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| Headphone Amps (full-size) Discussion of desktop headphone amps. |
05-11-2007, 04:28 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,200
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Woo Audio 2 - A Work of Visual and Sonic Beauty
Today I received my new Woo Audio 2 amp. I must admit that I have been aching for a Woo Audio product for over a month. The more I read about them, the more pictures I saw of them, the more I wanted one. I just recently bought a Darkvoice 332, which has been sold to another Head-Fi member. I had that amp for a few weeks when I could no longer resist the Siren call of the Woo Audio products. I think the thread that reviewed the Woo Audio 4, with some stunning pictures and positive narrative, pretty much pushed me over the edge.
I decided on the WA2. I selected this model because it could take up to 4 inputs and to me just seemed to have more muscle than any other amp in the Woo line short of the WA5 (which I thought about for a few minutes but decided that $3K was a bit more than I wanted to spend). So I went to the Woo Audio website and placed my order.
I received an order confirmation email from Jack, who explained that it would take about a week to ten days to build my amp, test it, and ship it out to me. I then inquired about possible tube upgrades, and he said he offered an upgrade from the 6AS7 to the Tung-Sol 5998 for $65. I snapped up that upgrade immediately, which brought the price of the WA2 as delivered to $1,055 shipped to my door.
When the package arrived I unpacked the amp and set it up on my stand, installing the tubes that Woo Audio supplied. I boxed up the Darkvoice 332 and got it ready to ship out to its new owner.
Let me tell you that the WA2, armed with the Tung-Sol 5998s, is one imposing through wonderfully elegant statement product that conveys quality long before you plug in your first set of cans. I could not help but sit in my chair and admire the look of this product.
I powered up the amp and the tubes lit up with a warm glow. I took my AKG K701 cans from their stand and plugged them into the WA2. I reached for my copy of Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else and it went into my Denon DVD-3910. My choice of recordings was deliberate. I know most of my favorite jazz recordings inside and out.
I loved the sound of this recording on the WA2 with stock tubes on my AKG K701s. The trumpets and sax featured an open, airy and enveloping property that I found to be entralling. Highs were well defined and clear, without being over powering. Notes on the horns were full bodied and had rich texture, much more so than the Darkvoice 332. Bass extension was also deeper on the WA2, and this amp held low frequencies together better than the Darkvoice as well.
Keep in mind that these are just some initial impressions based on an hour of listening to a new amp that still needs to be properly run in. I have some NOS Tung-Sol 6X4 rectifier tubes and a number of 6922/6DJ8 variants to try out, namely the Amperex 6DJ8 Orange Label NOS tubes. A few Head-fiers were kind enough to recommend some of the more affordable 6922 type tubes, such as the GE grey glass, which I have a pair of here. It is my intention to keep the stock tubes in for the first 40 to 60 hours of run in. I really want to get a good feel for the amp's character with stock tubes before I start tuberolling on this amp.
Expect to see some additional comments as I gather more listening experience. I would also like to say that Jack at Woo Audio is a class act. He very patiently and politely answered the many questions I asked, and was very much in step with my needs as an audiophile. I think the WA2 would disappoint very few owners, if any, right out of the box with stock tubes. I've only listened to a few jazz albums so far but I really like what I hear and expect it to only get better. I think the WA2 is the best thousand bucks I ever spent.
I also have a pair of Sennheiser HD650s and Grado RS-1s. I will be sure to discribe some of my listening experiences with these cans. Look for more details to come this weekend.
--Jerome
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05-11-2007, 04:38 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Virginia,USA
Posts: 9,863
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Super sweet! Great pics.
You're making me want to upgrade my 3.  I'm using a Tung-Sol 5998 with Amperex.
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05-11-2007, 04:42 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: san francisco
Posts: 12,770
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Beautiful. Please keep us informed. Very curious.
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05-11-2007, 05:13 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 1,525
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Wow I love wooaudio! I will get one when I settle down~
__________________
Source1: EMU 1616M---Monster Cable: Ultra Series THX® 1000 Fiber Optic Digital Interconnect--->Lavry Black DA10 (with Furutech Soundbar FUSE-Rhodium Plated & DIY power cables - Furutech cable + Wattgate 330i+350i)
Source2: 1616M
Headphone: HD600 (Equinox 9ft cable)->GS1000->ATH-CM7TI
Portable: IPOD U2->PSP->sharp MT831
PC speaker: Altec Lansing 6021
AMP1: EarMax Pro EE (-Amperex&Philips 50's D-getter 12at7 or early 50's Valvo T7s or Philips 1953 CV455 or Mullard 1954-1960 square-getter 12at7s or GEC A2900 (Triple Mica) or Telefunken ECC801s or Mullard 12at7 brand Amperex 1957 square getter or Philips 1951 12at7 low noise grade KÜHL Tube + 2* Telefunken 1950's CCa <same batch>)- -Philips 1952-1955 12at7 + 2*Siemens CCa brand Valvo (yellow labels) D getter- )+Nordost Frey interconnect cable
AMP2: EarMax Anniversary (#13, lucky # for Cantonese) (-Amperex bugle boy 12at7 "G clef" France made or Telefunken 1950's ECC801s (platinum grade) or Philips 1952 12at7 platinum grade KÜHL Tube + 2*Telefunken 1960's CCa -match curve,same batch- -Genalex Gold Lion 1959 B739 (KÜHL Tube) or Lorenz 1954 ECC81 + 2*Telefunken 1950's CCa <same batch>- )+Nordost SPM interconnect cable
Previously Owned:
headphone: SONY E888*5->AIWA-553*2->AIWA-557*2->AIWA-741->Bang-Olufsen A8*3->SONY-CD3000->ATH-W1000->SONY-SA3000(with Black Dragon cable)->ATH-A900->AKG K701->ATH-AD2000
source: DZ555->E01->SONY EJ2000->D777*2->D303->D25->D15->SONY D100->Panasonic ST790->iRiver H10->N10->some other MD,CDP players,
|^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^| ||
|...V. TUBE TRUCK........| ||'|";, ___
|_..._..._______===|=||_|__|...., ]
"(@)'(@)"""''"**|(@)(@)*****''(@)
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05-11-2007, 05:16 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 1,525
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__________________
Source1: EMU 1616M---Monster Cable: Ultra Series THX® 1000 Fiber Optic Digital Interconnect--->Lavry Black DA10 (with Furutech Soundbar FUSE-Rhodium Plated & DIY power cables - Furutech cable + Wattgate 330i+350i)
Source2: 1616M
Headphone: HD600 (Equinox 9ft cable)->GS1000->ATH-CM7TI
Portable: IPOD U2->PSP->sharp MT831
PC speaker: Altec Lansing 6021
AMP1: EarMax Pro EE (-Amperex&Philips 50's D-getter 12at7 or early 50's Valvo T7s or Philips 1953 CV455 or Mullard 1954-1960 square-getter 12at7s or GEC A2900 (Triple Mica) or Telefunken ECC801s or Mullard 12at7 brand Amperex 1957 square getter or Philips 1951 12at7 low noise grade KÜHL Tube + 2* Telefunken 1950's CCa <same batch>)- -Philips 1952-1955 12at7 + 2*Siemens CCa brand Valvo (yellow labels) D getter- )+Nordost Frey interconnect cable
AMP2: EarMax Anniversary (#13, lucky # for Cantonese) (-Amperex bugle boy 12at7 "G clef" France made or Telefunken 1950's ECC801s (platinum grade) or Philips 1952 12at7 platinum grade KÜHL Tube + 2*Telefunken 1960's CCa -match curve,same batch- -Genalex Gold Lion 1959 B739 (KÜHL Tube) or Lorenz 1954 ECC81 + 2*Telefunken 1950's CCa <same batch>- )+Nordost SPM interconnect cable
Previously Owned:
headphone: SONY E888*5->AIWA-553*2->AIWA-557*2->AIWA-741->Bang-Olufsen A8*3->SONY-CD3000->ATH-W1000->SONY-SA3000(with Black Dragon cable)->ATH-A900->AKG K701->ATH-AD2000
source: DZ555->E01->SONY EJ2000->D777*2->D303->D25->D15->SONY D100->Panasonic ST790->iRiver H10->N10->some other MD,CDP players,
|^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^| ||
|...V. TUBE TRUCK........| ||'|";, ___
|_..._..._______===|=||_|__|...., ]
"(@)'(@)"""''"**|(@)(@)*****''(@)
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05-11-2007, 05:19 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: South Bay Area/California
Posts: 2,204
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God those are beautiful Edison, I'm glad as hell I sold my Monarchy M24 before I started laying down for a life time supply of those (Assuming I can even find any).
__________________
Sources: Spectral SDR-2000 Pro, Esoteric UX-1, Esoteric D-3, Parasound DAC1500, Parasound DAC1600HD, Assemblage DAC3.0, Assemblage DAC3.1, EMU 0404 USB
Amps: Eddie Current Balancing Act, Headamp Gilmore Balanced Reference, Dynahi, CKKIII
Headphones: Sony Qualia 010, AudioTechnica AD2000, AKG K1000, Audeze LCD-1, AudioTechnica W5000, Etymotic ER6i
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05-11-2007, 05:30 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 1,525
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Icarium
God those are beautiful Edison, I'm glad as hell I sold my Monarchy M24 before I started laying down for a life time supply of those (Assuming I can even find any).
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hummm, I think you can! I know of people still having some of them in stock. However putting the CCa in a vacuum tube output buffer stage is kind of a waste. I would more likely to use them as preamp signal or driver tube.
They are the best E88CC I have found, truely the best. I enjoy siemens D getter CCa, but not going to the same level as I do with the TFK's. I don't think it is just me 
__________________
Source1: EMU 1616M---Monster Cable: Ultra Series THX® 1000 Fiber Optic Digital Interconnect--->Lavry Black DA10 (with Furutech Soundbar FUSE-Rhodium Plated & DIY power cables - Furutech cable + Wattgate 330i+350i)
Source2: 1616M
Headphone: HD600 (Equinox 9ft cable)->GS1000->ATH-CM7TI
Portable: IPOD U2->PSP->sharp MT831
PC speaker: Altec Lansing 6021
AMP1: EarMax Pro EE (-Amperex&Philips 50's D-getter 12at7 or early 50's Valvo T7s or Philips 1953 CV455 or Mullard 1954-1960 square-getter 12at7s or GEC A2900 (Triple Mica) or Telefunken ECC801s or Mullard 12at7 brand Amperex 1957 square getter or Philips 1951 12at7 low noise grade KÜHL Tube + 2* Telefunken 1950's CCa <same batch>)- -Philips 1952-1955 12at7 + 2*Siemens CCa brand Valvo (yellow labels) D getter- )+Nordost Frey interconnect cable
AMP2: EarMax Anniversary (#13, lucky # for Cantonese) (-Amperex bugle boy 12at7 "G clef" France made or Telefunken 1950's ECC801s (platinum grade) or Philips 1952 12at7 platinum grade KÜHL Tube + 2*Telefunken 1960's CCa -match curve,same batch- -Genalex Gold Lion 1959 B739 (KÜHL Tube) or Lorenz 1954 ECC81 + 2*Telefunken 1950's CCa <same batch>- )+Nordost SPM interconnect cable
Previously Owned:
headphone: SONY E888*5->AIWA-553*2->AIWA-557*2->AIWA-741->Bang-Olufsen A8*3->SONY-CD3000->ATH-W1000->SONY-SA3000(with Black Dragon cable)->ATH-A900->AKG K701->ATH-AD2000
source: DZ555->E01->SONY EJ2000->D777*2->D303->D25->D15->SONY D100->Panasonic ST790->iRiver H10->N10->some other MD,CDP players,
|^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^| ||
|...V. TUBE TRUCK........| ||'|";, ___
|_..._..._______===|=||_|__|...., ]
"(@)'(@)"""''"**|(@)(@)*****''(@)
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05-11-2007, 07:05 AM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 880
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Congrats on such a beautiful amp! Hopefully Jack releases his balanced amp soon!
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05-11-2007, 07:47 AM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NY
Posts: 1,933
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that's a lovely looking amp. i look fwd to hearing your impressions once it's burned in and you've played it with further. i wonder how it compares to the woo 5 or 6 sonically.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick82
"Everything in audio is subtle and not worth it."
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"The purpose of art is to demonstrate that which in argument would appear incomprehensible." - Leo Tolstoy
My feedback
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05-11-2007, 10:55 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 164
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Great Looking amp. I have the WA6 and just love it.Jack is the best guy to work with, and his products are top shelf!
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05-11-2007, 11:02 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 123
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Yeah, the entire Woo line blew me away at the head-fi meet. I think I'm going to get a 3 or a 6 as my next amp. The build quality on these is absolutely superb.
I must say though, I hate it when people group Woo with the Asian amps. These aren't cheap products at all and are made right here in the USA.
__________________
Home: X-fi Coldt Style Modded -> Larocco PRII -> Sennheiser HD650
Portable: Ipod 5G 30g -> Larocco PRII -> Koss KSC 75/UE Super.fi 5 pros
Money spent since joining head-fi: 640 (owww)
Feedback
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05-11-2007, 11:15 AM
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1000+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,071
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Yaaargh, I want my WA6 n o w!
ETA: "May 19th, if not sooner". ^^
__________________
CANS: Denon AH-D7000 ||| Sennheiser HD 25-1 II
AMP: Woo Audio 6 w/ Mullard 5AR4
SOURCES: Pioneer DV-668AV [coax out] ||| MacBook Pro [optical out] => Zhaolu D2.5A
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
recent work:
SWITCHBLADE - "Switchblade [2009]" [CD/LP] OUT 09/09/09 [myspace | www]
DOZER - "Beyond Colossal" [CD/LP/Digital] OUT NOW [myspace | www]
VAKA - "Kappa Delta Phi" [CD/Digital] OUT NOW [myspace | www]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Head-Fi feedback | Last.fm
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05-11-2007, 01:35 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 2,104
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Indeed, Jack is a class act
If I have to pick one, I would put Woo Audio / Jack Wu as the best seller in the headphile circle. Polite, responsive, knowledgeable, humble and low profile, helpful person, who make the best in class products at an extremely reasonable price, while deliver fast and standing strong behind his products, and offer prompt after sale support to those in need, and at the same time keep innovating and expanding his product line.
No one is even close.
F. Lo
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05-11-2007, 01:38 PM
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Headphoneus Supremus
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Santa Rosa, CA --image Katmandu, Nepal Summer 2006 *We are but a cosmic blink or was that wink?*
Posts: 7,551
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There are a number of interesting 6DE7 versions out here. I recently purchased some with triple getters. They are RCA with two side getters and one U top getter, no shield and all black plates. I have some Sylvania all black plate with shield, some with all grey plate and shield and some with the driver as a grey plate and the power section of the tube as a black plate. Intersting combinations, now to see how they sound.
__________________
John aka Jam and Jama
Photo gallery at: www.pbase.com/jamato8 Recent publication: Ethnobotany Research & Applications, Vol 7 (2009) Kam Guilzhouh nyim Guangxxih di Benxtux Wenchual nyim Zihyuanc dih Gonxliix: Kam Local Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Resource Management in Guizhou and Guangxi Provinces, China http://www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/
The one constant in life is change, so will that change?
Feel with your own heart, see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears.
JH13's > Why stay home when you can go to the concert?
Listening with: JH13 Pro, Grado HF2 #469
Digital conversion: the all new MB-1 optical dual Wolfson portable dac
Amps I am currently listening with: RSA P-51 Mustang, SR 71A, iBasso D10, Lisa III, OEM BLack Gate, Non Black Gate, iBasso P3+, iBasso T3 (new version), RSA Shadow, iBasso D4
Favorite monitors: JH13 Pro, Grado HF2, Ultrasone Ed. 9 #1010, ATH-ESW10JPN
Portable monitor ratings: 1. JH 13 Pro 2. ESW10 JPN 3. PortaPros, KSC35 (modified-a great value) *4. UM2
Source: iRiver H130,140, D303 optical out, D-EJ955, D-EJ1000, D-EJ2000, 25s, 25, D-303, D-777 and others (optical out if available)
Digital Conversion: MB-1 optical Dac, Altoid tin Monica Dac I, Altoid tin Monica II Asynchronous Reclocking Dac, iBasso D10
Headphone Amplifiers:RSA: Shadow, Predator, P-51 Mustang, SR71A, Xin: IV Micro, IV Mini, Reference, SM3B, SuperMacro V LE, SM3 V6 (IV all switches), XRTA X-1, C&C Box, iBasso: P1, P2, P3, P3+, T1, T2, T3, T4 D1, D2, D3, D4, D10 Woo 3 Modified-Siemens 6922 driver, 7236 power tube, Woo 6 with the original Pseudo dual PS -
Ear Monitors: JH13 Pro, Ultra Ed. 9, Grado HF-2/F1 #469, HD650, ATH-ESW10 JPN, Ultrasone 750, HFI780, PortaPro modified, KSC35, Equation RP-21, Westone UM2
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05-11-2007, 01:51 PM
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1000+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,495
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wovenhand
Yaaargh, I want my WA6 n o w!
ETA: "May 19th, if not sooner". ^^
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X2
ETA: May 20th, if not later. 
__________________
Portable: Zune 120→JH-13 Pro
Home: HP TX2 Tablet→Pico Dac/Amp→JH-13 Pro
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