Dreammaker & Heartbreaker | Moonriver Audio 404 review in Dutch Hifi Magazine "Music Emotion" by Ruud Jonker
"The Moonriver sounds neutral, very spacious, dynamically very well and has a beautiful focus and detail. Timeless, durable and affordable.
What is inspiring about Moonriver is that it's a beautifully built amp, with excellent performance, an amount of meaningful functionality, reliability, understandable user interface and a long expected life".
Fine-tuned acoustic minimalism! | Moonriver Audio 404 Reference review in Swedish Hifi & Musik magazine by Mats Meyer-Lie
"The 404 Reference model managed to expose fine micro-details and creative, breathtaking depth, towards a calm, quiet and velvet-black background.
This little class AB amplifier delivers all the spellbinding realism and truly tangible sense of presence that usually reserved in low power (expensive!) amplifiers with minimum of components in the signal path. Yes, the cliché ”less is more” is more appropriate when the Model 404 Reference wraps you in an airy, acoustic magic.
The new 404 Reference delivers dynamic resilience and shocking realism that only few offer in the price range".
Applause Award! Moonriver Audio 404 Reference review in Stereonet by James Michael Hughes
"I was immediately impressed by the warmth and weight of the overall sound; the strong and clear bass, plus the sweet richness of Joni Mitchell's voice. The dense layering of background vocals and synthesizers was amazing. I sensed the relaxed ease and fullness you get from good tube designs, but with the immediacy and detail found in the best solid-state models.
The combination of responsiveness, transparency, and a certain relaxed ease makes the 404 Reference musically rewarding to listen to.
I reckon Moonriver Audio's 404 Reference must be one of the best integrated amplifiers currently available. It delivers an outstandingly clear, dynamic, and full-bodied sound, with great timing, plus levels of clarity and refinement that few rival regardless of cost approach. I absolutely loved it. [...] A veritable wolf in sheep's clothing, it offers a monstrous musical performance".
Read the full review here:
https://www.stereonet.co.uk/reviews/moonriver-404-reference-integrated-amplifier-review
Download a PDF version:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1as1SRgM_ed12wvl4U5V4q2dt89R_08k2/view?usp=sharing
Moonriver Audio 404 review in Alpha Audio magazine by Geoffrey Van Houwaert
"The Moonriver Audio 404 integrated amplifier sounds fantastic. It’s the kind of amplifier you’ve always been looking for. For it possesses the perfect balance of insight and commitment. It is full of temperament and has no intention of playing second fiddle. It plays big with balls and is not at all ashamed of it. In addition, there is transparency and refinement to the point where we get a very complete reproduction. It brings every piece of music regardless of genre with conviction and gusto.
The soundstage is 3D and wide and deep. Not the ultimate soundstage that more expensive components achieve but very good indeed. Engaging, organic, impactful, colorful (not colored), transparent, dynamic, textured, delicate, timbre and vibrant. These are just a few of the adjectives we’ve penned down during our countless listening sessions over the past few weeks. Words are almost insufficient to describe this wonderful amplifier. As far as we are concerned the Moonriver really plays above his class and we do not say that often".
Read the full review here:
https://alpha-audio.net/review/review-moonriver-audio-404-geintegreerde-versterker/
Moonriver Audio 404 HiFI+ review by Chris Thomas
"The way that the 404 reveals the musical embellishments, especially in the low mix, is really impressive as is the depth and articulation of the whole soundstage. It has a way with strings that often draws people to tube amplifiers. The warmth and smooth envelope of the notes and the lack of astringency are really notable [...] But this is an amplifier with impeccable balance and poise. Criticism seems harsh as it is such a well rounded design. I have certainly heard amplifiers costing far more that are not significantly better and every design has its limitations. But, considering the very attractive price and the performance offered it just has to be a recommendation from me".
Download the full review in PDF here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FqJoFuJ1YXvG1h2vqCjKMUuzezNScMAK/view?usp=sharing
Moonriver Audio 404 Reference 6moons review by Srajan Ebaen
"The 404 Reference combines a dynamically very loaded gestalt with heavy mass. Despite low wattage figures, that combination acts like a muscle amp. High voltage
gain means quick torque on the throttle [...] In very meaningful ways, his 404 Reference is what in the natural order of things often becomes the ideal of well traveled audiophiles tired of the endless chase. They want to settle down with something solid, reliable, fully satisfying and simple [...] In that sense, today's Moonriver integrated is a perfect end-game amp with a very gutsy sound and a flush hand of winning features. "
Read the full review here:
https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/moonriver/
Editor’s Choice Award! | Moonriver Audio 404 review in The Ear magazine by Chris Kelly
“Everything I played felt like a live performance, and gave me another level of emotional connection to the music. […] I really felt that I was hearing deep into the recordings, with every instrument in its rightful place […] I genuinely believe that every other aspect of the design, the component selection and the manufacturing have been executed in an exemplary fashion. The team behind it are not just exceptional engineers but are also very obviously music lovers themselves. I am lucky to have a lot of great hi-fi come and go through my system. Much of it I have admired, much of it I have enjoyed, but most of it is packed up and returned with gratitude but without regret. I shall be genuinely sorry to see the Model 404 depart. If I was in the market for a new amplifier this would be at the top of my list. I can’t wait to get my hands on the Reference model – the mind boggles as to how good that is going to be!”
Read the full review here:
https://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/moonriver-audio-model-404-integrated-amplifier
Further Reading about Moonriver 404 and OePhi cables by Chris Kelly:
https://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/oephi-transcendence-and-immanence-interconnect-digital-loudspeaker-power-cables
A Dreammaker From Moonriver | Moonriver Audio 404 Reference review in Stereophile by Jason Victor Serinus 02/2020
"A Roon search led me to Trio Tapestry (Qobuz 24/96 FLAC), which is led by saxophonist Joe Lovano with Crispell and percussionist Carmen Castaldi (Qobuz 24/96 FLAC). I couldn’t believe how realistic Castaldi’s gongs sounded on “One Time In.” On “Seeds of Change,” sonics and musicianship were mesmerizing. The varied heights of instruments in the deep and spacious soundstage were enthralling. Everything felt so right that there was nothing to do but bliss out.
I wrote at the beginning of this review that the Moonriver 404 Reference is the least expensive integrated amplfier I’ve had in my system; that makes it difficult for me to proclaim the Moonriver 404 Reference integrated amplfier a new benchmark for sonic excellence in an integrated costing $5000 or less. But I’m tempted to anyway, because it does justice to complex and demanding recordings and it sounds tonally spot on, well balanced, clear, and musical.
For some of you, the Moonriver 404 Reference integrated may be the longed-for component, just waitin’ round the bend, that transports you to audio nirvana. With dutiful attention to setup and component matching, the Moonriver Model 404 Reference integrated amplifer can deliver Class A sound at a Class B price, and joyful listening".
Read the full review here:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/moonriver-404-reference-integrated-amplifier
The Tannhäuser Gate / Positive Feedback | Moonriver Audio 404 Review from John Marks 11/2020
"It sounds more powerful than 50 Watts. It was also very dynamic, from the smallest gradations of chamber music, to large-scale orchestral works. However, I think that the most important characteristic is the coherence of the sound. I don't want to use the word "smoothness," because that might give the impression of rounded-off highs. The highs are not rounded off. And that's certainly not what the designer intended, because the small script word "fågelsång" on the front panel means "birdsong." There is a very organic "togetherness" to the sound. Both in the time domain, and in the frequency domain. After one of the listening parties, one participant remarked that it was a true measure of how great an audio product the Moonriver 404 is, that nobody really had any comments to make about it. They just listened to it, and enjoyed the music.
To sum up: Highest Recommendation".
Read the whole review here:
https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/moonriver-audio-404/
Moonriver Audio 404: Green Award effortlessly earned 09/2020
Green Audio Review website awards the Moonriver 404 with a Green Award:
"The Moonriver 404 does that most important of jobs with flair: it makes our loudspeakers sound good. Any loudspeaker I threw at it was a great match. The see-through capabilities of this amplifier are simply amazing. The first time I plugged in the 404 it was revelatory. Clarity, insight, momentum, crisp smoothness. But when it had been in my system for a while and it was time to say goodbye it was harder than usual to let it go. Other amplifiers – even my beloved Croft separates – sounded, well, off. Better than Croft? That is high praise indeed".
Read more: http://greenaudioreview.com/moonriver-404-review/