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Woo3 Modified - Page 8

post #106 of 240
5/11/05 at 10:29am
Thread Starter 
The 7236 is pretty much all I use now. If you leave it on a few hours before use it gets even much nicer. I am also still using the 6BZ7's that some seem to have difficulty with (hum). The combination is very open, detailed, liquid midrange, and just musically plain enjoyable.

I have also noticed the Black Gates that I am using for my output caps have settled in and are working very well.

John
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post #107 of 240
5/11/05 at 11:02am
I just had 10 6BZ7 tubes delievered.

I just poped one pair of RCA 6BZ7 in which gave me a slight 50 Hz hum.
Than I popped in a pair of GE 6BZ7 which work without any hum.

After testing all 10 tubes on my tube tester and in my Woo amp I found that 1 GE and 1 RCA tube hum. 2 other GE tubes are non usable - tested real bad on my tube tester.

It seems that some 6BZ7 cause hum in the Woo, while others will work fine in the same amp.
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post #108 of 240
5/11/05 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamato8
The 7236 is pretty much all I use now. If you leave it on a few hours before use it gets even much nicer. I am also still using the 6BZ7's that some seem to have difficulty with (hum). The combination is very open, detailed, liquid midrange, and just musically plain enjoyable.

I have also noticed the Black Gates that I am using for my output caps have settled in and are working very well.

John
how much difference do you experience between 5998 and 7236?
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post #109 of 240
5/11/05 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt. Z
It seems that some 6BZ7 cause hum in the Woo, while others will work fine in the same amp.
Couldn't they just have been damaged in transit?

Regardless, this was my experience as well. About 4 of the tubes I received I had to toss because of hum.
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post #110 of 240
5/11/05 at 2:34pm
Thread Starter 
I have about 30 or more of the 6bZ7 type and none are bad and all tested good, I guess I am lucky with 6BZ7s.

The 7236 to me is more transparent, dynamic and better (lower) bass. It is not huge but enough that this is my tube of choice.

John
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post #111 of 240
5/11/05 at 3:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamato8
I have about 30 or more of the 6bZ7 type and none are bad and all tested good, I guess I am lucky with 6BZ7s.

The 7236 to me is more transparent, dynamic and better (lower) bass. It is not huge but enough that this is my tube of choice.

John
Does the change in bass affect other frequencies at all? (i.e IME sometimes frequencies are "tied together", it's hard to tell if it's an increase in low bass or increase in treble rolloff.)

transparent... does this mean it will make bad recordings or bad source files (i.e. mp3 files) sound worse?

and dynamic is ability to express varying loudness, right? still bit confused on definition of this word.

thanks!
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post #112 of 240
5/11/05 at 9:03pm
Thread Starter 
I actually find the presentation cleaner. The bass has better definition and the whole frequeny range seems to have less smearing, which sounds better to me. Dynamics, the impact of the sound, is fast and agile. The subjective impression that the sound that esculates from a quiet passage to a loud one is fast and convincing (some also call it "jump" factor). I detect that macro and micro dynamics, which for me, add to the overal enjoyment and involvement in the music, with the 7236, are improved.

John
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post #113 of 240
5/11/05 at 10:06pm
Sounds interesting. maybe ill check it out sometime when i get the funds
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post #114 of 240
5/18/05 at 11:49pm
Finally getting around to posting a pic of my Woo:

(excuse the high compression, I wanted to get it down to about 60K)
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post #115 of 240
5/19/05 at 12:17am
Thread Starter 
Excellent! How does it sound?

John
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post #116 of 240
5/19/05 at 2:01am
All those new blackgates have to burn in, but so far even with the "unburnt" caps it's better than stock, certainly more articulate bass. Will update in another 200 hours
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post #117 of 240
5/19/05 at 2:40am
Total cost?
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post #118 of 240
5/19/05 at 2:41am
Thread Starter 
I have found that the nonpolar Blackgates don't take too long but those polar Blackgates can take over 500 hours. This is why some do not like them as they will not wait long enough to hear what they can sound like and do not believe that they could possibly take that long to break-in.

You did a nice job on the layout. I like the Woo because it is simple and yet does enough with the signal to get the job done.

What is the signal attenuation for this?

John
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post #119 of 240
5/19/05 at 12:42pm
I tried to keep the layout as close to the original as possible, but as we all know the blackgates are on the large side, so a few things had to be twisted around or moved. My Shanling CD player actually has digital volume attenuation, so I can sit back and control the volume of my headphone amps by remote control, which is incredibly convenient. I've found that getting the pots out of the amps offers a nice increase in detail.

Sduibek, I think if you add all the parts costs together it comes out to somewhere around $225-250.
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post #120 of 240
5/19/05 at 1:05pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, the less the better. I had assumed that you had that type of upstream volume control. Have you tried to parallel the input tube? This increases the current to the output tube and gives you even more drive capabilities. Either way the circuit is nice and simple and without the volume control that signal should get through the circuit in good form. Have you tried any caps on the cathode bias of the input tube? Around 400uF 6 volt will give better bass impact. A Blackgate nonpolar works very well.

John
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