Merveilleux Modwright KWH225i
Le nouvel amplificateur intégré hybride de chez Modwright, le KWH225i plait énormément: aisance, puissance et ce son très organique.
Il vient de remporter le Brutus Award chez Positive FeedBack !
A écouter absolument avant de vous offrir un amplificateur intégré haut de gamme.
Sa conclusion:
« J’ai passé plusieurs mois à écouter quotidiennement le 225i et j’ai adoré chaque minute. Si vous recherchez une excellente combinaison de prix et de performances dans un système intégré, avec un prix de base de 8500 $ (hors taxes), alors, mon ami, vous venez peut-être de trouver ! »
Voici le résumé en anglais:
The ModWright KWH 225i Integrated Amplifier (image courtesy of ModWright)
In the world of integrated amps, there was another design that I’ve been watching since 2019, having an opportunity to listen for some time to a pre-production prototype. This was the authoritative, musical, and attractively priced ModWright KWH 225i. It was sounding extremely promising, and I told Dan Wright that I definitely wanted to hear the final production version when it was ready. He promised, and so it went onto my calendar.
The production version of the KWH 225i came along at the tail end of May in 2020. This is a powerful hybrid, with a proven tubed front end and a tried-and-true solid-state back end. The rated power output is a beefy 225 watts per channel. (For complete specifications, go HERE.)
The I/O set and controls are nicely complete, there being three pairs of RCA inputs, one pair of XLR inputs, one pair of RCA Home Theater Bypass or Preamp Inputs, one pair of RCA Preamp-outputs, two pairs of 5-way loudspeaker binding posts. A tubed phono amp section is available as an option. The front panel controls include Input select, power, volume and Home Theater Bypass/Preamp. The accompanying remote control is solidly made of aluminum, matching the hefty construction of the integrated itself (the 225i tips the balance at 64 lbs….watch your back! Just ask the guy who knows….). The remote qualifies as a deadly weapon in the event of a home invasion…use with confidence!
The final production version of the KWH was evaluated very extensively, on a daily basis for several months, with inputs ranging from the exaSound DM reference streamer/DAC to the iFi Pro iDSD to the ModWright modded tubed two-box OPPO Digital BDP-105 SACD/CD player. Most of the music listened to was DSD, but I did do a fair amount of PCM streaming from Qobuz and TIDAL, as well. Output was via TARA Labs Omega Concerto SP loudspeaker cables and their Zero Evolution XLR interconnects. Power distribution and conditioning was via the Clarus Cables Concerto; the further end of the chain was the very fine Focal Sopra One monitor loudspeakers on their floor stands.
The results were clear: the KWH 225i took the incoming sources with ease, and made the Sopra Ones stand at attention, despite their middling efficiency. No tap-out; no pooping out. The high bandwidth of the 225i (20Hz – 100kHz at 0dB) provided excellent extension and a great sense of presence, especially with DSD128 and DSD256. I loved the dynamics of the 225i; it has real punch, with killer quickness. Soundstaging and imaging was very fine, varying with the input file type, of course. (DSD is always superior to PCM in this regard.)
I spent several months in daily listening with the 225i, and loved every minute of it. If you’re looking for a great combination of price and performance in an integrated, with a base price of $8,500, then, my friend, you just may have arrived!
And so…a 2020 Brutus Award for the ModWright KWH 225i.
