Modwright KWA 150

I would say the KWA150 is pretty darn neutral. Though other system changes do not allow me to make a definitive statement, compared to my ARC LS26/SD135 combination, the Modwright LS36.5/KWA150 present a slightly more neutral balance through the midrange, with much better low frequency definition and more extended and natural highs. I'm not sure I agree with many of the comments on this amp that it sounds "tubelike". It does resolve spatial information very nicely and does exhibit a very natural tone that reminds one of tube gear. But, on balance what I hear in my system is solid state done very, very right--an absence of grain, natural tonality and good spatial cues combined with awesome power, authority and extension at both extremes. What do you intend to drive with the amp?

Ideally, you would want to make a decision on your speakers in conjunction with that of your amplification. I'd narrow down my speaker options to your top contender and then try different amplification to see if you can obtain the sound qualities you are looking for. Though I have not heard them all, the speaker choices you have listed are quite different sounding. Picking an amp without knowing which speaker you will likely pair it with may not get you where you want to go.

I would second what Jax has said about the KWA150/Daedalus combination having lived with it now for about 3 months. Daedalus are available via direct sale and there are a growing cadre of owners who are typically happy to allow interested customers to hear the speakers if Lou is unable to work out a demo. If you are interested I'd give Lou a call and see if he can work something out so you can hear his speakers--perhaps even with the KWA150.

Thanks, Jax. I've been at this for a quite a while now and I think I've finally got a system that will satisfy for the long haul. I am indebted to Lou, Dan and Keith for their patient and valuable advice and for their talent and passion for what they do. As for Acdvd's question about connections, Dan feels that as a true balanced design, the LS36.5 is best connected to the KWA150 via balanced cables with the rest of the components connected to the LS36.5 via single ended wire. I followed his advice and that is how I have everything wired up.

In my system the KWA150 offers superlative performance on the bottom end. My last amp was an ARC SD135 and while I've made other system changes (particularly the addition of Lou's All Poly crossover option) that do not allow me to make a direct comparison between the two, I can say that the KWA will likely not disappoint in this area. But again, I really think you ought to be thinking about the amp and speakers systemically since this is one of the most important interactions in your system chain. While the KWA150 is an amp that I imagine will work very nicely with a wide variety of speakers, you really should try to approach the decision on these two components as if they are one.