Modwright LS100 vs The followings

About a year  ago now, I bought a factory reconditioned SWL 9.0 Line Stage. Blew me away, its sound is, to my ears, perfect. Modwright is tough to beat especially for the price.

Regards,
Dan

With the right speakers the LS100 is capable of everything you described and it sounds like the rest of your system is. Maybe you should look somewhere else than the preamp. 

Honestly the Modwright is good.  I actually brought it to my fiends place and A/B test compared to his SP10.  It was a short session because we also compared the phono preamp and power amp.  Different people focus on different thing.  It can very well be that Modwright sound is less “tubey” or have a more modern sound, but I didn’t pay too much attention to the bass or detail.  My first impression is SP10 sound more holographic, and it is not by a small margin.  It is quite obvious and audible.  I actually like the style of Coincident and Supratek, but can’t audition them.  So, the only way is to ask for opinions and impressions in a forum.  

gte357s

You’ll probably never achieve a big fat tube sound with a modern tube preamp because the golden age preamps are too limiting with modern amps, speakers and source. If you’re running stock tubes definitely upgrade there first. I noticed a big difference going to a NOS Mullard rectifier tube. This will get you much closer to the sound I think you’re searching for. I’d check with Dan Wright as he can steer you in the right direction. Does Dan use his caps in the LS100 like he does in the LS36.5 as that might be something to pick his brain on too. Dan will be upfront and not over sale you. He’s a very good guy to work with and honest.

@gte357s,
With a question like this you can receive a whole host of replies  and opinions. So I’ll chime in with mine. I believe that your current Modwright LS 100 is very good. As mentioned above changing tubes/power cable/fuse could very well further improve the sound quality. Certainly worth consideration.

In my opinion the Coincident Statement Line Stage is outstanding!
A different approach from your LS 100.
101d DHT tubes.
Transformer volume control.
Interstage transformer rather than coupling capacitors.
Ultra simple signal path.
Very robust seperate power supply.

It is exceptionally open, transparent, dynamic and has excellent reproduction of natural tone/timbre/harmonic overtones.
Instruments and vocalists are very authentic and convincing.
As you note not particularly easy to get for an audition. I believe if you heard it in your audio system you’d be extremely impressed.

I’ve owned the MK II version for nearly 12 years and it’s superb sounding. The current MK III was introduced last year.
Best of luck,

P.S.
If you’re open to trying fuses I suggest the Synergistic Research Orange. If you are not impressed just return it. Refund is no hassle.
Charles