I am considering a amp to pair with my hd800 in this price range. WA5 is one of the best choices.
Yes the WA5 is an excellent amp for just about any headphone. The Cavalli Audio amps are very nice too.
I am considering a amp to pair with my hd800 in this price range. WA5 is one of the best choices.
I am considering a amp to pair with my hd800 in this price range. WA5 is one of the best choices.
Two big & heavy boxes from FedEx today, definitely that is my WA5+++ delivered on 7 January 2017! I would take 1-2 days to set it up and take a gallery of unbox pics before the first listening session .....
Congratulations! Be sure to give the system a couple of hundred hours to break-in. Nothing special you need to do, just enjoy as normal. The sound should improve with every use.Please keep us posted with your listening impressions.
I managed to experience "base noise" of my WA5,here is my assessment for reference.
Hugo DAC connected to the WA5 default input at position 2 via RCA connectors,WA5 volume knob set at 9o'clock where I feel everything all right for enjoying music. When I stopped the Audirvana player on MAC Book,only dead-slient from the HD800 headphone as expected.
I then turned the knob right and stopped at 12o'clock where I started experiencing "noise". With the WA5 Level switch set downward from "Hi" to the "Lo" position,it returned to slient even I further turned the volume knob to Max. most right side at about 5'o clock.
And finally,I changed the source input on WA5 from position 2 to position 3 (also 1),another RCA (XLR) pairs but without any life connections,WA5 just keeping slient no matter where the position was set for the volume knob and Level switch.
Seems that is a pass result.
HD800 is VERY efficient so LO power is recommended. Also, it is OK to run the volume knob beyond 2–3 o'clock or MAX in this setting.
- LO power, HI impedance and LO level
I use this setting when driving my Fostex TH900 which is also super efficient. Just be sure to set volume to MIN. (zero) when you change headphones.
WA6 SE | WA22 | WA5 | WA234 | WA5+++(+) | |
Sound staging / space | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5 | ?(?) |
Dynamic response | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | ?(?) |
Resolution of Tone | 4 | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | ?(?) |
Resolution of Detail | 4 | 4 | 4.5 | 5 | ?(?) |
Naturalness | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5 | ?(?) |
Euphonic | 4 | 5 | 4.5 | 5 | ?(?) |