Modwright LS 36.5 or BAT VK-51SE

I'll second Horseface's post--no experience with BAT but Dan has been a joy to deal with, his gear is well made, looks great and sounds fantastic.

I love my ModWright preamp! I have owned several different BAT preamps, (though not at the same time as the Modwright) and find the sound of the ModWright more to my taste.

I also agree that Dan is the MAN!!! He's a pleasure to talk to and work with.

I auditioned both preamps thoroughly in my system (Thiel 3.7, Primare A32 and Marantz 7s1, Supra cables. I also auditioned ARC Reference 3, CJ ACT 1, Aesthetix calypso and Pass XP10. Surprisingly to me, I thought the Modwright 36.5 exceeded them all. The integration of the sound and the articulate low frequencies (unlike the VK51SE which had a strong bass but not the clarity) made the decision easy. I thought based on reviews that the Ref 3 was going to be my choice, but it sounded good but not great in my system; in fact, I would have been hard pressed to hear a lot of difference between the Calypso and the Ref 3. Proves once again there is NO substitution for auditioning in your system in your room. Given that there are 36.5s on the used market for under $3000 I think it is a tremendous value. Build quality is superb and I particularly like having a volume knob again.

I had the single box 36.5 side by side with a Dodd battery and a response Audio Bella Max pre and the order of finish was the Bella, the Dodd, and then the MW in terms of overall clarity and air.

Yes a nice unit and Dan is very cool. I recently had an entry level BAT unit and really liked it and had great response to my questions by Viktor. I was on the verge of going with a 51SE or even the 52SE and then decide to slow down and shop around some. When I tried the Rogue Anthem with the same 6H30 tubes as used by the others mentioned it was fantastic, but I have ordered a TRL Dude based solely on reviews here.

So I would not count out BAT products and believe service is excellent from both organizations. Both solidly built as well. You really can't go wrong with either but it might help to know what tubes tickle your fancy and lean that way.

service is excellent from both organizations. Both solidly built as well. You really can't go wrong with either but it might help to know what tubes tickle your fancy and lean that way.

What he said.