[Clayton SF]

Quote:

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Agh I just got the shipping notice for my WA6! 
 
Anyway does anyone know where can I find an adapter for the 6SN7 tubes to fit in the 9 pin socket? Is this even something worth doing?

 
You should PM 2359glenn. I believe that he can make those adapters for you. He's made other adapters for me and I've been extremely happy with the quality of his work.

 

[lessblue]

I was lucky enough to purchase SilentOne's Sophia 274B rectifier, he's moved on to the much better EML.
 
Are drive tubes that significant? Will be using the 274B with a WA6.

 

[jerico]

I noticed my left channel RCA jack was quite loose.  I tightened it up (by hand) and managed to get some sound through it, but at noticeably lower volume than on the right channel.  To make sure I wasn't going nuts, I connected my DAC simultaneously to the XLR and RCA inputs, and A/B'd them using a pink noise file - the left RCA channel is definitely running at a lower volume.  The XLR inputs are, well, more balanced!  

Jack responded quickly (at at close to midnight last night) and said it sounds like it is some loose wiring, so I sent the amp back to him this morning.  The wait begins again (and me with no way to listen to my LCD2s)!

 

[mikemalter]

Quote:

I noticed my left channel RCA jack was quite loose.  I tightened it up (by hand) and managed to get some sound through it, but at noticeably lower volume than on the right channel.  To make sure I wasn't going nuts, I connected my DAC simultaneously to the XLR and RCA inputs, and A/B'd them using a pink noise file - the left RCA channel is definitely running at a lower volume.  The XLR inputs are, well, more balanced!  

Jack responded quickly (at at close to midnight last night) and said it sounds like it is some loose wiring, so I sent the amp back to him this morning.  The wait begins again (and me with no way to listen to my LCD2s)!

I'm going to be sending my WA22 back to him soon for some additional modifications and I just can't bear to do it yet.  My sympathies.
 
 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

I'm going to be sending my WA22 back to him soon for some additional modifications and I just can't bear to do it yet.  My sympathies.
 
 

 
From "Top Gun."
 
Officer: [in the midst of the MIG battle] Both Catapults are broken, sir. 
Stinger: How long will it take? 
Officer: It'll take ten minutes. 
Stinger: bull ten minutes! This thing will be over in two minutes! Get on it! 
 
Nice to hear that you're up for additional modifications. Can't wait to hear your forthcoming impressions. But, if you're going to do it, you need to get on it! Tax refunds are starting to trickle in. Audio dealers are going to see sales, repairs and orders for custom work increase, now that we're in to March.
 
If you're going to do it...    

 

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

I'm going to be sending my WA22 back to him soon for some additional modifications and I just can't bear to do it yet.  My sympathies.

Goody, goody gumdrops. What kind. Which kind. What of mods, huh? I hope they are ones that will blast your WA22 into the sonic stratosphere--in a good way.
 

 

[Xcalibur255]

sillysally and mikemalter:  thank you both for your responses.  It has helped me sort  some of my thoughts quite a bit. 

One thing I do need to do is measure voltage from the outlet my Woo is running on.  I'm curious if it is on the low or high side of the 110-120 range.

I was considering trying a Signal Cable Magic Power Cord at some point because they get good ink and are not all that expensive, but it would probably happen during the switchover to WA22.  I have a Volex 17604 on the amp now, which compares well against the Iron Lung Jellyfish and is said to be smoother and more relaxed so for now I think I'm doing as well as I can.  Part of the problem is the recording quality of the kinds of music I listen to, something I try to keep in mind.  No amount of high end gear will ever fix a crappy recording.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Goody, goody gumdrops. What kind. Which kind. What of mods, huh? I hope they are ones that will blast your WA22 into the sonic stratosphere--in a good way.
 

What if he keeps his work to be done, secret, until the next meet? (Silent One looks at calendar, and silently wonders...) Throw in the projected 500 to 700 hour break-in period (depending on Jack's wizardry) and he could leave us wanting, waiting, for a very long time.
 
What's my motivation? A rising Woo tide lifts all Woo owners.
 

 

[Red Jacket Mike]

My WA2 arrived yesterday.  (I thought I'd post this here, rather than the WA2 thread, which sees limited activity these days, and because this thread seems to be for all things Woo...)  I've got it up and running, and wanted to share my first impressions, along with a question or two.
 
The WA2 is stock, and black.  I also have a Meier Concerto, and my idea was to build a two amp system, using my LCD2s and D7000s with the Concerto, and my HD800s with the WA2.  It's probably too soon to tell, but so far, my HD800s sound better than they ever have.  More bass, and an even wider soundstage.  After getting the LCD2s, the HD800s were getting about 20% of my listening time; now I think it will be back up to 50%, or more.  (And I may have some D7000s up for sale soon . . .)
 
The WA2 came with GE 6080 power tubes, and unmarked EZ80s, which I think might be Philips, along with unmarked 6922s (just wrapped, no boxes) that I think might be Telefunken, based on the PDF links on the Woo site.  These stock tubes sound fine; I also have a pair of RCA 6AS7Gs that seem to widen the soundstage a bit, and open up the upper midrange, but they have less bass then the GE 6080s.  I realize that all of this may change over time, but I'm liking the sound a lot so far, as well as all of my options now that I have two amps.
 
By the way, I can run both amps off of the Stage DAC, which is nice.  
 
I've read all of the WA2 tube rolling threads I could find, but most of that info is 2 years old, or more, and the prices mentioned for a lot of the tube upgrades are certainly not valid anymore.  I got the WA2 so I could get into tube rolling in a bigger way (I had a WA6SE, which didn't offer as many tube options) and I will be looking to experiment with some upgrades.
 
The Woo site offers some upgraded tubes, but I don't think I want to spend $280 for Amperex 7380s, etc.  I could ask what WA2 owners are using, but if you've had upgraded tubes for awhile, you probably paid a lot less for them than I would have to now; are there any 'bang for the buck' upgrades available these days? I have been especially interested in the Sylvania 7236, which don't seem too pricey yet, and I wonder what the improvement would be there.  I'm assuming, as I've read, that the power tube upgrade will make the most difference, but I'm interested in all options.
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

My WA2 arrived yesterday.  (I thought I'd post this here, rather than the WA2 thread, which sees limited activity these days, and because this thread seems to be for all things Woo...)  I've got it up and running, and wanted to share my first impressions, along with a question or two.
 
The WA2 is stock, and black.  I also have a Meier Concerto, and my idea was to build a two amp system, using my LCD2s and D7000s with the Concerto, and my HD800s with the WA2.  It's probably too soon to tell, but so far, my HD800s sound better than they ever have.  More bass, and an even wider soundstage.  After getting the LCD2s, the HD800s were getting about 20% of my listening time; now I think it will be back up to 50%, or more.  (And I may have some D7000s up for sale soon . . .)
 
The WA2 came with GE 6080 power tubes, and unmarked EZ80s, which I think might be Philips, along with unmarked 6922s (just wrapped, no boxes) that I think might be Telefunken, based on the PDF links on the Woo site.  These stock tubes sound fine; I also have a pair of RCA 6AS7Gs that seem to widen the soundstage a bit, and open up the upper midrange, but they have less bass then the GE 6080s.  I realize that all of this may change over time, but I'm liking the sound a lot so far, as well as all of my options now that I have two amps.
 
By the way, I can run both amps off of the Stage DAC, which is nice.  
 
I've read all of the WA2 tube rolling threads I could find, but most of that info is 2 years old, or more, and the prices mentioned for a lot of the tube upgrades are certainly not valid anymore.  I got the WA2 so I could get into tube rolling in a bigger way (I had a WA6SE, which didn't offer as many tube options) and I will be looking to experiment with some upgrades.
 
The Woo site offers some upgraded tubes, but I don't think I want to spend $280 for Amperex 7380s, etc.  I could ask what WA2 owners are using, but if you've had upgraded tubes for awhile, you probably paid a lot less for them than I would have to now; are there any 'bang for the buck' upgrades available these days? I have been especially interested in the Sylvania 7236, which don't seem too pricey yet, and I wonder what the improvement would be there.  I'm assuming, as I've read, that the power tube upgrade will make the most difference, but I'm interested in all options.
 

For the HD800s, I prefer the Tung-Sol 5998s. Nice warm tube amps with about 15% more power/gain than the stock 6080s. However, for the LCD-2s, I find that I prefer the more SS sounding 7236s (I prefer the Tung-Sols a bit more than the Sylvania here).
 
For my 6922s, I am running JAN-Sylvanias and Genalex Gold Lions. Both are great IMO. My rectifier tubes are NOS Mullards and sound a bit better than the stock tubes supplied.
 
 

 

[sillysally]

 
Quote:

sillysally and mikemalter:  thank you both for your responses.  It has helped me sort  some of my thoughts quite a bit. 

One thing I do need to do is measure voltage from the outlet my Woo is running on.  I'm curious if it is on the low or high side of the 110-120 range.

I was considering trying a Signal Cable Magic Power Cord at some point because they get good ink and are not all that expensive, but it would probably happen during the switchover to WA22.  I have a Volex 17604 on the amp now, which compares well against the Iron Lung Jellyfish and is said to be smoother and more relaxed so for now I think I'm doing as well as I can.  Part of the problem is the recording quality of the kinds of music I listen to, something I try to keep in mind.  No amount of high end gear will ever fix a crappy recording.

You really don't want to limit your voltage to 110V, if you live in the USA. The standard is between 114V and 126V for what we are talking about. The 110V that Woo is showing is actually about 3% to 5% higher. 120V is ideal because it gives you headroom if the voltage fluctuates up or down. 
 
Yes you are right about garbage in garbage out, but never say never. Don't kid yourself the right gears can help but still if there is very little info (bits) from the audio there is not much any setup can do.
 

 

[mikemalter]

Quote:

 

You really don't want to limit your voltage to 110V, if you live in the USA. The standard is between 114V and 126V for what we are talking about. The 110V that Woo is showing is actually about 3% to 5% higher. 120V is ideal because it gives you headroom if the voltage fluctuates up or down. 
 
Yes you are right about garbage in garbage out, but never say never. Don't kid yourself the right gears can help but still if there is very little info (bits) from the audio there is not much any setup can do.
 

Interesting thought about voltage limits, SS.  Jack Woo emailed me directly and said that I should set the voltage on my P600 to 110 when I asked him what voltage I should set it at.  He said that it was optimal. 
 
So, if Jack says to set it at 110, why do you say I should not do it?  I'd really like to know the right thing to do, and since you are contradicting something Jack told me to do, I'd be interested in your thinking.
 
Thank you.
 

 
 

 

[sillysally]

 
Quote:

Interesting thought about voltage limits, SS.  Jack Woo emailed me directly and said that I should set the voltage on my P600 to 110 when I asked him what voltage I should set it at.  He said that it was optimal. 
 
So, if Jack says to set it at 110, why do you say I should not do it?  I'd really like to know the right thing to do, and since you are contradicting something Jack told me to do, I'd be interested in your thinking.
 
Thank you.
 

 
 

No I am not contradicting what Jack said, the reason why is I don't know in what contexts he was saying that. Also understand that there are input voltages and output voltage in those documents so that's why I say what context he was using.
All I am simply going by U.S. government document and standards.that all building codes must follow, and there fore manufactures to make products for the USA also follow these guide lines.
However sometimes manufactures of things like TV have a power saving mode that uses less voltage or something along those lines, and save you money on your power bill but you will loose some PQ.
Here you go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_power_around_the_world
 
I do find something strange also, with my PS audio power plant premier it recommends to use 120V output and even if the voltage goes over 120V by a few volts that's better than to low and NP. I think you also have a older PS audio power station so I can't say for sure what the output voltage is with you PS but I can say what PS audio has to say about mine.
Some manufactures like Oppo really recommends not using any PPP when installing new firmware and yes there are others that say the sane thing.
Mike please don't take this the wrong way but you are relying that your 13 your old PS is reporting the correct voltage. PPP are one thing I would never buy used.
 
btw; I see that my PPP is on sale for $1295 and free shipping if you want to upgrade yours.

 
Hope this helps you.

 

[Red Jacket Mike]

Quote:

For the HD800s, I prefer the Tung-Sol 5998s. Nice warm tube amps with about 15% more power/gain than the stock 6080s. However, for the LCD-2s, I find that I prefer the more SS sounding 7236s (I prefer the Tung-Sols a bit more than the Sylvania here).
 
For my 6922s, I am running JAN-Sylvanias and Genalex Gold Lions. Both are great IMO. My rectifier tubes are NOS Mullards and sound a bit better than the stock tubes supplied.
 

Thanks for the response; I've been reading about the Tung-Sol 5998s--even in 2 or 3-year old threads, they are said to be in short supply and increasing in price.  I wonder if there are any out there at a reasonable price any more.  I would like to try them, though, as long as the power increase doesn't add any noise or hum.
 
I have to say that I'm liking the HD800s more than ever with the WA2.  The only other amps I've heard them through are the Meier Concerto and the WA6SE, and the WA2 seems to be a huge improvement over those, with these headphones.
 
For the 6922s, I wonder how the Philips 6922 JAN would compare with the JAN-Sylvanias; the Philips are offered on the Woo site as an upgrade, and they are reasonably priced.  It seems that the upgraded tubes on the Woo site are not always the lowest price, but at least I can be sure that the pairs have been tested and matched, and that there can be no-hassle returns/exchanges if necessary.
 

 

[mikemalter]

Quote:

 
No I am not contradicting what Jack said, the reason why is I don't know in what contexts he was saying that. Also understand that there are input voltages and output voltage in those documents so that's why I say what context he was using.
All I am simply going by U.S. government document and standards.that all building codes must follow, and there fore manufactures to make products for the USA also follow these guide lines.
However sometimes manufactures of things like TV have a power saving mode that uses less voltage or something along those lines, and save you money on your power bill but you will loose some PQ.
Here you go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_power_around_the_world
 
I do find something strange also, with my PS audio power plant premier it recommends to use 120V output and even if the voltage goes over 120V by a few volts that's better than to low and NP. I think you also have a older PS audio power station so I can't say for sure what the output voltage is with you PS but I can say what PS audio has to say about mine.
Some manufactures like Oppo really recommends not using any PPP when installing new firmware and yes there are others that say the sane thing.
Mike please don't take this the wrong way but you are relying that your 13 your old PS is reporting the correct voltage. PPP are one thing I would never buy used.
 
btw; I see that my PPP is on sale for $1295 and free shipping if you want to upgrade yours.

 
Hope this helps you.

Hmmm.  Jack said to set the voltage to 110 for the WA22 because it is optimal.  You posted, "You really don't want to limit your voltage to 110V, if you live in the USA."  It looks to me like Jack is saying to do one thing and you are saying to do something different.  The context is simply this: I asked Jack what voltage I should feed the WA22 since I can send between 110 to 120 volts, and he said 110 volts was optimal.
 
I have a voltage meter and I checked the output of my 13 year old P600 and it reports a slight fluxuation between 110.7 to 110.3 volts.
 
It's a little fuzzy to my why you would say that that PPP's are the one thing you would never buy used, yet you are alerting me that your used PPP is up for sale?  Well, no matter, thanks but no thanks.  I would buy a used PPP, however PS Audio has recently come out with a next generation power regenerator, and I just ordered one.  It's due in two weeks.  They have a terrific trade up program and the are crediting me $750 for my P600.
 
From my perspective there may be good reasons why anyone would recommend a different course of action that is advised by a vendor, so thank you for your thoughts.  I want it clear to anyone reading this thread that Jack recommends 110 if you have the means to do so.  In a different email, he said that if you don't have access to equipment that will provide a specific voltage to the WA22, it is not a problem even if the voltage gets up to 124 and a little above.  He said, just make sure the amp is not too hot to the touch.
 
Following Jack's advice in my own testing, I found a distinct sonic advantage using 110 volts from the P600 vs. 124 volts from the wall.
 
Thank you for your help and your perspective.