Upgraded Woo Audio 6? - Page 4

X2 Holy cow.

Can't wait to read comparisons to a stock 6. Looks like a monster killer. Watch out SP, RS, EC, etc.......

Is this hobby fun or what?

Good! (Maybe now he can get started on mine!)

Curse this thread!

I just finished reading this AFTER I placed my order for a WA6. Now I had to go ahead and ask for the "upgraded" version too.... Hopefully since I have to wait already he hasn't started on mine and I can get the upgrades *crosses fingers*. Thanks for the heads up guys!

DaNuS, I placed my 'up-grade' order almost 2 full weeks after I placed my order with Jack for the stock WA6, so you should have no worries.

You were correct I went ahead and ordered the upgrades so now I just have to sit back and wait

Any updates on sound with the upgrades?

Well... I now have a little over 200 hours of burn-in time on my new WA6(BG/V-Cap Version). This amp sounded good right out of the box, but sounded even better after about 125 hours. Very clear, very tight, with only a slight amount of grain in the upper mids. (This was with the Stock Russian Rectifier.) Not much change in sound since the 125 hour mark, but it is my understanding that the V-Caps will take another jump at around 400 hours.

I had originally planned to wait until the 400 hours of burn-in were up before doing any tube rolling, but at 200 hours, I couldn't resist trying out my newly acquired Amperex Bugle Boy (Brown Base w/2 square getters). WOW! No more grain in the upper mids! The midrange is not as prominent as with the stock Russian tube (almost like the singer has stepped back from the mike a few feet), but the entire frequency range from bass through mids to the treble is more evenly balanced and natural sounding. Clarity, channel seperation and imaging are much better with this tube.

I'm still waiting on my Stefan Equinox Cable to get here, and also have an Amperex Metal Base GZ34 on the way. Things should get interesting then!


Only 185 more hours of burn-in to go!

Nice score on that brown base Bugle Boy. I haven't seen many of those, it should be one of the older ones. I look forward to reading what you think of the metal base compared to the brown base. Are they both NOS?

Both tubes are used, but I got them for considerably less than NOS versions of these tube are currently going for! By all indications (condition/color of label, remaining getter flashing) the Bugle Boy has low hours on it. I haven't received the Metal Base Amperex yet, but I am told that the label is perfect and it supposedly test at 90%. Since these early Rectifiers can last 10,000 hours anyway, it makes more sense to try and get good, slightly used ones, at a reduced price, rather than get into a bidding war with 20 other bidders on Epay who are after the same NOS tube!

I have nos metal base and used and the used metal base, that test like new, sound the same but in other rectifier types I have not found this to be true. I would estimate, having used the metal base for years that its life can be well past 10,000 hours. I have one that I know was used hard and I have used it for a long time and it still tests new and sounds as good as nos. Great tubes, the metal base. I would love to try the Edition 9 with the 6.

finally got around to doing the mod on my wa-6...

i used all the same black gate caps as jack recommended, except
for the four cathode bypass caps... i used the black gate N-series
470uF/16v instead of the standard series...

changed all the resistors, except the arcol power resistor used for
filtering...mills 5 watt series and riken 1 watt series mixed in there...

purchased the .1uF v-cap as chris of vh-audio recommended this
as his personal favourite for balance and clarity for class-a tube amps.

had a hell of a time soldering the ground forks. had to clean and sand
it slightly to get it to adhere to the solder, but no cold-joints measured!
used only silicon rubber to hold the v-caps in place but it should hold
considering how solid and stiff those lead wires are!

here's a pic of my sloppy but efficient result:



initial listening resulted in less than mind-blowing impressions...but, i can already
sense the difference in the extension of the lower and upper frequencies.
everythings sound less burdened as if the bottle neck has widened vastly.
the bass is not as tight and focused, as expected of a new part...
the black gates will take some time to stabilize i'm afraid...the soundstage,
width and depth is smaller than what the stock caps provided with burn in...
(only about 30 min. burn in so far...) i'll give another listen at 100 hrs. of burn
in.

one thing i did noticed, to my delight, was the salient superior clarity of
the mid region...at less than an hour burn in, the clarity of the mid region is already
superior to the stock caps...i can hear texture and nuances that i didn't detect earlier
with the stock version...one of my wife's favourite song is "in a manner of
speaking" by nouvelle vague but it's plagued by less than stellar record engineering.
that particular song sounded flat and not very dynamic nor
involving...but with the upgrades it sounds like a different version...i can now
hear the vocalists taking a breath between lines and the upper freq. is so
much more energetic and alive now...impressive...my wife, who's a musician,
but not an audiophile, could tell the difference too! "so, that's what you've
been doing..." was her comment to me...that's a compliment in my book...

my reference track to judge equipment is keith jarrett's "no lonely nights"
recorded by ecm, the 6'21" version. initial impressions with this track
is promising...the bass is somewhat less focused at this stage, but the
instrument separation, texture and clarity is already an improvement on the
already very good stock wa-6...the soundstage can open up with some
significant burn-in, i'm hopefully optimistic...was this upgrade worth the time
and money? an overwhelming yes, at this initial stage...i'll do another
comment at hour 400...btw, i'm using a 5r4ga tube with 6de7s and listening
with 701...transport is yamaha s-657 with vda-2 dac with vac-1 power
supply. using diy vampire silver stranded and jena labs cryo copper interconnects...

The 470uf should give you a little better bass when fully formed vs the 220uf stock. Nice choice on the resistor. Actually having an inductive resistor in the power supply isn't bad because it is just that, inductive and will do some filtering. I find the Riken Ohm to be quite nuetral and good sounding. I have some older tantalums, which are conidered the best and I like the Riken just as much. Try a battery bias on the 6DE7 vs a cap and resistor. The bias will cheap the battery charged and the bias will float to the correct level on the battery after a few days. Measure the bias and then use equivlent batteries for voltage. I have used AAA's with good success. Batteries are even smoother but sometimes people like a more agressive resistor only (no cap and they feel the mids are better) or a resistor and cap, as you have there.

There isn't room but to inductor load the input tube rather than resistor load it would also increase dynamics. A 150H inductor can do wonders.

Hey takezo! Welcome to the WA6 Upgrade Club!
Don't worry about the bass! Mine was boomy and flabby at first as well, but tightens up very nicely after about 100 hours. The soundstage will start to open up about the same time and it continues to get better.

Thanks again for keeping me from getting scammed on that Ebay Tube!


Only 150 hours of burn-in to go!

I may have to get one of these.

Hey! My name is spelled right!

No, you can't have one. You got the 3 that is all you get. :^)