Entrope,
No dog in the race, as I don't own either, but figured I'd throw a couple of coals on the fire.
1. With a $5k budget for just the amp, which (IMHO) is a very nice position to be since there are many options to choose from, and it opens up doors to what I personally would call some of the very high end echelon of headphone audio equipment. With that said, I would suggest it might make sense to "test drive" your current selections (Apache and WA5LE) before committing to either. Unfortunately, I'm guessing there just aren't a lot of these particular amps going around primarily due to their price point, hence, finding a local meet where you'd have the opportunity to audition may be very difficult. An very good option might be to mail Jack and Ray, and ask them to bring their equipment down to RMAF in Colorado in a few months (October), where you'd have this opportunity. They might already be planning to do so, hence, it would work out well. Assuming you live in the US, (you don't list your location) a RT ticket may be a good "insurance policy" to know what you'd be getting, and getting what you like. In the event you live outside the US, and the costs/time associated is too prohibitive, it does make things a bit more difficult, but perhaps you can find some comfort knowing at least these two models appear to hold their value rather well in the event things don't line up with your preferences.
Personally, I'm a bit on the lower end of the budget spectrum, and have to consider a DAC as well. My goal is a W4S DAC2 with a WA6SE, and although I have heard the WA6SE at a meet, I haven't heard the WA2, WA22, or the combination with a W4S, hence, a $200 RT plane ticket is my insurance policy to experiment and see if this is really for me. It is even possible that I find something more interesting and to my liking, which could end up costing me significantly less, or (worse) significantly more, but I've set an upper limit for myself, and this is a very personal decision. In any case, I think this venue will be the ideal forum to see all the major equipment manufacturers representing all under one venue, hence, I consider it the best possible opportunity to determine what I like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
entrope 
The reason for eyeing both Woo and RSA is they seem to have a decent rep here and their stuff is **** well built (both with the exception of their silly PSU-to-Amp power chord however). But excelled workmanship inside and excellent build quality outside.
2. There is no doubt that the these 2 pieces are works of art in my opinion. I've not heard one bad remark about their design, workmanship or quality of materials. I do, however, want to point out that having a dedicated power supply unit in a completely isolated chassis is really an ideal electrical environment for an amplifier. It is debatable as being over-engineered and/or inaudible, but the fact that some models have that feature is really testament to how seriously they consider making the best amplification possible with functionality first, and aesthetics second, but in seems in this case, they got both.
Happy Hunting.
