MODWRIGHT SWL 9.0 ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Modwright’s SWL 9.0SE line stage was released thirteen years ago and named to celebrate the birth of designer Dan Wright’s son, Spencer, who weighed 9.0lbs when born. The SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition celebrates Modwright’s own 17th anniversary, and according to Dan Wright is a tribute to the SWL 9.0SE that adds features and higher performance. Features of the new model include an integral headphone amplifier, a home theatre bypass circuit, remote volume control and an optional phono stage. The circuit improvements include a newly-designed power supply and a new analogue stage, though the new model still uses 5687 valve drivers.

The headphone amplifier inside the SWL 9.0SE is rated with an output of 1.5-watts per channel into any load from 25 to 600 , while the optional phono stage is completely solid-state and caters only for high-output cartridges. The remote control affords control over volume level and muting only—it cannot be used to switch between the SLW 9.0SE’s four line-level inputs. ‘ Celebrating our 17th year in business, the SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition tube line stage is a complete redesign from the original and, unlike the original, includes a modern headphone amplifier and optional phono stage,’ said Wright. ‘ And like all our products, it’s completely designed and hand-crafted in the USA.’

In Australia, the Modwright SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition Line Stage retails for $4,190 and is available now. ‘ At this price it represents great value,’ says Boris Granovsky, of Absolute HiEnd, which distributes Modwright in Australia, ‘ because despite all the upgrades and performance improvements, this new model is close to the price of its predecessor.’