Woo WA2 Tube Rolling Recommendations - Page 2

i haven't done any rolling with ez80 tubes yet, though i have a few coming in the mail pretty soon.

rolling the power tubes makes a huge, amp changing difference.

tubes i've tried

tung-sol 5998 - best, much improved bass extention - increased sound stage and detailed. very tubey sounding as well.

GE 6080 - this gives you maybe 80% of the tung sol sound in the same areas really. with the increaded price of the tung sols recently this is a good option.

JAN 6AS7GA - slight better than stock - anemic bass, slightly improved sound stage, muddled mids.

I use GEC 6AS7G's in my SinglePower Extreme - they are my favorite 6AS7G variant. I like them better than the Tung-Sol 5998. But they tend to be expensive. If those GEC 6080's are at all similar, you will like them a lot.

I recently received my WA2. Jack also implied that the power tubes make the most difference.

For my setup (which includes the K701s) he recommended upgrading the power tubes to 6H13Cs, which have been mentioned before in this thread. If there are any opinions about them, I'm more than happy to listen. They are on their way, so I'll compare them first hand either way.

There is a big difference between should be $50 each and are $50 each. The TS 5998s have gotten very scarce in the past 12 months and are therefore very pricey. If you know where they can be had in matched pair quantity for that price then please post a link.

When I bought my WA2 18 months ago I bought two extra sets of TS 5998 tubes from Jack because I knew then that supply was starting to dry up. I sold one set to another head-fier several months ago and the other set is staying right here.

--Jerome

These are great tubes. I used a set of Amperex Orange Globes for nearly a year and then suddenly without warning one of them went microphonic on me and I ended up replacing them with a set of Valvo E88 CCs, which are also great. Edit: Oh, and IIRC they cost me about $60 for a matched pair.

I know there are a lot of people who think there is a huge difference in these 6922/6DJ8 variants, but I have tried about 10 different NOS flavors and can't say that there was that much of a difference to justify the stratospheric prices some of them command. Even the the GE Gray Label 6922 tubes I bought for $20/matched pair sounded pretty good to my ears.

As Jack and others have said, the power tubes make the most notable difference and I agree.

--Jerome

Thanks for the info Jerome.

I know I have asked several times before but to no avail, however, since you have had a WA2 for 18 months, you might know- Do you have any problems fitting any 6080/7236 tubes in the slot. The space looks tight for their bases and I have a bunch of 6080s. Want to make sure they fit, if not, order the extender or more 6AS7 tubes before my WA2 arrives.

Thanks in advance.

Jes

I can't imagine the 6080 not fitting. Here is a closeup of my WA2 with a Tung Sol NOS 5998.



I know the 6080 has a big base but there should be plenty of clearance here to fit them to the WA2. Jack lists them on the site as a compatible tube and if there were issues with fitting them I am sure he would have specified only a 6AS7.

Hope this helps.

--Jerome

I know it hasn't been the same since AES ran out (they were selling for $30 each NOS). But I see them go on EBay for under $100/pair quite a bit.

I see that two matched pairs have sold on ebay in the last 60 days for less than $100. Don't know anything about the sellers and I generally walk away without any information in a listing regarding how the tubes test. If the seller hasn't tested the tubes then I don't want them.

The 5998s are still scarce by any sensible definition, and I have seen prices on eBay in the $150 to $200 range for a matched pair fairly often. That Jack at Woo Audio no longer has a reliable source for them and is no longer offering them as a tube upgrade for the WA2 says a lot.

I don't want to argue about it. Suffice it to say that the supply has dried up considerably in the course of the last year and a half and there are some dealers pricing their wares accordingly. Fair enough?

--Jerome

I don't disagree with any of that. And the 5998 has never been a tube with "plentiful" supply - it was just not produced in enough quantity.

I bought 3 pairs when AES had them for $29.99 each - guess I am glad I did.

OTOH, 6AS7G's remain cheap as dirt, and they sound pretty darned good. I am using Tung-Sol black-plate, halo-getter 6AS7G's in my DV 337 right now - I got these from AES for $8 each, NOS/NIB! Normally when you order 6AS7G's from AES what you get are RCA's of course, but it helps to call them - you never know what they have in stock.

Regarding buying off EBay - if you have even a simple emissions tube tester, and you buy from sellers who offer a refund for bad tubes, you are safe. I bought my little B&K 606 tester for $65 - it was in great condition and a VERY worthwhile purchase. I later bought a bigger Mutual Transcoductance tester, but this was just because I wanted one - for someone who wants to buy vintage tubes, a simple emissions tester will let you do this essentially risk free. I have never had a tube seller refuse to replace or refund a tube I bought off EBay that wasn't good. Just don't buy the "sold as-is" auctions.

Excellent advice!

--Jerome

Thanks for the close-up pic Jerome. It looks like there is enough space for the base of the 6080s.....

X2 on "sold as is" when it comes to tubes. Did it once, never again....