ModWright Instruments thread, KWA / LS / HA / SWL / Ambrose

Was wondering is it generally a good idea to put some distance between a separate PSU from the tube amp itself?

I’m getting hum when I crank the volume all the way up (source muted) on the hps under the assumption that the noise floor is supposed to be dead quiet.

I asked Dan and he said to separate them by at least 12". He said the only noise you should be hearing is some mechanical sound from the transformer (which I am hearing). Currently, they’re right next to each other.

So is this standard practice I just didn’t know about? Or could it be something else like the tubes burning in?

I probably won’t get to separating them just yet as I really don’t want to restart from a cold system, plus I gotta rethink the placement of everything now if I have to separate them.

Generally it is a good idea to get as much separation as you can, same thing with the Eddie current stuff for example, although you typically don’t have to go to the extremes

If you really have to literally max the thing to have it audible, I wouldn’t worry about it if you aren’t even close to maxing it with normal actual listening tbh, a fair amount of amps will have at least some noise at absolute max but nothing at normal levels

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I’m getting hum at least halfway through the volume. Lol

Yeah then that’s not normal lol, try giving it some distance and go from there

Oh just to clarify this is through the mysphere btw. Close to halfway is definitely way too much for it

Yeah was going to say I found myself with most hp being around half on the pot on average, when I tired it I don’t really think I had to ever get close to maxing unless trying something like a susvara

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Gotcha I was just curious and wanted to see how good the satie preamp is by maxing the volume but probably not a good idea given the hum

Edit: the ha300 uses a noble pot volume (for anyone curious)

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You can also try sticking a layer of ferrous metal or copper sheeting between the components, it will help a lot if distance something you’re trying to manage for aesthetic reasons. You can experiment for free… a cast iron skillet will be a good place to start.

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As a reference point, my studio T picks up some slight hum if I place the PSU on the RHS right next to the main unit, any separation pretty much resolves that.

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I think the 300b tubes are finally settling in (not stock). I’ll probably share something more comprehensive next post, but I just tried d8kp last night… gotta say, this is one super solid pairing. The HA300 making the d8kp work hard! It tames a bit of the d8kp’s excess energy, adds a touch of “soul” and hits HARD on the bass with really impressive control and authority. Super enjoyable, I’m gonna predict this being my 2nd favorite pairing after mysphere, good stuff :ok_hand:

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Hmmm, so what else can I add? M0N pretty much nailed the description in his mysphere article, and I couldn’t agree more.

For reference, the mysphere was mostly used and I replaced the stock psvane 300b with WE 300b (haven’t tried the stock yet), kept the stock Electro-Harmonix 6bm8/ecl82 for now.

Gotta say, that burn-in took a looong time so I just left it on for the most part as suggested. That being said, I was able to get a good 3 to 4 sessions in for some initial impressions…

In a word, well two, I find the ha300 to be “unassumingly great” (good article title? lol). Because of its modest approach, it’s not an amp that will particularly impress though that’s not always a bad thing. It does everything well that you don’t really feel like you’re missing anything, it’s solid all-around with great tonality and control.

What I really like about the amp is how well it balances things. It’s not overly dry or overly wet, overly energetic or overly relaxed, just straight down the middle. And while that sounds kind of boring in words, it’s not really in practice/listening… at least not to me lol. It’s kind of like getting a B+ in every single subject, not overly impressive on paper but in reality still really good.

As per how it is with the mysphere (since that’s what I mostly got it for), there’s really nice synergy. It didn’t upset any of the balance and overall just elevates it really well. The midrange though, in combination with the WE 300b and the gingko isolation products in tandem, is fantastic! Very dynamic, weighty, engaging, agile, clear, and silky/velvety. The pairing with the Satie DAC is also great, it adds nice energy and maximizes resolution while keeping the balance.

Compared to the Allnic, it’s such a different experience entirely. But, in general, I find the Allnic to do its best to not get in the way of the chain and just present whatever is plugged into it with as little emphasis/exaggeration as possible. With the modwright it’s very obvious you’re listening to it, if that makes sense. The 300b certainly has a certain and particular “sound” to it. It took me a very good while to “accept” this kind of sound but once I accommodated to it I really enjoy it. I do think I still technically prefer the Allnic but so far I enjoy listening to music more on the modwright, it’s also more forgiving. Only time will tell, but this might be the case where what I know I like is not actually what I prefer to listen to most of the time. Idk, still learning about it lol (and it’s still early).

In summary, the Allnic has no tricks up its sleeve, the modwright also doesn’t but it teases you a bit and pulls you into its pace. In any case, I like both! Would love to see how it does as an integrated but probably won’t happen :smiling_face_with_tear:

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Well it didn’t take long to hear that the 3.1 is the obvious choice for the ha300. lol

Main thing was the 3.2 sounded a bit dull, muffled, thick, and lethargic. It’s definitely difficult trying to compare the two with the same amp but if I had to differentiate something the 3.1 felt more technically capable and neutral while the 3.2 trades some of that for a more “bombastic” or inflated sound. Again, really difficult to compare and probably not even worth the effort.

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It’s been a while since I pulled out the modwright. So, to celebrate, I put in some new glass. Previously used the WE and electro-harmonix 6bm8/ecl82. Now it has, thanks to @archer, a pair of elrogs and a pair of RCA/Philips Holland 1968-1969 6BM8/ECL82 tubes. Hopefully, this brings some new life…

It was also brought to my attention that modwright no longer offers the ha300. A bit unfortunate since it’s a nice amp for the mysphere and d8kp. Eager to hear how it pairs with the yammy…

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Looks like they have totally gotten out of the headphone space.
Probably makes some sense since them moved to a dealer based sales model, and I’d guess most headphone gear is sold direct to customer.

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