Two more REVIEWS for the ModWright KWI-200 Integrated Amplifier

[Pider]

Originally Posted by JJinID

Excellent, John! This will be a lot of fun, and I'm excited for you! Pick music that first and foremost you are extremely familiar with. For me, I like to to focus first on vocals, then piano, then other acoustical instruments (i.e. jazz trio) as main choices, then something with some dynamic range! I look forward to your follow up posts on how things went for you!

I can't believe it, but I'm actually excited and can't wait for Thursday and Friday! Do we ever grow up!?

[joeinid]

Originally Posted by Pider

I can't believe it, but I'm actually excited and can't wait for Thursday and Friday! Do we ever grow up!?

Very cool John. Can't wait for an update. About growing up, no. I hope we do not ever grow up.

[cat3600]

Originally Posted by Pider

I can't believe it, but I'm actually excited and can't wait for Thursday and Friday! Do we ever grow up!?

Please do let us know your experience.

[Pider]

Currently happening.......

Oh, my!

[JJinID]

Originally Posted by Pider

Currently happening.......

Oh, my!

[Pider]

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It is now home for two days of listening. At Echo it was very noisy and distracting given an inrush of folks, so I just took it home. First impression is wide and deep stage. Revealing. But, that's all until I get it hooked up.

[Pider]

Warning! This is a bit of a ramble.......

First of all, my thanks to the generous folk at Echo Audio in Portland, OR. Nice people; know their stuff; and believe in helping you get to the sound you want, which is all you can ask, really. They seem to be doing all right, selling used and new equipment both online and in a very tasteful brick and mortar shop downtown. Hard to do these days, but they look like they are doing well. I had sent them an email saying I’d like to check out the KWI200, and when I got there it was all powered up, ready and waiting. The problem came a few minutes after we got it cranking out some gorgeous tunes. It seemed everyone in the entire metro area wanted to have a listen, so in they came, talking, standing between me and the speakers, and so on. There was nothing to do but take the unit home, which is exactly what I did. In situ auditioning is really the only way to go.


Now to my review of the ModWright KWI200 integrated amplifier.


Let’s start by saying it “blew away” my little NAD 356BEE integrated. It’d better! The price differential (let alone weight) is a factor of six. Did it beat the little guy six times over? A resounding NO. It did take my little Dynaudio Focus 140s to the limits of their abilities, and that is probably the problem. If one is going to go from a very good sounding system, nicely matched in terms of each component’s level of competence, and move it forward by a dollar factor of six, then beware that something in that system might not allow the next upgrade to perform at its potential, and I think that’s what has happened here.


The system I have is nothing if not modest. It consists of the aforementioned NAD 356BEE integrated I got used from Howard, a new REL T-5 via MasterLu, a new but now thoroughly broken in pair of Dynaudio Focus 140’s on Dyn stands. The music comes from my DIY Windows music server running JRIVER (with help from E and others), being sent to the amp via a HRT II DAC that PC sent my way (note lurkers how most of the equipment has been through AA from great people you can trust). All power chords and USB cables are stock, the interconnects are decent that I bought years ago and have forgotten their brand (emerald something), the speaker cables are left over from a SoundWorks installation in my old Lexington, MA. home. In short, there are many weak links in the system that can hold back the introduction of a stellar piece of equipment, such as the KWI200. However, my guess is that many here on the AA forum have such a setup, so hopefully this review will speak to you.


Don’t get me wrong, the KWI200 took my little 140’s and made them sing. There were many surprises, like hearing clapping to the music in “The Weight” (The Band with The Staples Singers) that I had not known was there. I’m sure it was there, but it now was in my room, about two feet back and slightly to the right of center and exactly below the voice of the woman doing the rhythmic clapping. Not only was there clapping, but you could clearly hear the variations of the clap when her hands didn’t quite come together solidly. That never was there before.


On “I’ll Never Be the Same” (Stan Getz with Jimmy Rowles), I swear Jimmy’s two-day-old whiskers touched the mike and I could see them. His voice has a timber that I had not known before. He bends notes ever so slightly and makes them slide down the chord to your ears. When Stan came on with his sax, I stood up and closed my eyes and wondered how much better this might be if I could get it in HD, because it was amazing as is.


As some of you know, oboes have a special place in my musical heart, so I went next to Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C Major K314 (Christopher Hogwood), and was not all that impressed. Oboes are tricky, since it depends a great deal on what sound the oboist is trying deliver, the type of oboe s/he is playing, the reed that day, and so on. In this case it sounded very thin, as did the violins. It reminded me of the DAC shootout a few weeks ago hosted by E. Like glass breaking. I was using the built in DAC of the 200 (costing more than 10 times my current DAC) at the time, so I switched back to the HRT II and problem solved. Now we have an oboe that floats right where it should and sounds as magical as an oboe should sound. Before leaving the store, I should have asked how many hours were on the DAC in the KWI200 (I suspect almost zero). I didn’t, but I believe the issue was just that, it had not yet been broken in. From that point on, the rest of my playing was with the HRT II.


Full blown orchestral works are never going to shine with the little Dynaudio’s, but Beethoven’s 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 9th, came across better than before, especially passages that required punch. That’s what the KWI200 did much better than the NAD. It could deliver very controlled punch. Whether a kettle drum or bass solos, there was more weight and control, less mush, more definition. And it’s not all about punch either. It’s about how well an instrument can be reproduced with timbre accuracy. For example, the cello solo on “U Plavu Zoru” (Pink Martini’s Hang on Little Tomato album) made me do a double take. I love the cello almost as much as the oboe, and there is a quality that is tough for both speaker and amp to deliver about a cello, something having to do with the interaction of bass string and wood enclosure that makes my neck hairs stand on end when I hear it in live performance. My neck hairs stood up on that track, which led me to quickly go to Rostropovich and the Dvorak Cello Concerto. Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, my. I had to turn it up. That was something.


The sound stage was definitely deeper than before, and a bit wider, but not by much. My physical (speaker) setup is compromised, so the sound stage limitations could simply be a function of the room and how I have the speakers set. I did pull them out from the wall by another foot, which made a large difference in staging, as well as bass presentation. Even in their original position the staging did deepen and widen, for what that’s worth. Instruments did hold their position better, I must admit. I’ve always had difficulty understanding folks when they have referred to instruments or voices maintaining their place in space. I might now know better what that means. I could close my eyes and see Krall’s bassist, drummer, guitar player in space relative to her at the piano, and they would maintain their position throughout the piece and as I walked (carefully) around the room. That was cool and is directly a function of the KWI200. The NAD has been unable to be that precise.


Does the combination of the KWI200 and my Dyns have or demonstrate good PRaT? I have no clue. All I know is that I couldn’t stop listening to a song once it was going. Several were played more than a couple of times because I was enjoying them so much. I got up and danced solo on more than one occasion. (Mel is visiting friends in Palm Springs, so solo dancing is all I had available, and her absence is the reason why the living room is now all torn apart for this audition. Such things require ROOM, don’t you know! As well as a good single malt. Yum.) So, yes, I guess. I’m hoping to bring home a Naim unit today or tomorrow, which has been said to have good PRaT with Dyns. I would suspect, given that my toes were a tapping, and I couldn't stop listening until way past 2:00 in the morning, that the KWI200 Dyn combo delivers good pace, rhythm and timing.


Overall, I am very impressed with the KWI200, but that has to be tempered by the fact that I’ve not had such a level of equipment in my home before. I’ve heard much more expensive pieces in showrooms, but there are too many compromises in such environments and my memory cannot carry me from a session two months ago to one yesterday. It has to be a pretty close A/B comparison for me to understand the differences I’m hearing and what I like. Do I like it better than the NAD, well dah. Of course! Is it worth the six times price differential so that I’ll buy it? No, and only because I cannot justify putting it in the current mix of components. If I had a pair of Dynaudio Contour 3.4's or the C-1’s, maybe, because then it would be able to perform at what I think is its potential.


I’m going to enjoy the KWI200 for the time I have it, but it won’t go in my system just yet. I know now that I want “better” speakers, and eventually a better amp. The question is how to progress to where I want to be, that place where you can sit down in your chair, call up a track or piece that you especially love, sink back into the leather, close your eyes and know that there certainly are systems out there that are a hair better at this or that, but you really don’t care because you have those neck hairs standing on end and you are loving every moment. That’s where something like the KWI200 can help, but I’m not convinced that the price/performance gap would give me that much over what I have now such that I’d feel good about sitting down in front of it. This is the part of this write-up that might speak for all those folks out there who have systems that are modest, such as mine. How does one move forward? How does one build what is essentially a system, but do so when you don’t really know how one component will perform with other components in the final configuration. Do you take the leap? If you have the resources and will, then no problem. You spend the money and begin to build around the unit. Many follow this path and thus the hobby. If the price/performance gap were less, I’d probably not search that much more and spring for the KWI200. I really like it, but I’m too conservative, too cautious. Time to bring other equipment in to see what can get me up the level of musical quality at a much lower p/p ratio.


In the meantime, I highly recommend you check out the KWI200.

[gtubes]

Thx for reporting Kevin. I think ModWright make fantastic equipment. Still miss my SWL 9.0SE !

[klipschfan]

Originally Posted by Pider

How does one move forward? How does one build what is essentially a system, but do so when you don’t really know how one component will perform with other components in the final configuration. Do you take the leap? If you have the resources and will, then no problem. You spend the money and begin to build around the unit. Many follow this path and thus the hobby. If the price/performance gap were less, I’d probably not search that much more and spring for the KWI200. I really like it, but I’m too conservative, too cautious. Time to bring other equipment in to see what can get me up the level of musical quality at a much lower p/p ratio.


In the meantime, I highly recommend you check out the KWI200.

One piece of gear at a time.....

Keep on listening to different gear and discover what you like & don't like. Don't forget the value of the used market. Find a price to performance ratio that you can accept & enjoy.

Suggest a used KWA100 SE amp. Should be in the 2k to 2.5k range. Most of all, have fun!.

[JJinID]

John - I'm headed out for the evening in a few minutes, but wanted to write a quick post and say thanks for your review and sharing your impressions. The only piece that surprised me was the performance of the modular internal DAC in the unit. When I heard it at the ModWright facility it sounded just as good if not BETTER than the tube modified Oppo 95 that I now own. As you mentioned, it definitely had to have not been broken in or something else happening there...

I have a few additional thoughts that I will write later, but I greatly appreciate your thoughts and contribution to this thread.

Originally Posted by klipschfan

One piece of gear at a time.....

Keep on listening to different gear and discover what you like & don't like. Don't forget the value of the used market. Find a price to performance ratio that you can accept & enjoy.

Suggest a used KWA100 SE amp. Should be in the 2k to 2.5k range. Most of all, have fun!.

Sage advice from Brian!

Absolutely do listen to some other gear to compare and determine what you like. If you determine you like the MWI gear, his idea of doing a gently used KWA100SE if you are wanting to eventually do separates makes a lot of sense also, and you could potentially add a LS100 later and be ahead of the KWI200 in terms of sound quality while spreading out your funds.

Please keep us posted as you move forward!