could muster.

But the GFA-535 came out in the late-80s, while the Quantum Red is a current-production product. So imagining my old GFA-535 with Quantum Red fuses is just that - an imagination. Still, it's fun to dream about how the Quantum Red could have elevated the performance of that senior-year system.

But we do not have to dream about sticking the Quantum Red into the Simaudio Neo 260D. We can actually do it.

No surprises here. The Quantum Red makes image outlines wide and tall, without much depth. It also sucks the air and space out from above and between those images. Thus, physicality isn't as good, as with other fuses. With the right powercords on the Neo 260D, the Quantum Red turns the Neo 260D into a PRAT machine. Your feet and knees will be moving! If you use the Neo 260D primarily as a CD player, the Quantum Red won't magically do anything about the transport's rolled-off upper mids and lower treble. But if you use the Neo 260D primarily for its internal DAC section, employing the Quantum Red potentially can make the Neo 260D (especially with Cooked powercords and interconnects, which do not impede the music's speed and movement) fleet of foot, and quick with the slashing of the sword through vegetation.

And speaking of clearing out the weeds (stop thinking of shaving pubic and armpit hair!), instrumental textures are kept clean and glossy. If you like slick and airbrushed photography, the Neo 260D would like not red lipstick, but the Synergistic Research Quantum Red.

Immediately upon graduation from college, ACS worked in biotech. She had this matter-of-fact way of describing human semen. She said it could come (no pun intended) in all manner of colors, from clear to white to yellow. She said it could be liquid, cloudy, clumpy, or viscous. Sorry, I don't recall what she said about the smell.

Oh no. After seeing multiple samples of the Audio Magic Premier Beeswax Super Fuse, ACS said that the filling reminded her of the various types of human semen. In this fuse, there is proportionately less of the yellow wax, and more of the powdery beige-colored stuff.

My audio colleagues and I have tried the 20mm "small" Audio Magic Premier Beeswax Super Fuses in a wide variety of gear. In general, we agree that this fuse is indeed directional. That is, it will sound different, depending on which direction it is installed. Once you do determine the fuse's correction orientation, be patient. Give it 4 weeks or longer, in order to burn-in. Once it does, pay attention to the tonal balance. If your gear is already short of, or rolled-off in, the treble, the Premier Beeswax Super will most likely exacerbate that situation. But by lowering electronic grain, this fuse allows for some of the most realistic textures and timbres the gear is capable of. It's just that this fuse works its magic (sorry) foremost on the mids, and then the bass. That is why, subjectively, it makes the treble appear down in level, relative to the mids and bass.

But are there losses in imaging and PRAT? No.

Oh no. After seeing two of the Audio Magic Premier Beeswax Super Fuses positioned side-by-side, ACS remarked that they reminded her of vas deferens filled with sperm.

Does your system sound a little jiggly, lean, sterile, or whitish? Yearn for the sound of an upper-end Koetsu cartridge, but don't like vinyl playback's nasties? If so, you really need to check out the Premier Beeswax Super.