Wooaudio new stax amp for O2 - Page 2

Mike -- can't wait to see what you think of it! Please keep us updated.

I've been really really interested for a while now but I never had the guts to follow through.

Really looking forward to your impressions ,as i've been seriously thinking about this for the last couple weeks.

South Florida.. Darn we are on opposites...

Black or Silver . .?

I ordered it, and it'll be set up with HE90 and Stax outputs.

Keep us posted, Mike.

I will. But, I also look forward for others' comments regarding the McAlister EA-6.

Be glad to - once I get it, in working condition.

Will you have it at this Saturday's meet? I was really hoping to read positive comments about the EA-6, following this meet.

Congrats. Mike! I really look forward to seeing and hearing this when it arrives.

Gene - I'm excited about hearing, and disseminating information about this amp., especially because it may be the first one from Woo Audio having special provisions for driving HE90s. It's as exciting as my original experience with, and pleasure in disseminating information about, my EA-4 McAlister amp. that drives Stax, Orpheus, and Koss ESP/950 headphones. Needless to say, the Woo Audio amp. will have a much nicer cosmetic appearance (which will please many) and more refined wiring than the much less expensive McAlister amp. I know, of course, that several at Head-Fi have repeatedly refered to KG having said that the Woo stat amp. is an early design that has been superseded by later KG designs. By ordering this amp., I am betting that this information is not correct. I am guessing/hoping that Woo Audio, being aware of these comments, has refined/optimized the original design, thereby achieving improved performance. My reference standard for performance remains the HEV90, which thanks to Wayne, I've had the chance to compare closely with my McAlister. Since the HEV90 was clearly superior to the McAlister, I'll be looking to see whether the Woo Audio amp. is similarly superior to the McAlister. If it is, then I'll be fairly certain that this Woo Audio amp approximates the performance quality of the HEV90, although at a tremendously lower price. I'm also looking forward to trying the new McAlister EA-6, although I first want to see some positive reviews of this amp, by others. Finally, an SP ES-1 amp may still be in my future, although it's some time off. What I'm hoping is that the performance of Mikhail's creation well exceeds that of the HEV90.

Nope - it bounced in Canadian Customs from Nov 22 to Jan 8th (or so)... I have sent it back, but no idea where Peter is on it... I'll call tommorrow, but no indications whatsoever it is en route.

Moral of the story? NEVER use UPS to send an amp from the US to Canada for repair - always use USPS. UPS added (literally) ~$400 in bogus fees and duties for a treaty exempted piece of equiptment - then, when Peter refused their extortion, they simply set it aside until (convenirntly) after the Christmas rush.

Were it not for the fact I have a Blue Hawaii, I'd be truly freaked.

I am very sorry for your and Peter's sad experience with USP. Per his warning, I have only used USPS to deal with him in the past. Please let us know what you think of the EA6, when you finally receive it. Hopefully, it will compare favorably with the BH.

pabbi1 - Do you know anyone who is using a McAlister EA-6, or has commented on it's performance?

AFAIK, I am the only one that has (had) one.

When last we spoke, Peter was making some changes to the amp based on what I was hearing, both for gain, and quality. I simply have to defer comment about overall sound quality until hearing the amp perform as Peter and I both expect.

However, to expect a $1700 retail amp to sound (even slightly) better than an amp that was > $1700 in parts alone (my Blue Hawaii) is very difficult proposition to fulfill.

As soon as I have the EA-6 in hand, burned in, and with sufficient evaluation time, I will post impressions regarding it, compared to a variety of other well known electrostatic amps, and a range of phones, including the HE60, OII, and OI, with other seasoned Head-fi alums opinions as well.

Finally, I am also most likely selling one of the amps, as I need only one, and the BH is already serving me very well.

I'm looking forward to a comparison of the EA6 to the Woo stat amp., especially with an HE90. Hopefully, that'll be my contribution.