Woo 6 is HEEEEEERE!!!! v [PICS]

You do look excited, don't you?
Glad you liked it. Would love to compare the WA6 with my MAD Ear+ Purist HD2 one day ...

Ahhh congrats and welcome to the fold. Too many silver shots are starting to make me regret my decision of black. I have a different rectifier than you, but signature balance and definition at the ends certainly changed in burn-in. Also the WA6 seems to like a strong input signal, so I wouldn't be surprised if you have to turn the volume up with various sources. BTW, what was your turn around time on the AudioArtCable purchase? I just wrote on an order for ICs today.

Volume at 1 o'clock should be virtually unlistenable (at least for me anyway). Did you make sure that the switch in the back is set for high impedance?

I just recently setup my WA6 in my new home! I've only been listening since Monday, so I wanted to wait a bit before I posted my own impressions, but initial thoughts are extremely positive.

I had Jack send it with an upgraded Sovtek 5U4G (for an additional $10) and I don't sense any control issues with the bass. In fact, bass is absolutely slammin' on my HD600s. I'm not much of a basshead, but I think my setup sounds pretty good now. So, it could be that you'll get what your looking for in the bass with a different rectifier or you may need to let the amp burn in a little.

I find that both piano and acoustic guitar sound wonderful through the WA6. Listening to Bruce C0ckburn's Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws right now and it has never sounded better.

Custom XLR to RCA ICs.

Congrats on your new amp. Hope you enjoy your new setup

I liked the WA6 I demo'd at headfest. I found it to be a pretty low gain circuit, perfect for Grados. Ive never heard an iMod before, but I'm speculating your setup might benefit from a higher output source. of course tube rolling with higher gain tubes is a possibility.

Nice lil' amp you got there!!

Well a DAC with a variable output would allow to dial open the output to match. And there are certainly DACs that sound better than others. Out of curiosity, do you notice any difference in volume when playing the iMod v. PCDP? Not sure if what files you have on the iPod, but another option is increasing the gain a tad on those. Someone said the stock 5AR4 (which I believe you have) had a higher gain than the stock 5U4G, but I haven't tested myself.

Throughout breakin, the sound is musical, clear, relaxed in a non-solid-state way, and integral (no specific issues at a frequency range). Very articulate and non-tubey, as one might expect from the best high-end solid state and tube amps which tend to converge in character as price goes up. I'm intellectually aware that I am hearing a higher quantitative distortion, given it is single ended, but being low order and downward sloping in amplitude, the distortion disappears, masked by the recorded sound, such that it is perceptually insignificant if not musically consonant. In comparison, the headphone out on my XA777ES (which previously was not much worse than my Perreaux SXH1) sounds solid-state, flat in the midrange, and tipped up at the top end unnaturally, with not as much soundstage space or image body. And less revealing.

Everything sounds good and makes me want to listen more; this effect is significant, even though the absolute magnitude of "objective" performance difference from another amp may seem modest at first. You have to listen with your musical side, not your analytical side, to really become present to the benefits of this amp. I had a similar experience listening to the huge and expensive WA5 at Head-Fest: addictive, natural, clear, detailed, smooth, without any obvious character.

I must say, to my delight, the WA6 seems much better than the WA3+ as I heard it at the show. That one was a little rough and crude by comparison to the WA5, and I felt I couldn't live with the 3+ (didn't listen to the WA6 then... I bought it based on comments by Jack Woo and my love of the WA5 at the show).

Out of the box, with the Sovtek regulator, mine sounded balanced, smooth, musical, and with a good sense of soundstage and good body to instrumental images. Mine might have been broken in a bit at the factory. Bass was full but not boomy with HD650/Cardas.

After 48 hours, the treble was much cleaner, clearer, and with a subtle, delicate realism to cymbals and percussion. Head and shoulders above my Perreaux SXH1. But, the bass seemed lean, and lower treble a bit bright.

After 72 hours, the balance was settling back towards its original neutrality. Treble remains clear and detailed but no glare. My assumption is that the tubes, transformer, and caps are breaking in at different rates, and thus the character shifts one way then another with time. Detailed AND musical, with no obvious coloration or euphony.

Tonight will be 100 hours. I'll try Grado SR125 tonight.

Congrats Alan

I hope your WA6 keeps you happy for a while...we all know how that goes

The Silver looks beautiful...of course.

My WA3 continues to impress me so I've been safe from upgrade madness so far. Just a couple days ago I received tube dampers from Herbie...the first ones that I've tried. No conclusions yet on those.