[Scottdazzle]

Monday evening could be tough because we have an early flight Tuesday morning.  Maybe Sunday?

[woodsyi]

Monday evening could be tough because we have an early flight Tuesday morning.  Maybe Sunday?

Sure,

Sunday evening is good.

[modwright]

There have been a few changes in dates to the KWA 100 Tour.  If there are any problems, please contact my assistant Kristin at 360.247.6688 or e-mail her at kristin.modwright@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

[mjosef]

Goody, its workin' it way to NY... 

[lonewolfny42]

Goody, its workin' it way to NY... 

But not just yet....at least I don't think so.

It would be nice if the early auditioner's would post their review comments....since Dan is nice enough to send the amp on tour.

In case you forgot....it's here...

[mjosef]

8. jriggy - IN (Ship date - Aug. 24)

9. Lone Wolf - NY. (Ship date - Sept. 3)

10. mjosef - NY. (Deliver date - Sept. 15)

Less than a month away Wolfy 
Time flies...

[woodsyi]

My Review -- Chassis is gorgeous.


























That's all I can say right now since I have not had a chance to listen to it yet.  I will start listening tonight.

[groovybassist]

Just added myself to this tour.  It swung right by me in early July - too bad I missed it then, but interested to see others thoughts.

[modwright]

Thanks, please let us know how it sounds!

Sincerely,

Dan

[modwright]

NOTE TO TOUR PARTICIPANTS!:

If manual is not present with amp, or if, like me, you often simply DON'T read the manual , then please note the following:

WHEN POWERING AMP ON:

1) PLUG IN AND TURN MAIN POWER SWITCH ON.  PUTS UNIT IN STANDBY MODE.
2) REACH UNDER FRONT LEFT CORNER OF UNIT, NEAR SPIKE FOOT AND CLICK MICROSWITCH TO TRIGGER UNIT INTO OPERATION.

It may look like the unit is DOA if you plug it in and turn the power rocker switch in the rear on and nothing happens.  This was done to allow for a front power switch that did not include the logo and that would still allow for clean aesthetics.

Thanks!

Dan W.

[woodsyi]

Double post.

My review is here.

 

[modwright]

Update on tour status!

We have pulled the KWA 100 in and are injecting a KWA 100SE as replacement for the remainder of the tour.  The SE was just developed, is $3995 instead of $3295 and has the following updates:

2 x total PS capacitance!
40% more output devices!
Upgraded Wima to MWI M-type caps!
Upgraded key signal path resistors to Takman carbon films.
Increased operating bias.

This is still a KWA 100, just SUPER-CHARGED!

Shipping to JRiggy on 8.27.10, so will arrive to him next week.  Remainder of schedule to shift accordingly.

Please call if you have any questions about your new date on the tour, if this effects you.

Thanks!

Dan Wright

[lonewolfny42]

Update on tour status!

We have pulled the KWA 100 in and are injecting a KWA 100SE as replacement for the remainder of the tour.  The SE was just developed, is $3995 instead of $3295 and has the following updates:

2 x total PS capacitance!
40% more output devices!
Upgraded Wima to MWI M-type caps!
Upgraded key signal path resistors to Takman carbon films.
Increased operating bias.

This is still a KWA 100, just SUPER-CHARGED!

Shipping to JRiggy on 8.27.10, so will arrive to him next week.  Remainder of schedule to shift accordingly.

Please call if you have any questions about your new date on the tour, if this effects you.

Thanks!

Dan Wright

SUPER-CHARGED! ....Alright.... I like that Dan....

Thanks for the update.

[groovybassist]

Can't wait to hear it...

[modwright]

If you have read Srajan's review in 6 Moons, then you may already know the story.  I made allowances for these upgrades for future, because they simply couldn't be done without losing money, at the proposed ~$3K price-point.  We settled on $3295 as the price for the KWA 100, but the price needed to be higher to provide the upgrades.

I had intended to wait a while before offering the SE version, but the information was released on the web before I intended.  In retrospect, I believe it was a good choice as the SE is VERY good and improves on the KWA 100 in nearly every way.

Both will still be available, KWA 100 and KWA 100SE.  All KWA 100's may be factory upgraded (not through dealer) for $700 = the difference in cost between KWA 100 and KWA 100SE.  This way you as customers are not penalized for upgrading a KWA 100.

It is always my goal to provide attractive and high-value upgrades within the ModWright product range.

I look forward to feedback on the KWA 100SE.

Thanks!

Dan W.

[Scottdazzle]

I had the KWA-100 for an audition of only a few days in early August.  Although my comments could have been more complete with a longer audition, I feel like I listened long enough to share a few valid, subjective observations with you.

First of all, it is a gorgeous amplifier with excellent millwork and it seems to be built like a proverbial tank.  I didn’t care much for the 2-piece spiked feet and think Modwright should come up with something more substantial.  The next pleasant moment came when I turned it on.  The blue backlight shining through the openings in the cabinet make it nice to look at, especially in a dimly lit room.  I didn’t much care for the on-off switch being placed on the bottom of the chassis.

The system I used for this review consists of: Modwright/Sony 9100 universal disk player, Modwright SWL 9.0SE preamp, and VMPS RM-30M speakers.  I compared the KWA-100 to my Music Reference RM-200 tube amp.  I usually bi-amp, but for the purposes of this review I used both amps full-range, leaving everything else the same.  I did not use vinyl because of time limitations, but used the same sacd’s and cd’s with both amps.  Full disclosure, as you can tell from my other components, I am a fan of Modwright and was predisposed to like this amp.

First the good news.  The KWA-100 had no audible distortion that I could discern.  It was amazingly quiet with a dead silent background.  The bass reproduction was superb on every selection, with strong dynamic punch, superb definition, and great control over the VMPS woofers (not that speaker’s strongest point).  The amp reproduced the full dynamic range from very quiet to very loud with no sense of strain or compression.  I also give it top marks for tonality and definition.

In direct (back and forth) comparisons with the Music Reference (MR) amp I heard these differences (ymmv).  On symphony recordings, the MR reproduced a greater depth of field.  That is, the percussion instruments in the back of the orchestra sounded farther away than they did with the KWA-100. Advantage MR.

On Gary Burton’s “Country Roads” from the Like Minds sacd (Concord), the inner definition, imaging, and bass reproduction were superb, but the cymbals seemed to float on a cushion of air better with the MR. A tie.

John Hiatt’s “What Do We Do Now” (Vanguard) was a bit of a disappointment with the KWA-100.  The guitars were hard and steely (even more so than they usually are on this recording) and Hiatt’s voice seemed to lack that last scintilla of humanity.  Advantage MR.

On the Harry Smith’s “Someone Buy Me A Drink” (Chesky), the KWA-100 made it sound like the musicians were lined up in a row, left to right, across the stage.  The MR clearly reproduced the depth of the soundstage better. Advantage MR.

On Andy McKee’s “Top Hat” (Mapleshade), there is a moment when the sax player turns away from the microphone while soloing.  With the MR amp, it is easy to imagine him turning a bit to his right while soloing.  With KWA-100 it sounded more like he was just playing a few notes quieter.  On this cut, the KWA-100 did not give that Mapleshade “the musicians are right there in the room with you” feeling that the MR does.  Advantage MR.

On rock songs in general, the KWA-100 was about perfect to my ears.  By comparison, the MR slightly compresses the dynamic range, especially in the bass.  Advantage Modwright.  The exception to this general opinion is that a few songs that usually give me goose bumps like Richard Thompson’s “I Misunderstood” did not do so with the KWA-100.  I won’t venture to guess what that means in technical terms, but I think it must be tube magic.

Back to vocals.  The same quality that I noticed on the John Hiatt cut was also present on Karyn Allyson’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”.  The KWA-100 reproduced all the notes perfectly, there was no noticeable distortion, but there was a bit of hardness that I didn’t like.  Advantage MR.

On John Williams’ wonderful “The Magic Box” sacd, I could tell no difference between the amps. The same thing with Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny on “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”.  A tie.

My conclusion from comparing these amps is that the Modwright is a very good solid state amp.  But it is still a solid state amp.  You can decide what that means to you.  I love tubes and there was no mistaking the KWA-100 for a tube amp.  I can strongly recommend the KWA-100 to listeners who listen mostly to Led Zep, Rush, Pink Floyd, and other electric bands.  My preference is for the sound of acoustic instruments and human voices in club, concert hall, and live in the studio settings.  The Modwright KWA-100 came up a little short for me on the types of music I like best.

The Modwright KWA-100 is the best solid state amp I have had in my system.  The others were the Adcom GFA-5800, Rotel RB-1080, and the Odyssey Stratos (with the upgraded caps and green board).  If I had not gotten hooked on the sound of good tube amps, this KWA-100 would have been a keeper.

Dan Wright deserves kudos, not just for building this fine amp, but also for risking it to amateur critics who could say just about anything in print.  If high end has a future, it belongs to designers and entrepreneurs like Dan Wright.  I want to publicly thank Dan for including me in this tour.

[modwright]

Thank you, for your kind words about our company as well as your frank and honest assessment of the KWA 100 in your system. 

We all prefer different things and I appreciate your candor.  The purpose of this endeavor was to allow as many people to hear it as possible.  I want people to express their honest opinions.

I feel that the SE unit improves on the standard KWA 100 in many ways.  I am curious to hear the feedback from those who hear the 100SE.

I will take the constructive criticism to heart as we continue to improve our designs.

Sincerely,

Dan W.

[modwright]

Since the KWA 100SE is on its way to JRiggy, I wanted to let you all know that the schedule (in regards to the remainder of the tour) has been updated with new shipping dates and can be found within the postings on page 1.

If you have questions, feel free to call.

Thanks!

Dan W.

[jriggy]

Hi Dan,

 You had mention that the previous KWA 100 was fully broken-in... Is this new KWA 100SE fully broken-in as well?

Your caps in my crossovers have smoothed out and broken-in very nicely btw.

Jason

[modwright]

Hi Jason, the amp has some time on it, but is not FULLY broken in yet.  If you want to keep it a bit longer to make sure you get the true feel of it, that is cool!

Thanks,

Dan W.