ModWright Phono

The only phono stage that I can say I directly compared it to was the Whest 2.0 which I owned. That was in itself a really good phono that received rave reviews compared to the usual standard bearers like the Manley. The Whest had an incredibly wide soundstage and revealed low level textures exceptionally well. At first, by comparison, the Modwright seemed more narrow width and not quite as deep in the soundstage. But the instruments and vocals were more organic and natural. It was also more dynamic and low level detail was at least equal to the Whest. Gradually, as I suppose the caps broke in, the stage deepened, though not quite as wide as the Whest.
The cartridge I used in the comparison was the Shelter 501 on a Scoutmaster on steroids with every upgrade imaginable.
While I wish I could have drug home the reference phono stages to compare directly, I had to draw a line somewhere budget wise, my moment of clarity in this insane hobby before I start jacking 7-11's.

I have a Modwright phono stage that was recommended by a dealer who handles very expensive stuff. It is an interesting component - having a natural sound, very big soundstage, and has a fast, dynamic presentation (it has lots of balls). I have not compared it to many, but did do a direct comparison to a 47 labs phonocube. The phonocube is very good as well, but the Modwright gives a bigger, more forward presentation, which works well in my system. It is very important to try to find a NOS Mullard 5AR4 though, as this switch made a huge improvement in tightening things up, faster transients, improved detail. I understand that the unit does take a long time to break in, since he uses teflon caps. My better recorded LP's sound stunning.
CMK, I would be curious to hear your impressions and what you have compared it to. Myself, I am just getting into vinyl so I do not have a lot of experience with many phono stages. I am dying to try it against an Audio Research reference.

Hi Kevin
My current experience with the ModWright SWP seems to mirror yours - very favourable. The things which stand out about the unit are :

a) unusual clarity and low level detail
b) excellent musical separation
c) very punchy tight bass lines, which leads to
d) excellent sense of PRaT

I think I've only got about 10 hours on the unit and it already sounds this good!

Trust me.. it'll get a lot better. Re-reading my comment, you'd get the impression I thought the Whest was close. It's really not. The Modwright is leagues above it. The separation of instruments will expand and the tonal quality will be fuller, more resolving, definable, richer. It sounds like it should.. more analog. I wouldn't at all call it polite or hifi-ish. No hint of processed, 2 dimensional CD sound unless the record was recorded that way.
I probably am still under 200 hours on the phono, and there were days that it didn't sound quite as magical, but those days were few and it is seeming to stabilize.

So Cmk, looks like you ended up buying it. I agree with Jamnperry, that the unit gets better the longer it is on.
Jamnperry, have you tried any tube rolling?
I was surprised at how much better the unit sounded after I put in the NOS Mullard. I highly recommend you try one if you can.
I also noticed that the unit has a wider, bigger soundstage when used in the high gain mc selection. Although my preamp has a lot of gain and I could go with it in the mm mode, there is a difference in the presentation between the two.