Modwright SWL 9.0SE -vs- Aesthetix Calypso?

Hello I can tell you first off the 2 preamps need 200 ,the Calypso 300 + .You for sure want to trash the stock tubes the jj are ok
The 10 m Mullards are superb if you have $ 400.00 .for the 12ax7, for the input side ,for the outputs with the 6922 you could get some good amperex reasonably priced .
The input is where you will see over 90% of the sound improvement.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.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.Everyone goes my 6 moons ,that is good
for his reference ,please remember the Calypso is 2x the cost.for a 5-10% improvement.if money is not the issue than the Calypso.
If you have 4k this is the a giant killer ,modwright is a close second,taken out of a 4 man panel,+ my wife.I own both,the Modwright is going to a freind.p.s they were both enjoyable.

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.

I think it would be worthwhile for you to consider replacing the toroid with a stacked transformer. Is the power supply fully regulated?- if not, consider this as well.

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.

I can honestly say that the ModWright is a terrific preamplifier ,very opened and detailed and very good at
both the extremes and very involving ,It is in my experience the best under 5k preamp on the market. I also own the Calypso . This is the most complete and involving preamplifier at under 10k, there will be a few out there that will disagree as always, read the several reviews against units at more than 2x the Calypso
price. I hear further into the music then with any preamp
previously in my home, and musical textures and shadings as good as any preamp at any price! With vintage valves another 10% so.These two preamplifiers rewrite what is possible in the respective price -performance catagorys.