[modwright]

This may be because it was a bit slow to get out of the gate.  A number have been shipped to Asia, France, Belgium, Vietnam, Singapore, NL, etc.

It has been reviewed in France's 'Haute Fidelite' where it received 6/6 stars!
It has also been reviewed in both HiFi Review and Audio Technique, in HK.
A review is in the works for Australia's print audipohile magazine.
Vietnam has reviews in at least one magazine.
We have a review lined up with Home Theater Review.
See show coverage in the current issue of Absolute Sound!

I expect this product to be one of our BEST SELLERS this year!

The unit will be shipping with 24/192 USB/SPDIF fully asynch. DAC in 1-2 weeks!

Thanks!

Dan

[xavaudio]

Dan,

I am a French owner of the KWI200. I have also an stock oppo 95 as source.

I have 5 questions:
 - How sound KWI+DAC upgrade vs 95 stock  vs oppo 95 mod (solide state or tube) ?
 - To install dac upgrade, a local French Technical Service could do that it's necessary in your factory...
 - How many inputs there are on the DAC others than the USB ? only one  or two  ?
 - Oppo 95 is an SACD player...the DAC upgrade could decode direct DSD signal  or it is necessary to do PCM convert in the oppo 95  ?
 
- And finally is the DAC upgrade available today ? 
 
  Thanks


Xavier



 

[Afterimage]

Dan,

I am a French owner of the KWI200. I have also an stock oppo 95 as source.

I have 5 questions:
 - How sound KWI+DAC upgrade vs 95 stock  vs oppo 95 mod (solide state or tube) ?
 - To install dac upgrade, a local French Technical Service could do that it's necessary in your factory...
 - How many inputs there are on the DAC others than the USB ? only one  or two  ?
 - Oppo 95 is an SACD player...the DAC upgrade could decode direct DSD signal  or it is necessary to do PCM convert in the oppo 95  ?
 
- And finally is the DAC upgrade available today ? 
 
  Thanks


Xavier

Hi Xavier.  How do you like this integrated?  Did it sound pretty good out of the box and did it get better with burn in?  Are you familiar with a French speaker line called Atohm?  I see the KWI 200 was driving those at a show in Europe. 

[modwright]

The DAC upgrade features RCA and USB only.  It is possible that it could be installed by a local French Technician.  I would have all individual components built and wiring prepped for install.  It is a bit more involved than it sounds.  I will post photos soon.

Thanks!

Dan

[xavaudio]

How do you like this integrated?  Did it sound pretty good out of the box and did it get better with burn in?

The kwi replace a passive preamp+150W tube mono amp (Cayin 800 MK).
out of the box, i could say that i have 80% of music of my previous config:
+ More detail than tube
+ Very good medium (near tube) and very subtil and defined treble
- not so immersive sound
- not so dynamic that i could awaiting for 200W amp (i have heard 30 w class A with more dynamic for exemple)

Now, after burning... and mainly optimization i have 120% of my previous config !

I have had decoupling feet under the kwi:
  + increase of the spectrum response : more bass, more tremble
  + more details in medium and more dynamics response
...If you compare KWI with other modwrigth amp: they have already spike !

I have upgrade power cord. I have very good result with Wireworld Electra 5.2. I have test Supra, and the sound was less natural...and speed !
   + I have the feeling that the sound is louder  and more immersive !
   + the bass are deeper and more dynamic
   + a sound more and more detailed and extended with no hash and excessive brilliance.

Finally I have the overall presentation of the tube sound with all the details and extension of a good transistor amp. But i think Moseft amp performance are very sensitive to the quality of the power line whereas tube amp with transformer/high voltage were less impacted...
But with some attention to finalize the installation, the performance could be better than a good tube amp.

Are you familiar with a French speaker line called Atohm?  I see the KWI 200 was driving those at a show in Europe.

I have also heard many time Atohm speaker. Very impressive sound : good bass extension and very dynamic and full medium... but i think the tremble is not extended and subtle as my current speaker (BW 805 Diamond).

I would have all individual components built and wiring prepped for install.

Dan, when do you think the upgrade kit will be ready !

 






 


 

[modwright]

Hi and thank you for your positive feedback, RE the KWI 200!

We are now shipping units with DAC and Phono options installed.  They are not a user-installable upgrade, but I can speak with our distributor about the feasibility of having the upgrade installed by a factory authorized technician.

i am glad that you mention the VALUE and IMPORTANCE of burn-in.  The units DO take some time to burn in and the performance improves DRAMATICLY over this time!

Sincerely,

Dan W.

[ted_b]

Dan,
BTW, teajay (Terry) LOVES the integrated, and says it is an amazing marriage with the smaller Aerial Acoustic 5B's he's mated it with in his upstairs setup.   I can only imagine what it would sound like with Michael's new 6T's he's going to introduce soon!  I'm heading to tejay's next week to listen to his setup.

[johzel]

A couple of pictures of the Phono Stage I had added to my integrated. The phono stage comes into the unit in the lower left portion of the 2nd picture.  Sounds terrific as does this integrated.  It's an amazing piece of equipment - couldn't be happier. Thanks Dan!! 

[Afterimage]

Hi and thank you for your positive feedback, RE the KWI 200!

We are now shipping units with DAC and Phono options installed.  They are not a user-installable upgrade, but I can speak with our distributor about the feasibility of having the upgrade installed by a factory authorized technician.

i am glad that you mention the VALUE and IMPORTANCE of burn-in.  The units DO take some time to burn in and the performance improves DRAMATICLY over this time!

Sincerely,

Dan W.

Yes on the burn in with these units.  After the 400 hr. mark they really start to open up.  Before anyone says it is just my ears adjusting to the sound, about every other day I put in two other integrated amps for back and forth comparisons.  The other two units were fully burned in and their sound remained unchanged.  At first, the ModWight lagged in few areas, but never sounded bad by any stretch.  Over time and especially after the 400 hour point, the spacing on and the extension on the KWI 200 kept getting better and better. 

[modwright]

Thanks guys!  Thisnisna product thatnwenhave all worked so hard on and that I am so excited about!

It archives all of my goals:

POWER
FLEXIBILITY/INTEGRATION
AESTHETCS
MUSICALITY
EASE OF USE
CLEAN LOOK AND CONTROLS
INCLUSION OF BOTH INTEGRAL ANALOG AND DIGITAL SOURCES.

I believe that we have hit the mark and you will see and hear more and more about it this year!

Check is out at the NewPort Beach show and check out our post about showmdemos!

Thanks,

Dan

[jobyts]

Is it possible to use an iphone/android universal remote application for the metal remote control?
If not now, is that going to be a possibility in the future?

[modwright]

Hi, good suggestion.  It would require a specific app to be written, and I am not a programmer.  There may be apps already out there that can emulate 'Universal' remotes.  The remote input is still IR, so I am not sure how that would work from the phone.

I know that Logitech has made this possible, but I a not sure if they are using bluetooth tech or what, to accept the signal from the phone.  To the best of my knowledge, the smart phones, pads, etc., don't output an IR signal, but I could be wrong.

Thanks!

Dan

[ted_b]

Hi, good suggestion.  It would require a specific app to be written, and I am not a programmer.  There may be apps already out there that can emulate 'Universal' remotes.  The remote input is still IR, so I am not sure how that would work from the phone.

I know that Logitech has made this possible, but I a not sure if they are using bluetooth tech or what, to accept the signal from the phone.  To the best of my knowledge, the smart phones, pads, etc., don't output an IR signal, but I could be wrong.

Thanks!

Dan

There are add-ons to wifi devices like the iphone/ipad, etc that convert wifi to IR in one way or another, be it dongles on the phone device or whole system gateways to do the conversion.  These systems come from places like RedEye, iRule, etc.  It's a fairly major commitment (not necessarily dollar-wise, although not $10, but time and system-control wise).  Otherwise, the IR commands are easily captured by a universal remote, of course.

[wilsynet]

Hi, good suggestion.  It would require a specific app to be written, and I am not a programmer.  There may be apps already out there that can emulate 'Universal' remotes.  The remote input is still IR, so I am not sure how that would work from the phone.

I believe the person posing the question already has an iPhone enabled IR based remote control in mind.  The app has already been written to control an external device which has IR capability, either through the microphone jack or using a WiFi network.  For example:

http://thinkflood.com/products/

But when he buys a universal remote + iPhone solution, they usually present well known selections like Denon, Marantz, Pioneer, etc., and presumably not Modwright.

Worst case, a number of these universal remote controls (iPhone enabled or not) have a learning mode.  Turn it on learning mode, point the Modwright remote control at the IR device, and voila.  So it should definitely work so long as the universal remote solution has a learning mode.

Alternatively, does the Modwright IR controls emulate another well known device?  This would be easiest of all.

[modwright]

Understood. I will speak with my programmer about what 'code' he used for the remote.  Most use codes that are common to known mfr. devices.  This way, a learning remote CAN be made to work.

I will see what I can find out.

Thanks,

Dan

[modwright]

I have done some more research into the ipad/ipod/droid remote control option for the KWI 200.  I also spoke with another industry professional who says that a friend of his has successfully done this for his products (not Marantz, Denon, etc., but a unique brand like ModWright) and the app he chose (not sure of exact app, but sounds like they chose the RedEye mini dongle.  He mentioned that it plugged into the headphone jack, so I believe this is the dongle used.

The app allows complete learning capability as well as customization of the buttons and entire look of the 'virtual remote' to match the look of his unique product remote.  I am going to experiment with a few apps and see which works best with our KWI 200.

I like the RedEye mini ($45) for the IR dongle, because it frees up the charging port and is small.

My intent is to have a MWI remote on our iPad and also configure the iPad to allow us to control all music used at the NewPort Show.  I am showing with Lou of Daedalus Audio Loudspeakers and he will be bringing a HD full of Mac format music and I will have a PC with music in PC encoded (FLAC/WAV) formats.  The idea is to use the iPad as the central remote control and music library access point also, to show the beauty and strengths of our KWI 200 integrated with DAC and Phono.

We are bringing a LS 100 tube preamp with DAC, a KWI 200 with DAC and Phono upgrades, a VPI Classic I TT with Dynavector 20XH cart and a modified Oppo BDP-95.  All will feed the KWI 200 of course.  The Oppo will be used to play customer CD's, feeding the KWI 200 DAC and for playing SACD's.  The LS 100 with DAC will be used as a third digital input and also to show the strengths of the LS 100 w/DAC (using the KWI 200 as a straight amp, via Home Theater Bypass Input).

VPI Classic I, will feed KWI 200 Phono input.  My computer will feed the KWI 200 USB input. The SPDIF (RCA) digital out of the modified Oppo will feed the KWI 200 SPDIF (RCA) input.  The analog outs from the Oppo will feed the CD input of the KWI 200.  Lou's Mac will be networked to a Bolder Cable hot-rodded Logitech Touch, that will act as transport for his music library.  This will feed the LS 100 SPDIF (RCA) input.

To simplify....also to illustrate the beauty and flexibility of a GOOD Integrated amp like the KWI 200!

KWI 200 Inputs:
CD = ModWright Modified Oppo 95 for SACD via Stereo analog outs (RCA).
L1 = not used (RCA).
L2 = not used (RCA).
L3 = not used (XLR).
d1 = USB digital input from ModWright's PC with FLAC/WAV files.
d2 = RCA digital input from Oppo 95.
PH = Phono input from VPI Classic I.
BP = LS 100 tube preamp with built-in DAC, fed RCA digital signal, into KWI 200 HTBP (Home Theater Bypass - RCA).

Cabling will be by WyWires, with the exception of Speaker Cables, where we will be using Daedalus Audio's own speaker cables.

Our intent for the NewPort Beach show, is display a fully integrated, high-performance, modern system with clean operating interface (via iPad control).  Also, we have chosen components that represent a system that is NOT stratospherically priced!

KWI 200 w/DAC and Phono = $6500 MSRP
VPI Classic I w/Dynavector Cart  =~$3500.
ModWright Truth (tube) Modified Oppo BDP-95 = $3,000.
Daedalus Audio Athena Speakers with all poly crossover option = [Need to verify MSRP with Lou]
Wywire Cabling.

I am excited about the show and I want to thank the member who originally posted about the use of smart phones or tablets as remote control for the KWI 200.  It CAN be done and we will show this off at NewPort Beach. 

Once I decide on program and hardware option for our iPad2, I will post this information here and on our website and will include details for how to create a 'virtual ModWright remote', right down to the visuals!

Thank you all.

Sincerely,

Dan Wright
President, ModWright Instruments Inc.

[srb]

I have an iPhone/iPod IR remote dongle, not the RedEye, but the L5 Universal Remote Control dongle (this one plugs into the dock connector instead of the headphone jack).

Although the software is very customizable, having a separate plug-in dongle for the controller turned out to be too much of a hassle.  If your phone or ipod is ever carried around with you, the dongle won't be attached and later when you reach for your "remote control", you will either have to attach the dongle, or worse yet, first find it.  And even if it is "permanently" installed on a house-bound iPad, the appendage sticks out and is in the way.  For those reasons, I no longer use it.

A much more satisfying approach is to use an intermediary device that accepts commands transmitted via either built-in Bluetooth or WiFi which then relays IR commands to the components' IR receivers, requiring no dongle to be attached.  The device requires proper physical location, particularly if it needs to control multiple components, but it also means that you don't have to point the remote control at the component either.

Steve

[wilsynet]

Just in case it isn't clear ... The more expensive $199 Redeye (not the mini) has a cradle, but the cradle is there as a charging cradle for convenience; it is not necessary to plug it into the iPhone/iPad to perform remote control functions.

The Redeye accepts commands over Wifi from the Redeye app and emits IR to your devices.

[modwright]

Thanks guys!

Dan

[givemevinyl]

Can this integrated be put into Standby mode?  If not, then how long does it take to reach optimal state from a cold start?