Modwright KWA 150


Can you share your experiences with this amp.

Is it tonally neutral or on the warm (bass heavy) side of things?

How tight and fast is the bass?

Is the top end sweet sounding?

thanks
acdvd

Showing 9 responses by jax2

I'm biamping with 150's, though probably don't need to be with my current speakers. I also used a single 150 for a year before going with two. I would not define "warm" as bass heavy, but rather having a bump in the lower mids. That said, I would say the KWA150's err closer to the side of neutral, but definitely do have a very natural and magical midrange, and perhaps there is a slight bump there, but I would not go as far as calling them "warm". They certainly are not cool or analytical either. "Natural" comes to mind when I think of them. If you prefer warmth you might want to look into the KWA 100SE, where I don't have experience to convey (see 6moons review of that amp). Back to the 150; Bass has plenty of authority, even more so biamped, but not lacking at all with one. Right now I'm using speakers with internal amps for the bass section so it's not making much difference for me personally, but before this I had Coincident speakers that really benefited from the KWA's bass prowess. The extension at both ends is smooth and seamless. They are wonderful amps. Read the reviews on 6moons and in TAS (Golden Ear winner), as well as on the AudioCircle Modwright section. Disclaimer: Dan is a client of mine, but I've used his products long before he became a client. Hope that helps.
Would you say vocals are very natural sounding or do they come through with some colouration?

I'd say vocals sound natural. Period. Like a person in the room. I would not call it colored, no. It is not warm or glowing...it's just very real/natural sounding (this also assumes an excellent vocal recording). So no, not tube-like, but it somehow seems to give a nod in that direction. It definitely does not sound like a typical classic SS amp like a Krell or Levinson (though they both have made quite a wide range of amps so I am stereotyping - pun really wasn't intended there). The KWA150 does a very good job of getting out of the way. Disclaimers apply.

Add Daedalus to your short list of speakers if you are considering a KWA150 - That pairing is absolutely wonderful. I have no interest at all in Daedalus, nor do I own a pair. I have heard the pairing extensively at Dan's place, both the Ulyses and the DA-RMa. If you have the space and budget the Ulysses is killer - if your space is smaller the DA-RMa gives you the same magic in a smaller package and with less low end grunt (which is prodigious with the Ulysses). I'd certainly also highly recommend AudioMachina, which I do own, but they're at a much higher pricepoint. Great synergy with the KWA. I do some work for Karl, so disclaimer there.

Although I just spoke to the dealer, seemed to suggest it would sound better on a very clear open speaker than a speaker with a dark character.

Hmmm...I'm not familiar enough with the speakers you are considering to comment on them specifically. I can address this comment to some degree, though. The speakers I use I would say fall into the category of a very clear open speaker, where the character of the speaker is completely uninfluenced by the material of the box they are in. They sound great with the KWA150. I would say Daedalus, which also sound fantastic, are entirely different in their approach. Perhaps they have more of a character that is somehow sympathetic to the materials used...a fleshier, richer sound in some ways, not unlike a musical instrument. AudioMachina is extremely clean and detailed and yet not at all cold or overly analytical in delivering the music that way (I say that because it would might normally be what I would have expected). Both occur to me as extremely enjoyable and engaging pairings with the KWA150, yet they do sound quite different from each other. Both are entirely engaging and let the music come through Daedalus with perhaps a bit more "influence" in a manner of speaking (but its a very fine influence indeed). So I would not necessarily limit my choices unless you happen to actually prefer one over the other, or if the music you listen to is suited better for you by one over the other, to your ears. I guess I wouldn't let a dealer, or anyone else, dictate that since the amps you are considering are more versatile than that in my experience. It seems like the dealer is just filtering a personal preference, which there is nothing wrong with doing. Good luck with your quest.
I'd concur - both Lou and Dan are great folks and are willing to reach out to help if they are able. Both use each others product so are mutually fans of the pairing. It works, big time. BTW, nice system Dodgealum! Dan's overseas right now, but check in with him after the holiday weekend. I'll point him to this thread and perhaps he can chime in himself. Lou also shows up here on occasion. I don't know him having only met once, but really enjoyed meeting with him and hearing his speakers for the first time at RMAF '06. Positive Feedback really thought the pairing was special at this years RMAF too - See Robert Levi's blurb here. If you do a search on a few of the forums you will see that pairing at RMAF called out many times over as a favorite.
thanks for the kudos! fwiw, I'll be heading to Dan's in a two weeks to upgrade his crossovers in the Ulysses. JAX, you'll have to come listen, I believe you'll find the speakers 'adding' less and being much more 'magical', there really is a huge difference with the new AP crossovers.
be fun to meet you if you were in the area then?
thanks,
lou

Hey Lou - thanks for the invite - I shot you an email too. I will definitely try to make it if it doesn't overlap vacation dates.

To clarify my input here...I did not in any way mean to suggest "adding" in a negative light. I could just think of no better way to describe the differences between those two speakers.

Marco
You'd probably benefit from XLR's if used throughout every connection in your system. If just from pre to amp I'd question the benefits based on my experience. I did try it once in my rig and could not perceive a significant difference in JUST running balanced from pre to amp. Cables were NOT the same though, so that certainly effected my own test.

I've only heard the photo sample of the LS100 which had ZERO hours on it, so really was not broken in. My comments would therefore not be a fair assessment. Dan tells me it falls somewhere in between the 9.0 and the 36.5 in performance, once broken in, and is a more tube influenced pre than the 36.5 (which I find very linear and resolving, and have less of a classically tubey pre sound/coloration to it). The LS100 also offers a modular option where either a DAC or a phono stage can be added to it, whereas the 36.5 does not. I don't know if Dan's completed those board designs - I think perhaps the phono board, but he's still working on the DAC. He's got a fairly active forum over on AudioCircle you can check out too. He's has a demo LS100 currently touring the country and there's some input there on that preamp.
I came to the Modwright from being a tube guy, so can't add much to what I've already said regarding your last question here. The only direct comparison I've done to another SS amp was to an Ayre V5XE, which is another SS amp that I really liked, but the KWA150 did certainly excel in bass authority to that particular amp. I was considering buying the Ayre and had it in my system for about a week and liked it, but decided to keep my KWA150 because I preferred it to the Ayre overall. The Ayre had a slightly softer presentation - a bit less resolving perhaps, but very musical and engaging and not typically SS. It's an A/B amp, but reminded me more of a class A amp. Nonetheless, I preferred the greater resolution of the Modwright, since it was not at the sacrifice of any of the qualities I enjoyed about the Ayre. It also did do better at bass, and marginally better at soundstaging (though that was a close call). I was using the Coincident speakers at that time (double 8" side firing bass drivers). Other than that, I've done no direct comparing to comment on such a question, but hearing it playing with Lou's speakers one would never say that it was even remotely lacking in the bass department, especially the Ulysses. Perhaps someone else has made some direct SS comparisons. You might check the Modwright forums, mentioned previously, as well. Good luck!
Good advice from Dodgealum there. Amp+Speaker is definitely a really critical link.
Srajan Ebaen has had both and I think may compare them in a few paragraphs of his reviews. here's the latest of those. I am shooting a KWA100SE for Dan this week and will get to take a listen if I have time. If I do I'll make a comment here on my own impressions.