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Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif
What would really be interesting is a comparison between the WA22 and WA6SE, with both driving single-ended headphones. Apparently the circuits are similar, according to Jack, but I wonder which is superior in SE operation.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Henerenry /img/forum/go_quote.gif
When I asked Jack he suggested that the wa2 and w6se were superior to the wa22 in single ended mode.
He also suggested that the wa22 sits somewhere between the wa6se and wa2 in its sonic signature.
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Well, the prototype WA22 with balanced source and SE headphones tonally sounded like my maxed WA6 but with a bigger, wider and deeper soundstage. It also had a lot more power than the WA6 (non-SE). Those were the two biggest difference between the prototype and WA6.
So it could get some good volume out of the K1000 using the Sylvania 7236 tubes in the WA22 prototype, but it wasn't as punchy, and dynamic as the ZDT with K1000. The Denon D7000 also were a little better on the ZDT than the prototype where it felt like they weren't getting all the current they needed. But everything else was pretty close between the two amps, including HD600, HD800, RS-1, HF-2 and recabled dampened ATH-A900. There was a slight increase in upper mids with the ZDT vs the WA22 prototype which made the ZDT seem a little more lively with the HD600, but it wasn't a big difference.
At RMAF I could hear a noticeable improvement in the final WA22 over the prototype that I had for a couple of weeks on loan, especially with K1000 which now sound a little better on the final WA22 than the ZDT (although I swapped tubes in the ZDT and the K1000 are improved but the bass is still sloppy and poorly defined on the ZDT). It was hard to compare them from across the room at RMAF, but I really liked the WA22.
Somehow, I still preferred the WA22 over the WA5LE that was at RMAF, although the WA5LE still kicks my maxed WA6 in the butt.