For Sale:
Woo WES - original Demo and Review unit - balanced only, upgraded tubes, RCA loop out
Will Ship To: CONUS for $99 in 3 boxes
I need a bumper sticker that says, "My daughter and my money go to Duke".
I bought this Woo WES from Jack at the 2009 RMAF show, and received it the next month after he modified it for me to add an RCA loop-out to each of the two balanced inputs (two sets XLR in, two sets of RCA out). The sound quality of the single ended loop-out while feeding the WES a balanced signal is superb, and the RCA out sounds exactly like the input with no loss or change in quality.
If you only have a single ended source you can buy a Jensens Tranformers ISOmax input transformer online for under $150 to convert SE source to balanced. I use one to feed my phono preamp into the WES and it's excellent, but I'm still using the ISOmax with other amps and can't sell it.
The rear RCA jacks were never hooked up as inputs and were inly there for display, which is why I used them for loop out since adding the phase splitter circuit to the review sample was too costly. The back of the amp looks just like the production amp photos at the Woo website, but instead of the 12AU7 tubes for phase splitting there is an extra set of RCA jacks perfectly lined up side by side with the 1st set of RCA jacks.
Jack left the 3-input front switch in place despite only two XLR inputs being active. The stepped attenuator is very good, and I'm never finding myself in a spot where it's too quiet or too loud, and I only tend to listen with the volume knob between 9 o'clock and 1 o'clock, depending on the source output voltage and headphone's sensitivity (9-11 o'clock with SR-009 or HE-60 and 11-1 o'clock with O2 Mk1).
I'm fairly certain that this was the demo and review unit that Steve Guttenberg used in his CNET Review in 2009. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-10285208-47.html However between July 2009 when that review was posted and Nov 2009 I understand that there were a few improvements made to the internals. This amp does have the production WES Mk1 circuitry inside as released in Oct 2009, which was current until RMAF 2011 when the inductors were upgraded in the Mk2. The Mk2 upgrade would cost about $700 the last time I checked with Jack. The inductors upgrade adds a little extra micro-detail and spaciousness, but it wasn't a huge upgrade even with the SR-009 which pair quite well with the WES.
This amp includes a quad of upgraded $500 Shugang 50 years treasures 6CA7 tubes, a pair of Tung Sol 5U4G rectifiers, and a quad of RCA 6SL7 (NOS at time of purchase). The tube upgrade costs about $700 when you order the WES. I only have about 500-600 hours on the amp myself, but not sure about how many before that.
The amp is in very good condition, and I have all of the spike feet and metal disks, acrylic heat shields, tubes, and the cable from PSU to amp. I can include a Shunyata Viper power cord for extra $75, or a no-name power cord for free. I have the two original boxes and padding for the amp and PSU. The tubes will be packed in a 3rd box with bubble wrap, since there was never room in the amp/psu boxes.
I can ship this week or anytime after next week, but will unable to ship next week. I have a UPS, FedEX and US postal account, and will ship insured to a verified confirmed paypal account/address with the method you prefer.
PM me and we can negotiate a good deal for both of us. I may consider cash + partial trade from established head-fi members, but the trade has to be something I can't live without and I mostly need cash. I think I already have everything I ever wanted (except an iMac that's under 1 yr old or a Smythe Realiser).
