[maricius]

Guys, http://www.head-fi.org/t/746257/woo-audio-wa6se-or-wa7-wa7tp#post_11125918
 
My poll. 
 
"I won't be using the DAC section of the WA7 so I'll be looking purely at amplifier quality. The headphones these would be driving are mainly the MrSpeakers Alpha Dog and the Philips Fidelio L2 (not as much a priority). I understand tubes and everything change the sound signature but I'm specifically looking for a warmer/bassier sound though with midrange intimacy and clarity. Basically, a warmer sound that add quality to vocals and smoothen upper mids and treble. Which would be warmer and bassier in stock form and would most likely have that sound signature with the possible tube replacements that Woo Audio offers. Other aspects to consider in comparing would be synergy with the Alpha Dog, soundstage, instrument separation, power to drive planars. Thanks all."

 

[SoundApprentice]

I joined the WA6-SE party. Listening to the stock tubes for a bit before the rolling begins. I have the acclaimed Sophia 274b to try, along with a Genalex Gold Lion GZ34. I have a Genalex Gold Lion 12AU7 in my RSA Raptor that I really like, so I thought I would give one a try in the Woo too. 
 

 

[TonyNewman]

  ... I have the acclaimed Sophia 274b to try...
 

 
Welcome to the Woo Club

 
My 2 cents on rectifiers - I don't think the Sophia Princess 274B is a good rectifier, or good value at around $160. For under $100 you can get a NOS Mullard GZ32 - much, much nicer tube. If your budget goes to around $220 there is the Psvane WE274B replica - an excellent tube that I can highly recommend. Beyond that are the top tier NOS tubes that command big dollars.
 
I would avoid the EML 274B. At around $270 it is quite expensive and only marginally better than the Sophia. Both the Mullard GZ32 and Psvane WE274 replica outperform it (spectacularly so in the case of the replica).
 
The rectifier thread started by DubstepGirl is an excellent source of rectifier information. Link below in case you haven't seen it.
 
Link

 

[SoundApprentice]

Welcome to the Woo Club

My 2 cents on rectifiers - I don't think the Sophia Princess 274B is a good rectifier, or good value at around $160. For under $100 you can get a NOS Mullard GZ32 - much, much nicer tube. If your budget goes to around $220 there is the Psvane WE274B replica - an excellent tube that I can highly recommend. Beyond that are the top tier NOS tubes that command big dollars.

I would avoid the EML 274B. At around $270 it is quite expensive and only marginally better than the Sophia. Both the Mullard GZ32 and Psvane WE274 replica outperform it (spectacularly so in the case of the replica).

The rectifier thread started by DubstepGirl is an excellent source of rectifier information. Link below in case you haven't seen it.

Link

Thanks for the tip. The Sophia was included with the amp, so no added expense to me. I'll likely pick 1 or 2 higher end options to try in time.

 

[jaywillin]

  I joined the WA6-SE party. Listening to the stock tubes for a bit before the rolling begins. I have the acclaimed Sophia 274b to try, along with a Genalex Gold Lion GZ34. I have a Genalex Gold Lion 12AU7 in my RSA Raptor that I really like, so I thought I would give one a try in the Woo too. 
 

i hope you enjoy your new amp !
i'm enjoying my new wa3 with my beyer t1's !

 

[bbophead]

 

Thanks for the tip. The Sophia was included with the amp, so no added expense to me. I'll likely pick 1 or 2 higher end options to try in time.

I like my Princess just fine.  Sometimes I like the 596 better.  Don't worry, be happy.

 

[bfreedma]

Quote:Originally Posted by SoundApprentice Thanks for the tip. The Sophia was included with the amp, so no added expense to me. I'll likely pick 1 or 2 higher end options to try in time.I like my Princess just fine. Sometimes I like the 596 better. Don't worry, be happy.

+1

The SP pairs nicely with my Grados and the 596 with LCD-3s

 

[viscab]

   
Welcome to the Woo Club

 
My 2 cents on rectifiers - I don't think the Sophia Princess 274B is a good rectifier, or good value at around $160. For under $100 you can get a NOS Mullard GZ32 - much, much nicer tube. If your budget goes to around $220 there is the Psvane WE274B replica - an excellent tube that I can highly recommend. Beyond that are the top tier NOS tubes that command big dollars.
 
I would avoid the EML 274B. At around $270 it is quite expensive and only marginally better than the Sophia. Both the Mullard GZ32 and Psvane WE274 replica outperform it (spectacularly so in the case of the replica).
 
The rectifier thread started by DubstepGirl is an excellent source of rectifier information. Link below in case you haven't seen it.
 
Link

 
Interesting read. In what areas do you feel the Sophia Princess is less than the GZ32?
 
I have the Sophia Princess and the Mullard GZ37 myself and feel the GZ37 is perhaps cleaner sounding but the Sophia has more low end weight to it.

 

[TonyNewman]

   
Interesting read. In what areas do you feel the Sophia Princess is less than the GZ32?
 

 
Just about every area you can think of. The GZ32 is a significantly better tube than the SP (or EML) IMHO. It also has a dose of midrange magic - it's a very good tube for the money.

 

[viscab]

I might try one out. Thanks! How do you rate the GZ37 versus the G32.

 

[TonyNewman]

  I might try one out. Thanks! How do you rate the GZ37 versus the G32.

 
I've never heard a GZ37, so can't comment. The rectifier thread by DubstepGirl does this comparison very well - well worth a read - link below.
 
Link

 

[joseph69]

  I like my Princess just fine.  Sometimes I like the 596 better.  Don't worry, be happy.

I agree, I have the SP/UE-596/Phillips Miniwatt GZ34 rectifier's and they all sound good, especially when rolling the driver/power tubes…they all bring something different to the table when mixing/matching with each other.
I've been listening to my RS1i/WA6 with the SP/RCA-NOS Red Base 5692's for a while now and am really enjoying this combo (like I am right now!) 

 

 

[SoundApprentice]

  I joined the WA6-SE party. Listening to the stock tubes for a bit before the rolling begins. I have the acclaimed Sophia 274b to try, along with a Genalex Gold Lion GZ34. I have a Genalex Gold Lion 12AU7 in my RSA Raptor that I really like, so I thought I would give one a try in the Woo too. 
 

I know many of you are well beyond me in tube experience, but I started auditioning some different things last night.
 
Stock drivers are some fat bottle 6ew7's labeled from Japan. No sense commenting on the stock 274b rectifier because it is trash and everyone knows it.
 
So first thing to go was the stock 274b and in went the Sophia. Substantial gains in smoothness, soundstage and bass attack. Mids are fairly forward and in your face compared to my RSA Raptor. While still using the Sophia, I swapped the Japanese 6ew7's for a pair of NOS RCA fat bottle 6ew7's. Difference heard was a smoother treble and a very slightly warmer/tube presentation. Still nowhere near as lush as my Raptor, but instrument placement/separation and detail retrieval seems much superior.
 
Next I put in the new production Genalex Gold Lion GZ34. I haven't seen any talk about this tube, most people have no love for new production tubes, but I found the Genalex to be a great tube in the Raptor and wanted to see how it fared in the Woo. At $40, I wasn't expecting much when compared to the more expensive Sophia, but I was pleasantly surprised with the results. To my ears, the Genalex is incredibly accurate and detailed. It has a more solid state sound to it, more of a flat response and precision is key. Bass is tight and fast. Treble, like cymbal splashes and crashes, sound more realistic and a touch less glassy than the Sophia, mids are a bit more neutral/cool, but again are just very tight. Soundstage is a little less expansive than the Sophia, but you gain a lot in the precision and detail department. For 1/4 the price, I'd say you get about 85-90% of the performance of the Sophia, and the Genalex betters it in certain aspects. From both of these tubes, I would prefer slightly more low-end extension and smoother treble. If I could take the Genalex and smooth the treble a hair without losing the detail, and gain a slight bass emphasis, I'd be thoroughly content because the detail and separation is excellent.
 
This is my listening experience with the Genalex having been burned in for about 36 hours, not sure what will happen with more hours on it. I'm using my Grado GS1000i. I find my Beyer T90 to be fatiguing with the Woo so far (treble is too sharp), which saddens me because I really enjoy them on the Raptor and the solid state Sugden Headmaster.

 

[MIKELAP]

Ive heard about the U52 being a good rectifier  but what about the U54 does anybody have any infos on this tube is it good or just average and what is the pricerange of this tube.Thanks

 

[level999]

Hi, everyone. I'm new here, just bought a wa6se two days ago. May I ask a question?

For the driver/power tubes on wa6se, can I use same model number but different brand?

For example, I have two 6FD7 tubes, one is GE and another one is Sylvania. Can I use both of them on my wa6se?

If I could, is that good or bad?

Thanks in advance. (*^ω^*)