Woo Audio WA6 vs Little Dot Mk VI

these amps might be similarly priced.  but price and performance are not always proportional.

especially in this case, where you have two very different amps.

with the woo, you have a pricey (but very well made) amp from an american company that is a "middle of the pack" transformer coupled tube amp. 

with the little dot, you have a competitively priced OTL, fully balanced 6080 tube amp, made in china.

so there are lots of factors besides price which may steer you...

Price may be close but they are not competing in the same level.

balanced vs SE

transformer vs OTL

I've listened to both and they sound markedly different. it all depends on what you are looking for.

Remember that the source needs to be balanced as well to use the Mk VI.

what are you looking for from a sound perspective?

The only time I've heard the WA6 praised highly is when it's the WA6 SE, due to the added power. The WA6 standard is somewhat sub-par. I own the LD MKVI and see no reason to experiment with any other (dynamic headphone) amps. It has enough power to run everything and sounds great doing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by musico 

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has compared the WA6 with the Little Dot Mk VI.

I was thinking of tube amps, and these are in a similar price range of $600-700, and the LD is balanced, whereas the WA6 is not, but was wondering what are the differences, and which is better.

Any input appreciated

The Little Dot is also not point to point wired its using cicuit boards similar to the MK111 but should be more powerful. Only one single ended input on the little Dot and bigger. Have not heard it but the Woo6 is point to point but does not look as powerful so really need to hear both side by side

Quote:

Originally Posted by che15 

I own a wa6 and I like much and enjoy it , and I have a friend that has a MKVI and let me tell you there is a big difference in sound . PM your # and I will tell you all about it , it is just too much to type.

haha!  tell him, cesar!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 

The only time I've heard the WA6 praised highly is when it's the WA6 SE, due to the added power. The WA6 standard is somewhat sub-par.

 Meh?  Nearly no one here has the SE, if you read it here its likely the WA6 and pretty much no one has anything bad to say.  Its not a perfect amp obviously given its entry level but its not sub par.

Hello,

how can I plug a Senn 650 or Beyer 880 with regular plug into this amp?

Sorry for this naive question, but I'm interested in this beauty and want to know how to solder a adaptor ...

Airwin

Depends. You could a XLR->3.5" custom made, or buy one off another head-fier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude 

 Meh?  Nearly no one here has the SE, if you read it here its likely the WA6 and pretty much no one has anything bad to say.  Its not a perfect amp obviously given its entry level but its not sub par.

Since when did $620 become entry level?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 

...The WA6 standard is somewhat sub-par...

Nonsense. It's an excellent amp with nothing whatsoever sup-par about it, which is obvious to anyone who's ever owned one or heard one.

Then why is it every time I've seen someone commenting about the WA6, it's always followed by the statement to the effect of "but you'll want to get the SE because the extra power is a huge upgrade getting to a full 1W." I've seen this repeatedly and is the only time I've seen the WA6 mentioned at all.. always with the attached upgrade warning. How could I not draw the conclusion that the WA6 is under-performing for the money if people who have them are telling people interested in a WA6 that the SE is a huge upgrade? How powerful is the standard unit anyways? Woo doesn't even list it on their site, but they proudly display the 1W output of the SE version. Again, makes me wonder about the standard WA6.

The Little Dot outclasses the Woo in every aspect for about the same money. Double the power of the WA6 SE (+$420) (2W @ 300ohm), 4pin and 2x3pin XLR balanced output, balanced and unbalanced input, unbalanced output. The only negative is that it's Chinese instead of American made. In this price range point to point and circuit boards makes no difference. With amps of this quality at these prices I find it hard to recommend any of the 'entry level' Woo amps. Service from both companies is identical, even shipping times are about the same. I don't know about the WA6 (I'm guessing it can), but the MKVI has ample tube rolling options, so even that isn't a negative.

Care to debate the topic point for point like I did above? You're going to be in an uphill battle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 

Then why is it every time I've seen someone commenting about the WA6, it's always followed by the statement to the effect of "but you'll want to get the SE because the extra power is a huge upgrade getting to a full 1W." I've seen this repeatedly and is the only time I've seen the WA6 mentioned at all.. always with the attached upgrade warning. How could I not draw the conclusion that the WA6 is under-performing for the money if people who have them are telling people interested in a WA6 that the SE is a huge upgrade? How powerful is the standard unit anyways? Woo doesn't even list it on their site, but they proudly display the 1W output of the SE version. Again, makes me wonder about the standard WA6.

 

The Little Dot outclasses the Woo in every aspect for about the same money. Double the power of the WA6 SE (+$420) (2W @ 300ohm), 4pin and 2x3pin XLR balanced output, balanced and unbalanced input, unbalanced output. The only negative is that it's Chinese instead of American made. In this price range point to point and circuit boards makes no difference. With amps of this quality at these prices I find it hard to recommend any of the 'entry level' Woo amps. Service from both companies is identical, even shipping times are about the same. I don't know about the WA6 (I'm guessing it can), but the MKVI has ample tube rolling options, so even that isn't a negative.

 

Care to debate the topic point for point like I did above? You're going to be in an uphill battle.

It sounds like you haven't actually heard the WA6 yourself to judge any of your arguments from? I don't know about you, but someone saying that something is rubbish when they haven't even heard it makes, in my opinion, their argument invalid. I haven't heard either, so I cannot give an opinion. Just stating that I think it is only beneficial to be posting negative comments about a product if you have experienced them for yourself. I also am not sure where you are getting the whole "everyone thinks the WA6 is rubbish and only the SE is worth the money" argument from. In every thread I have read regarding the WA6 95% of the people are saying how great it is, and I rarely see the WA6SE being compared unless it is specifically a WA6 v WA6SE thread. It's a more expensive amp, by $400. Of course it will be more powerful.