So I finally got my WA6-SE from Woo Audio. As the topic states it will be coupled with a pair of Denon AH-D7000s and I use Grace Design m903 as a DAC.
 
I ordered WA6-SE with the stock tubes to get a feel for the system as I don't have any prior experience with tubes. So far the system has meet all the expectations and then some, but my curiosity of what the amp can do with other tubes has got me excited again (poor wallet etc), lol.
 
There is a jungle of recommendations here as I've been plowing through a couple of very long threads on the topic. However none of them mentioned good tubes for my taste in music explicitly. I mostly listen to house, trance, techno, pop, drum & bass, dubstep, electronica etc. Furthermore, I like to be on the warm side of the spectrum, being a little sensitive to too much sibilance - not saying I don't want details though.
 
Can someone recommend any tubes for this purpose? I don't care so much about the cost as I figure this will be a good investment into an already far to expensive system, hehe. I recon I can find a good deal on ebay, but tips on where to purchase "cheap" tubes will also be appreciated. Using the term investment also helps on the psychological side of things,
 
Thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully respond.

For smooth sound and warm look for Mullard, GEC, Brimar brands from UK.
 

I'm using a Mullard GZ32 rectifier with some Westinghouse 6GL7's. My favourite combination so far in my WA6. Some 6FD7's would be nice too, but they have a bit less gain than 6GL7. I also listen to a lot of the same kinds of music with D5000's, and the above combo's work very nicely for me.

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telecaster said:

For smooth sound and warm look for Mullard, GEC, Brimar brands from UK.

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Thank you, so if I find some tubes from one of those brands, how can I be sure they'll fit? In WA6-SE's user manual there is a list of supported tubes, I guess those numbers, like GZ32, 6GL7 etc are standards which are used by a number of brands or what?
 
If this is not the case how can I be sure the a given tube will be compatible with WA6-SE, please?
 
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carlchip78 said:

I'm using a Mullard GZ32 rectifier with some Westinghouse 6GL7's. My favourite combination so far in my WA6. Some 6FD7's would be nice too, but they have a bit less gain than 6GL7. I also listen to a lot of the same kinds of music with D5000's, and the above combo's work very nicely for me.

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Thanks! I've seen the Mullard GZ32 being mentioned a number of times so I was kind of interested in that to begin with. As I have understood there are a few different ones and the older the better? I read that there were one with a plastic base, one with a metal base and one with a wide metal base, and I believe the wide metal base was the best (and priciest) one?
 
Also, may I ask which of them you own and if you've tried the Sophia Princess for our taste in music? I'm afraid that won't be a good match from what I've read.

Norway, the rectifier I'm using is a brown base GZ32 with British RAF markings on it. You should be able to find them on eBay. I got mine last year for about $100 Australian. It looks like the seller still has them available. I haven't heard of metal base GZ32, I think that might be GZ34- and then you are talking big $$. I haven't heard a Sophia tube before, but there are many in this forum that have. Also, if I'm unsure about the compatibility of tubes with my WA6, I usually send an email to Woo Audio. They have always been very helpful with me, and they usually respond quickly.

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norway said:

 
Thank you, so if I find some tubes from one of those brands, how can I be sure they'll fit? In WA6-SE's user manual there is a list of supported tubes, I guess those numbers, like GZ32, 6GL7 etc are standards which are used by a number of brands or what?
 
If this is not the case how can I be sure the a given tube will be compatible with WA6-SE, please?
 
 
Thanks! I've seen the Mullard GZ32 being mentioned a number of times so I was kind of interested in that to begin with. As I have understood there are a few different ones and the older the better? I read that there were one with a plastic base, one with a metal base and one with a wide metal base, and I believe the wide metal base was the best (and priciest) one?
 
Also, may I ask which of them you own and if you've tried the Sophia Princess for our taste in music? I'm afraid that won't be a good match from what I've read.

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Mailing Woo is a good idea, also search for the WA6SE tube rolling thread in here, you will find first hand experience of those who use the same amp. I may tell you that there are very nice and pricey tubes for this amp and lots of people experimenting.

If you are new to tube amps, don't worry too much about tube rolling right away. Relax and enjoy whatever tubes you have. Most tubes are pretty good. If you decide to venture into the vintage tube rolling, don't get crazy into buying expensive old tubes. Commonly, you can buy Sylvania and GE brands for bargain prices and they are great tubes. 
 
I can easily live with a nice bargain priced Sylvania or GE and forget about tube rolling, even though I do own other great brands too. If you decide later on to try other brands, you may do so but keep in mind that more expensive tubes do not always mean that they are better.

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spareribs said:

If you are new to tube amps, don't worry too much about tube rolling right away. Relax and enjoy whatever tubes you have. Most tubes are pretty good. If you decide to venture into the vintage tube rolling, don't get crazy into buying expensive old tubes. Commonly, you can buy Sylvania and GE brands for bargain prices and they are great tubes. 
 
I can easily live with a nice bargain priced Sylvania or GE and forget about tube rolling, even though I do own other great brands too. If you decide later on to try other brands, you may do so but keep in mind that more expensive tubes do not always mean that they are better.

Click to expand...

 
Thank you for your reply. I have been thinking a lot about this and I've done as you suggested. Once I got the amp I began reading a ton on here and even tried to compile a list of recommended combos – much to no avail as I totally brain farted due to a large number of conflicting recommendations – subjectivity, nothing new there, but I found it hard to extrapolate any kind of consensus from what I read. Furthermore, I have picked up a pair of LCD2 Revision 2s since I made this thread too – that didn't exactly short down possible combinations either, lol.
 
I've also done some soul searching when it comes to tubes. Basically I've come to the conclusion that many of the rare and expensive tubes might be desirable just because of the fact that they are rare (and collectible). I base that notion on a belief that the desire to own rare objects is a major part of human psychology. Obviously I haven't heard such tubes so this is all just speculation.
 
Oh, and I'm very pleased with my WA6-SE together with both the D7000s and the LCD2s, even though I only have the cheap stock tubes. I am going to upgrade though, but I'm not going jiggy with it, as I think there is more performance to be had by trying other cans. Right now I have my horny eyes on the TH900s – gosh, I'm in love again!
 
Thank you for assuring me that I have taken the right approach this far.
 
Have a nice summer!