Modwright SWL 9.0SE -vs- Aesthetix Calypso?

This is Dan Wright of ModWright Instruments. First of all, thank you to those who replied with positive experiences. To the last poster who was not impressed with the unit, I do wonder if it was fully broken in. The unit requires a full 150+ hours for the teflon signal caps in particular, to fully break-in. The unit can sound a bit closed in until full burn-in has been achieved.

I will not apologize for the units accuracy, dynamics and control. It is NOT an overly tubey sounding unit and will not impress those who like the warm and romantic sound of some tube designs.

I prefer a sound that is natural and neutral, with some tube warmth and the presence and body that only tubes can bring. The 5687 tube we use is unique in terms of its dynamic character and linear operation.

I honestly know of the Aesthetix units by reputation only. I believe that one of our dealers may have compared these two units, but am not sure if it was the Calypso or a different Aesthetix model.

We have a growing network of dealers and international distributors. These are all hand-picked by me, to assure that they offer the level of service that ModWright is known for.

I chose dealer representation rather than going factory direct only. I want our customers to have the opportunity to personally audition and evaluate the SWL 9.0SE for themselves.

I am very pleased with the performance and success of the SWL 9.0SE. It conveys the ModWright Sound exceptionally well. This will not necessarily be for everyone, but so far our detractors have been VERY few.

Thanks,

Dan Wright
President, ModWright Instruments Inc.
360.247.6688

In response to the question about a balanced preamp, I do plan to offer a higher-end product in the future and it will be a balanced design. It will also be a higher-priced product, likely in the $3500-$4000 range.

In response to the comments about the Sonicap Platinum caps and their not being a true 'Teflon' cap: I was told that they used teflon as the dialectric. Yes, I believe that the construction of the cap does include a proprietary mix of other dialectric materials as well. I am a bit amused at what I perceive as an intended 'deception' here. Bottom line, I found that the Sonicap Platinum caps worked extremely well in our design and I chose them over other manufacturers' designs. I am not going to get into a debate here about the science of capacitor design or the benefits of different dialectrics. I am very pleased with the sonic results in our design with the Sonicap Platinum caps.

Thanks,

Dan W.

Thank you for the reply. If I might summarize some of your findings for my own sake...just wanted to clarify some things as I lost track of which unit was being referred to in a couple of sentences.

"The Modwright even with the Tungsols are more solidstate sounding with a little laid back presentation. The detail is very good .The Calypso is a little more forwards."

***9.0SE is a bit more laid back in its presentation, while the Calypso is a bit more forward?***

"In absolute terms with say a Te1efunkin 12ax7,
I would say the timber is a little more natural and a little warmer sounding ,as in life. not thick or tuby. as far as scaling dynamics the Calypso ,is a notch better and just stays glued.

***Are you saying that the Calypso has a bit more natural timber and dynamics? I am just trying to clarify.***

I appreciate your sharing and I apologize for asking for the clarification. I am simply interested, as the designer, to know in which ways exactly, that you preferred the Calypso. There are some sonic aspects of both units that are simply subjective and will depend on personal preference. I prefer a certain sound, and some things I will simply not want to change. On the other hand, if there are sonic traits of the design that I can improve upon to make the unit better overall, I certainly want to do so.

Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply.

Dan Wright
President, ModWright Instruments Inc.

The use of a toroidal transformer was made for a couple of reasons. First of all, I decided to keep the power supply internal and this meant a need to keep noise and emi fields to a minimum, etc. Size and orientation were thus critical decisions.

I have used both types of transformers, but have not had the opportunity to make direct comparisons in the 9.0SE. If we had gone with an outboard power supply design, it would have been possible to use stacked type transformers, but this decision would have also driven up the price.

There are many design options that are being considered for a Reference unit to follow possibly next year. The power supply will be outboard for one thing, it will offer balanced and SE connections and I have some other design ideas as well. The price will, necessarily be considerably higher than the 9.0SE, but we will offer attractive upgrade options for existing 9.0SE owners.

As to whether the supply is fully regulated is a difficult question to answer exactly. The circuitry is fairly unique and current and voltage regulation are achieved, but not by conventional means. Additional, possibly tube-based voltage regulation is being considered for the Ref. model.

Bottom line, the 9.0SE was meant to represent our entry into the manufacturing realm and I wanted to do so at a 'reasonable' price. Obviously this is a relative term, but our chosen price-point did preclude some costly design options.

All of this being said, I am VERY pleased with what we have achieved with the 9.0SE at the $2200 retail price.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Dan W.