Sibling Rivalry; The Woo WA2 vs The Woo WA6SE (review posted: update 6-3-2011) - Page 9

I am a rather big fan of the HD600 with the WA6SE. The improvement over the WA6 was noticeable. I think that the HD600's are capable of showcasing a lot of the talents that the better Woo has (i.e. dynamics, soundstaging, resolution). (It was common lore until recently that Sennheisers HD600/650 scale very well with better (read: $$$) amps and sources, with the HD650 being a touch more particular which links in the chain were being used.) Unfortunately, I was unable to compare the too Woos using upper-level cans like the LCD-2's and HE-500's. The WA6SE operates joyfully with both of these.

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 



Hi melville. I would say that the Taboo leans more towards the WA2 than the WA6SE. Of course the tube choices will dictate that. With both amps. The same thing can be said for how quiet the amps are. Frank I who has the CSP2/Taboo combo has mentioned that to me. Another thing to note is, as stated on the Decware website, the Taboo will reach it's full potential with a preamp like the CSP2. That might be something to consider. If you have a DAC with a built in preamp like the Benchmark DAC1 you're fine.

thats good to know about the Taboo. I have the W4S DAC-2 wit ha digital pre amp inside and the Taboo is on my list of considerations.

I must say that the HD600 doesn't scale up as well on my WA22 when I use a balanced cable as I would prefer, so it has its limits.

I want to borrow an HD650 and try it again just to see if there is a difference between these two Sennheisers in that respect, but in general I prefer the HD600.

No, most certainly not. Good point, Ross. The WA6 was more than enough to make the HD600's very enjoyable and I would have stopped there if not for a case of upgrade-itis. I will soon be selling my Senn's here, primarily because the increase in SQ between WA6 and WA6SE is better capitalized on with the orthodynamics that I strongly prefer. Still, I am sure that I will miss the HD600's and perhaps revisit them another day.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

The question I'd ask you would be, would you have the WA6SE if you only had the HD600?

(pardon my not having read the whole thread) So, are the WA6SE's dynamics and realistic-ness (realism) bad or just not as much in comparison to the WA2? Like, I am leaning toward the WA6SE to "tame" the signature of my 650s (vs compliment it with the WA2, and I've come to these conclusions from reading the review), so would I be happy with the dynamics of the WA6SE or disappointed? Did you forget to add "Not that the WA6SE does a bad job, not in the slightest..." like you did in the tohers? That's really what I wanna know. I'm looking for something that screams clarity and detail, although I do like an analog sound (my stereo system is set up this way with mainly vinyl and I picked up a few reel to reel tapes recently) too, so it seems like one of these two amps is for me, and like I said I wanna tame my 650s, and it seems like the WA2 would be the compliment and the WA6SE would be the more taming from reading the review, and the add in of the LCD-2 part seems to agree assuming the LCD-2s do have a similar nature to the 650s like some like to say.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtaylor991 

(pardon my not having read the whole thread) So, are the WA6SE's dynamics and realistic-ness (realism) bad or just not as much in comparison to the WA2? Like, I am leaning toward the WA6SE to "tame" the signature of my 650s (vs compliment it with the WA2, and I've come to these conclusions from reading the review), so would I be happy with the dynamics of the WA6SE or disappointed? Did you forget to add "Not that the WA6SE does a bad job, not in the slightest..." like you did in the tohers? That's really what I wanna know. I'm looking for something that screams clarity and detail, although I do like an analog sound (my stereo system is set up this way with mainly vinyl and I picked up a few reel to reel tapes recently) too, so it seems like one of these two amps is for me, and like I said I wanna tame my 650s, and it seems like the WA2 would be the compliment and the WA6SE would be the more taming from reading the review, and the add in of the LCD-2 part seems to agree assuming the LCD-2s do have a similar nature to the 650s like some like to say.

The Woo6se is more dynamic than the Woo2 and has more detail and clarity. The Woo2 has the more romantic tubey sound where as the Woo6se is closer to solid state sound.

With regards the HD650's if you want to liven them up a bit,tighten the bass and make then a bit brighter then go with the Woo6se.

If you are perfectly happy with the way they sound and want more of the same go with the Woo2.

In what way do the HD650's need 'taming'?

I was considering the 6se vs taboo.  Ended up going with the taboo just because of frank's glowing review of it with the HE-500.  I'm sure a CSP will come in the future at some point, although I am curious how a wa2 would fare as a preamp for the taboo as well.  The Woo waiting time is much less though.  All of woo's products are beautiful nonetheless, and I'm sure they sound amazing.  I hope at some point I can compare the WA6 SE to the Taboo.  If it ever happens I'll be sure to post.  I'm sure I would be more than pleased with both amps.  The wait is going to kill me though :)

I guess it also helped that baka felt that the WA6SE + HE-500 was not a match made in heaven despite the fact that I'm sure it sounded great.  The WA2 seems like an extremely tempting amp for me as well especially with what qualities I'm looking for.  I suppose the lucid mode on the Taboo helped push me the other way, that and Steve of Decware's design philosophies and writings.  I think I'm always going to want a Woo amp though.  Unfortunately it may be redundant for me to own one at any point since I consider my taboo a life long purchase.  It's probably too easy to think about while I wait for the actual amp to be built :)

I really enjoyed the original post.  I've read it several times.  Thanks for all the nice discussion overall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

I think the HD650 would do better with the WA6SE with it's clearer and more solid state sound. The HD650, to me, has rolled off highs and a mid bass hump that's not as tight as other headphones. Although I never heard the WA2 with the HD650 I have with the WA6SE.
I have said the dynamics of the WA6SE was a bit less dynamic than the WA2 and the beta22. Everything (the loudest and softest parts of a song or music) with the WA6SE, to me, seemed to sound closer to the same volume than on the other two amps. This is offset by the great soundstaging I felt the WA6SE has. This is not to say that I felt they weren't dynamic, but compared to the other two excellent amps, it sounded a tad less. All said, I did prefer the solid state sound of the WA6SE to the warm and fuzzy sound of the WA2.

Yes I remember you saying that in your original comparison but I have always found the Woo6se to be very dynamic but my source is known to be very dynamic as well so it could be the source I am hearing in that department. However I did ask Jack Woo for a comparison before I purchased the Woo and he stated that the Woo6se was more dynamic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

@Llloyd
I have been fortunate enough to hear Frank's Taboo/CSP one a couple of occasions. The answers aren't cut and dry and may just come down to aesthetic preferences. I will say that the Taboo does sound better with the CSP as it's preamp.
Although I don't have any tube amps now, if I were to choose just one, I'd choose the Woo WA6SE. Not because it's better than the WA2 or Decware, but it just suited me best overall. It also was the best match for the HD800 for me.
The HE500 and the WA2 was a surprise to me how well the two sounded together. I've also heard the HE500 on Frank's system and it was also a great pairing. So I have little doubt you made the right choice.

I see.  I agree that it's personal preference and after the amount of research I did I decided the Taboo was probably best for me.  It's nice to hear you reaffirm the combination though.  Woo's amps will always have my interest nonetheless.

Nigel, baka pretty much answered the taming thing. The WA6SE is said to have more highs than the WA2, and the 650s have some kinda rolled off highs, so it sounds like the WA6SE would be the best of the two for the 650s if you wanted to fix that, which is taming them. If you like that characteristic, the WA2 would be the best out of the two to complement it.

650s seem to lack detail and the great soundstage everyone talks about in the 650 Appreciation Thread, and I think it's my amp because I have a PS Audio DLIII DAC. The WA6SE is said to havre the better soundstage and detail of the two, so that would work out well for me.

Plus overall, if the WA2 is the more warm and tubey sound and the WA6SE is the clearer, solid state like cousin, I'd rather have the 6SE because I feel the 650s already accomplish the warm tubey type sound and I don't want to increase it, but decrease it a bit to try having the best of both worlds, clarity and detail with a tubey sound, like baka said the WA6SE did vs. the WA2. I had a Darkvoice 337 and I didn't like the "tube sound", like it sounded less detailed and had a worse soundstage (it had two volume knobs so I had to just center the soundstage with both knobs to sound right, and this obviously wasn't how the music was supposed to sound, but I didn't know what it did sound like, so I had to set my own soundstage, which was not so good. That's why I sold it) than my Audio-gd Compass, which is about half the price. Even more so it had rolled off highs, just like the 650s, and it was just too much for me. I want to try tube amps again because of my ignorance of tube rolling. It was probably just my tubes I was using that made it so, not the simple fact that I was using tubes.

Thanks for the replies!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigeljames 

The Woo6se is more dynamic than the Woo2 and has more detail and clarity. The Woo2 has the more romantic tubey sound where as the Woo6se is closer to solid state sound.

With regards the HD650's if you want to liven them up a bit,tighten the bass and make then a bit brighter then go with the Woo6se.

If you are perfectly happy with the way they sound and want more of the same go with the Woo2.

In what way do the HD650's need 'taming'?

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

I think the HD650 would do better with the WA6SE with it's clearer and more solid state sound. The HD650, to me, has rolled off highs and a mid bass hump that's not as tight as other headphones. Although I never heard the WA2 with the HD650 I have with the WA6SE.
I have said the dynamics of the WA6SE was a bit less dynamic than the WA2 and the beta22. Everything (the loudest and softest parts of a song or music) with the WA6SE, to me, seemed to sound closer to the same volume than on the other two amps. This is offset by the great soundstaging I felt the WA6SE has. This is not to say that I felt they weren't dynamic, but compared to the other two excellent amps, it sounded a tad less. All said, I did prefer the solid state sound of the WA6SE to the warm and fuzzy sound of the WA2.