Upgrade from my Modwright KWA 100SE

JRiggy273
I am VERY happy with my Wells. Although the amp has gotten good reviews it still flies under the radar. I prefer it to Pass as it has character. If you are looking for bold this is the amp. I find many higher end amps to be uninvolving. This amps sucks you right in to the music and wont let you go!

@jimbones nice! The Wells amps are indeed impressive. People that choose without giving them a shot are missing out. My Innamorata Signature is completely free of any solid state artifacts. Lovely amplifier. 

I ended up with a Wells Inamorata. Its impressive, very bold (dynamic).

Weird that the description sounds the same and no mention of bipolars.  MOSFET ‘s are usually associated with that Tubelike Sound mentioned ‘

the KWA 150 is a bipolar design the kwa 100 is mosfet, totally different topology

Jriggy...some parts upgrades but no fundamental differences!  Both MOSFET designs.  They don’t double down on power either which is kinda strange given the robust build.

Personally, I have the Maestro Anniversary, but it’s an integrated, not power amp, even though it works as a power amp too. I have one, and love the sound. For the info you can contact Audio Alliance in Canada, they’re distributors for North America, or in the US contact qaudio.com in Cambridge, MA, or audiowaves.com in California, don’t know the city they’re in.

OK so other suggestions have come in. One that is intriguing is the Wells Inamorata. How does that compare to a KWA 150SE?

Same amp basically so not much point

 
Not true at all. Different designs. The 100SE is a MOSFET amp. You will get better detail and resolution out of the 150, which will bring bigger more spacious soundstage. Also more refinement and much deeper low end. 

Ok so I got a recommendation for a bel canto 600m. That's class D. Is it any better than my KWA 100?

@d2girls, have you heard the Maestro Anniversary Integrated? That said, the amp I mentioned to the OP is a brand new (and much more powerful) model..

@jimbones Yes auditioning AA gear could be an issue, but you could talk to thier Canadian Distributor, Audio Alliance in Ontario who should be authorized to sell into the lower 48. They might offer a home trial + cost of shipping?

Another amp I can recommend is the Audio Flight FLS-4. That amp is well built, powerful, smooth sounding & musical. However you’ll run into the same issue with local Dealers, as the nearest Dealer is in Canada - http://www.audia.it/products/fls-8/stereo_power_amplifier-9/fls4-17.html.
Otherwise that deal on the minty KWA-150SE is hard to beat.

I checked AA out no US dealers.

ps: Here are the specs on the Audio Analogue Donizetti Anniversary Power Amp :
2 x 250 Watts @ 8 ohms.
2 x 500 Watts @ 4 ohms.
2 x 1.000 Watt @ 2 ohms.
Fully balanced.
Dual mono configuration.
Zero feedback circuit design.
Audio grade discrete components.
Power filter 2 x 56.000 uF.
Power stage 2 x 1.2 kW transformers.
Price : 9.500 € (approx $11kUSD)

I’ve heard the original KWA-150 & really liked that amp for the money. It had excellent build quality, sounded clean, resolving, tube-like and had excellent low level information, so it is a great choice if you like to listen at low or high listening levels. The SE model improves that further, and is apparently more open, dynamic & has better bass. The other benefit is, if you find you need more power later on, you can add a second amp & use the bridged mono mode. That amp apparently has good synergy with the ARC Ref 5SE and Ref 40th Anniversary preamps which I would prefer to Dan’s pre’s. Fyi, there is KWA-150SE fs on the ’Gon right now asking $3700. The seller has 100% positive f’back & is the original owner - https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis93gc1-modwright-kwa-150se-silver-original-owner-pp-fees-include...

In terms of a an alternative upgrade path, I would check out Audio Analogue. They are releasing a new pre & power amp in July fyi. The Maestro Anniversary model is also a very nice 150 watt integrated fyi & is warm and rich sounding - http://www.audioanalogue.com/en/news

Same amp basically so not much point