Hegel or a Modwright

I would spend my hard earned money on the Modwright , made in USA , sounds great, built like a tank.    Honestly I would listen to both, then others if possible before dropping that kind of cash

My experience is that people who like SET amps are not satisfied with others, unless they completely get rid of the SET and forget the sound. My friend had ZUs and we were using a very expensive class AB tube amp, which sounded good until we hooked up a 2 watt Sun and the magic came through. Maybe pick up one of those Reisong tube amps on Amazon for $400 to fool around with. 

The Hegel is a great amp but if the tube sound is what you crave, the Hegel is not going to scratch that itch.

I have a Modwright KWA120SE that I use in the summer instead of my tube amp. My speakers are Zu Omen Defs. It is sort of tubey sounding. It's both sweet and clear and rounds off the leading edges just a little. I like how it separates instruments and vocals from one another and the feeling of effortless power.

I just put it back in the system at the first of the month and it took about 3 days to settle in(about 12hours?) after sitting idle for so long. Of course it's missing the nuances that only tubes can do IMHO.But it's not dry or harsh ever. Hope this helps as you ponder your next move.

Thanks for the inputs! I decided to take the plunge on a Decware and I'll keep the loaner Rost in the system for now and postpone a decision on something solid state.

👍

@silverandblackisback,

I have a H390 and while I wouldn’t call it cold sounding, it sure isn’t anything like a SET rig! I’ve had tube separates since the eighties and the Hegel is my first  integrated amp. It has the built in DAC and streamer, so there’s something, but I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to keep it.

All the best.

JD