Modwright PH 9.0x upgrades?

@theflattire I'll see if I can track it down! Will be good to get some input into what rectifiers people prefer anyway.

I bought the unit as a 9.0x from the factory last year (well, through a dealer). If the T upgrade would have been available at that time, I would have done that too upfront! It's a little more of a pain to ship it back and forth (and does introduce some risk of damage, etc) but worthwhile if it makes a nice improvement in the sound. The cost is pretty minimal for a good step-up in performance.

Wywires also does ModWright umbilicals, though they aren't really much cheaper. I may hold off on the umbilical right away though to do some research on alternatives first.

@mmcgill829 

You gotta find that thread.  Come to think about it, I'm not sure if the folks who reported good results also had the X upgrade done.  Possible they were reporting only on the T upgrade.

You already did the X so the T will just max it out!

BTW, there's another company that does a Modwright umbilical, Triode Wire or something or other.  I saw a used one go for a couple of hunski on another forum, can't remember which one.  It was shorter though, less than a meter.  I think they custom make them.

@armstrod Thanks! Perfect. I agree re: the stock umbilical. It's not really fitting of a piece of gear at this price point. IMO the upgraded one should just be the standard for something like this, but alas.

@theflattire thanks for your insight! I tested a few rectifiers on my SET amp and saw pretty big changes in sound quality overall, so I would be surprised if I didn't hear any difference with doing it with the pre-amp. However, it may be less of a difference between tube types versus the non-upgraded power supply & the tube rectified in general. I guess I will find out!

There's another Modwright tube rolling thread where others comment on the T upgrade.

I did both at once so can't really comment.

The others did report an improvement and the ability to roll the rectifier made a difference.

My old ears couldn't hear any big difference in the rectifier, but could be my system.

I only had to send him the power supply. I got both upgrades at the same time and never bothered to test them separately, so not sure of the relative impact, but I would agree it’s likely the T upgrade is more impactful. I have to say, once you see the difference between the upgrade umbilical and the original, even if it makes no sonic difference at all it will give you way more confidence in the connection. It’s just a much beefier, better constructed and terminated cable. I’m not a big subscriber to cable juju, but the original umbilical was just cheap, not really fitting of the quality of the preamp or the power supply.

@armstrod Thanks for the info! Just the feedback I was looking for. Glad to hear it is worth it. I was expecting the T upgrade to be a lot more than $500, so I was really surprised to see that when taking a peek.

Did you just have to send the power supply to him, or did he need the entire thing? I'd assume just the power supply.

Did you get the T upgrade and umbilical upgrade at the same time? Did you test them separately when you got them back? I'm assuming the T upgrade will have the biggest impact on the sound with the cable just taking it that little extra step further. Just trying to gauge if I really should do both at the same time, or just order the cable later.

I sent my 9.0X back to Dan for both the T upgrade and his umbilical, and it was a major improvement. Sweeter top end, fleshier midrange, and no loss or flabbiness of bass. The T power supply has a hole in the cover so you can roll any 5AR4 family rectifier, including ones in the ST bottles.

If you're planning on keeping the 9.0X, the upgrade is worth every penny.