I'm not a youngster. My first serious hifi gear, back in the early 1980s, included a pair of Martin Logan CLS speakers, an Aragon 4004 amp, a Sonographe pre, and an Ariston turntable with a cartridge I don't remember (I think it was a Shure).
I fell in love with the speakers first, then bought the Aragon because the conventional wisdom was that the Martin Logans needed a Krell's power and control and I couldn't afford one (or two). But I never really paid much attention to the amp...it was just "there," something behind the scenes that enabled my gorgeous electrostatics to sing.
Since then I've owned just three or four different amps, some integrated, some separates. But I've always regarded them as junior members of my hifi chain with not much to add to the conversation.
Man, what an idiot!
I've owned a Modwright KWH 225i for exactly three days and it's changed everything. It replaced a Stereophile "highly recommended" digital integrated, and I'm frankly gobsmacked (I don't think I've ever used that word before, but it's perfect).
I have a massively larger soundstage, a bottom end that simply didn't exist before, and a hard-to-describe sense of everything-in-the-playback-chain-being-perfectly-in-balance-and-under-control. If you've ever driven a really well-engineered GT car that feels absolutely planted yet has endless grunt, you know what I mean.
I'm smiling a lot more now, and I while I'm late to the party, I think I'll stay awhile.
I fell in love with the speakers first, then bought the Aragon because the conventional wisdom was that the Martin Logans needed a Krell's power and control and I couldn't afford one (or two). But I never really paid much attention to the amp...it was just "there," something behind the scenes that enabled my gorgeous electrostatics to sing.
Since then I've owned just three or four different amps, some integrated, some separates. But I've always regarded them as junior members of my hifi chain with not much to add to the conversation.
Man, what an idiot!
I've owned a Modwright KWH 225i for exactly three days and it's changed everything. It replaced a Stereophile "highly recommended" digital integrated, and I'm frankly gobsmacked (I don't think I've ever used that word before, but it's perfect).
I have a massively larger soundstage, a bottom end that simply didn't exist before, and a hard-to-describe sense of everything-in-the-playback-chain-being-perfectly-in-balance-and-under-control. If you've ever driven a really well-engineered GT car that feels absolutely planted yet has endless grunt, you know what I mean.
I'm smiling a lot more now, and I while I'm late to the party, I think I'll stay awhile.
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