Woo WA22
Oct 2, 2009 at 2:46 AM Post #152 of 322
Quote:

Originally Posted by Seamaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Mon, 20 Jul 2009



Not bad at all. A far cry from the craziness going on at Headamp. I'm glad I read some threads at Headfi before placing a order. I'm sure Headamp products are awesome but 12 months?

Anyway, this thing is certainly on my short list. What source are you going to use?
 
Oct 2, 2009 at 8:08 AM Post #153 of 322
Quote:

Originally Posted by Seamaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Mon, 20 Jul 2009


Thanks. I'm quite a way behind you (ordered Sep 11th), but hoping it'll be here in time for the UK meet at the beginning on November.
 
Oct 31, 2009 at 6:22 AM Post #155 of 322
Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif
No more review or impression ?


Other than it's my favorite dynamic Woo amp? I can't find anything bad to say about the WA22, and I doubt you'll hear anything negative from others either. If I had the WA22 and didn't have my EC ZDT amp, I would be just as happy.
 
Oct 31, 2009 at 8:18 AM Post #157 of 322
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Other than it's my favorite dynamic Woo amp? I can't find anything bad to say about the WA22, and I doubt you'll hear anything negative from others either. If I had the WA22 and didn't have my EC ZDT amp, I would be just as happy.


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.
 
Oct 31, 2009 at 9:50 AM Post #158 of 322
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.
 
Oct 31, 2009 at 10:20 AM Post #159 of 322
You guys are killing me, my WA22 is on a plane right now crossing the Atlantic. Jack suggested to me that the 22 was second only to the 5LE for performance, although we didn't go into detail on whether that was taking into account balanced v SE. I have to say, Jack has pulled out the stops to get the amp to me in time for the UK meet (a week today). Just to be safe, I paid extra for UPS delivery as the Royal Mail are on strike over here (again), and I do need to wait a little longer for the Treasure tubes, but Jack is shipping the amp with stock driver tubes so I can still use it at the meet. Great service, particularly considering how busy they obviously are, and the fact I did make a bit of a nuisance of myself
devil_face.gif
.

For current owners of the WA22, how much did you find the sound changed during run in? Mine will have Jack's recommended Sylvania power tube upgrade, EML 5U4G mesh, and (to begin with) stock drive tubes. Just wondering how accurate people's impressions will be at the UK meet considering it won't be run in at all. Cheers.
 
Oct 31, 2009 at 5:25 PM Post #160 of 322
Quote:

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.


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.



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.
 

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