For the last five days, I’ve had the opportunity to try out the KWA100SE tour amp in my system. My thoughts are below – enjoy!
System:
Naim CD5X/Flatcap 2X
Wyred4Sound STI-500 Integrated Amp (used as preamp)
Modwright KWA100SE
Harbeth Compact 7ES-3
Audio Art cabling
Admittedly, using the STI-500 as the preamp for the KWA100SE is a bit of an odd-couple pairing and is unlikely to be what you’d find in the real world. While Wyred’s preamp sections are well regarded, the STI-500’s preamp section just isn’t in the same league as the KWA100SE and probably throttled down the performance of the KWA100SE by an order of magnitude (or maybe two). Be that as it may, even in this setup, the KWA100SE had no problem shining through and giving a clear indication of what it can do. This isn’t a jab at the STI-500 – overall, it’s a great performer – it’s simply recognition that a $500 or so preamp section (my guess) may not be the best pairing for a $4000 amp.
Sound:
-The first thing you’ll notice is the clarity of the presentation. Not forced detail or anything like that – just a clearer window on the performance. It was dramatic and obvious when switching back and forth the between the KWA100/STI-500 pairing and STI-500 used as an integrated.
-Subtle inflections by the musician, subtle textural cues and the body of instruments all came readily through. This increased the emotional connection with the performance and helped unravel elements in complex performances (I’ve never heard Raising Sand – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – make so much sense and reveal such nuance).
-A very low noise floor uncovered subtle background sounds and small details, and rendered them beautifully – separation of background singers as distinct voices, hall ambiance, long note decays, tone of different cymbals, etc. were all terrific.
-Dynamics, bass power and thrust, and “jump factor” were all terrific as well, even at low volume. You didn’t have to turn the volume up to get emotionally connected with the music, but the connection was even stronger when a piece was played at the right volume.
-Occasionally, I found female vocals could be a little crisp/dry and the upper register of piano could be a bit tinkly. Either the amp hit its’ stride (or I did) after a couple of hours, as the presentation warmed up a bit, but I was never able to completely ameliorate this minor nit. It’s important to note, this may be an artifact of my system, setup, cabling, etc. rather than an inherent characteristic of the amp.
Other Observations:
-Build quality is great – very solid, well machined parts - clearly not your garden variety amp. I liked the two-part spiked footers, which eliminated the need to think about other types of isolation/de-coupling.
-I’m not a huge fan of the flashing LEDs (I turned off the ones I could), but understand the benefit of having an indicator showing the amp is warming up. A more subdued LED would be more to my liking.
-I found the amp sensitive to static electricity discharge, which hasn’t been a problem with the other amps I’ve had at this house (Naim and Wyred4Sound). Even when I discharged by touching a metal upright on my rack, if I touched the amp, I got an audible pop through the speakers. It may be an issue with my system, house wiring, etc., but it hasn’t happened before, so I wanted to note it.
Conclusion:
All-in-all a fantastic amp! Kudos to Dan and his team for creating a product that can show its’ potential, even in less-than-ideal circumstances. I’m certain I only scratched the surface of what this amp can do and can only imagine what it would sound like strapped to an LS100 preamp. If I was interested in giving up my (early) retirement and/or my marriage, I would snatch up that pairing in a heartbeat. Thanks Dan for giving me the opportunity to hear this in my home – it’s a much different experience than any show or dealer showroom.
On to the next lucky recipient in the next day or so…
-Mike
