[guitargonaut]

Agree with built quality. It is not an OTL though and i think You can go with low impedance HPs as well. At least i am using Meze Empyreans (32 oms impedance) and my first impressions with wa6se are very good. Also my (i guess) ultimate amp for meze is a tube amp - Ayon ha 3. It is also not an OTL.

Would be interesting to know others experience with using low impedance HPs with wa6/wa6se.

Listening through a pair of Denon AH-D5000s (25 ohms) plugged into my WA6 as we speak. Very nice combination. The Denons tend to be a bit much as far as bass but when used at a lower volume their attributes really shine through - almost like a built in loudness circuit. Not as revealing as my Beyer T90s but that is more a result of the headphones themselves. Both headphones can be a bit strident with some amps but the WA6 has that great characteristic of taming those highs without losing detail.

 

[strider1007]

I am using the QUAD ERA-1, which is 20 Ohm, and it sounds great to me, after only one day..

I received the 'winged C' rectifier, and as I understand it (have not yet read the entire Dubstep thread) there is something to be gained. Next project it is...

 

[Odin412]

Agree with built quality. It is not an OTL though and i think You can go with low impedance HPs as well. At least i am using Meze Empyreans (32 oms impedance) and my first impressions with wa6se are very good. Also my (i guess) ultimate amp for meze is a tube amp - Ayon ha 3. It is also not an OTL.

Would be interesting to know others experience with using low impedance HPs with wa6/wa6se.

I've used my WA6 with several low-impedance headphones and it works well - you just have to switch the output to low impedance. Woo Audio used to make an OTL amp in the same form factor (the WA3), but sadly they have discontinued it.

 

[Barnstormer13]

Agree with built quality. It is not an OTL though and i think You can go with low impedance HPs as well. At least i am using Meze Empyreans (32 oms impedance) and my first impressions with wa6se are very good. Also my (i guess) ultimate amp for meze is a tube amp - Ayon ha 3. It is also not an OTL.

Would be interesting to know others experience with using low impedance HPs with wa6/wa6se.

Yup. Planars work pretty good as long as the impedance isn’t super low. My Aeons aren’a good match- they’re 13 ohms and aren’t very efficient. In my experience the bass gets attenuated as the current demand goes up

lowish impedance dynamics can match up well, but it’s hit or miss depending on the impedance curve of the headphone. In my experience it usually means boosted, less damped bass thanks fo the driver’s natural resonance between 50 and 150 hz. My Clears have an impedance of 53 ohms at 1Khz. The impedance rises to 300 ohms at 70 hz which makes the bass quite woolly.

My Elex sounded great though.It’s impedance curve is flatter and higher (80 ohms@1khz)

 

[bpiotrow13]

Both headphones can be a bit strident with some amps but the WA6 has that great characteristic of taming those highs without losing detail.

This is also in line with my initial impression that wa6se is taming hights a bit, which i do like. Wa6se is not as "real"sounding amp as Ayon ha3, but is really good, especially given price difference. Funny that it is popular notion that wa6se is a bit solid state sounding, it is not my impression at all. I have listened to it shortly, but You do hear tubes in the sound. Can't wait the evening to listen more

 

[strider1007]

Wa6se is not as "real"sounding amp as Ayon ha3

Just curious.. What is a "real" sounding amp ?

 

[Barnstormer13]

Funny that it is popular notion that wa6se is a bit solid state sounding, it is not my impression at all. I have listened to it shortly, but You do hear tubes in the sound. Can't wait the evening to listen more

I’ve also read some opinions that the WA6-SE is slow (read- soft transients) as well, which isn’t my experience, at least not relative to other tube amps. It definitely has a tube amp personality but it’s not overdone.

 

[Wid]

Agree with built quality. It is not an OTL though and i think You can go with low impedance HPs as well. At least i am using Meze Empyreans (32 oms impedance) and my first impressions with wa6se are very good. Also my (i guess) ultimate amp for meze is a tube amp - Ayon ha 3. It is also not an OTL.

Would be interesting to know others experience with using low impedance HPs with wa6/wa6se.

It does quite well with my Grado’s at 32ohm and the Focal Elegia. It’s not an OTL amp so it plays quite well with all headphones. I have a WA3 that
I use for the Sennheiser 800’s and an old set of 600 ohm AKG 240’s.

 

[jonathan c]

Anyone with experience vis-a-vis Audeze LCD-X / Focal Clear paired with Woo WA6 (not SE)? I have & love the WA3 for high-Z headphones. [As an aside, I have found that the WA3 “scales up” greatly with the right power cord...(for me, the Morrow Audio MAP4).]

 

[bpiotrow13]

Just curious.. What is a "real" sounding amp ?

Difficult to describe, but will try. I listen mainly to instrumental music and instruments are more apparent. They are less soft (in a sense that You do not have an impression that this is recording) but still smooth not harsh at all. It is closer to live. You can feel the impact of the instrument, almost or more like sitting near someone playing the instrument. Also the texture of sound is much more sophisticated. Just like in case of string instrument You hear that the string is actually vibrating. Maybe it is exaggerated but if You close Your eyes and reach out Your hand You would not be surprised that You can touch the instrument. Not sure if it is clear..

 

[strider1007]

Difficult to describe, but will try.

You did good.
Meze Empyrean, or Focal Utopia are a very far away goal. For now I am very happy with my Quad ERA-1. I have never heard them this good. I am going to experiment with some different tubes, but I am already saving up for my next splurge..
What's your set-up ? ( Or anyone's if you care to share )

 

[bpiotrow13]

You did good.
Meze Empyrean, or Focal Utopia are a very far away goal. For now I am very happy with my Quad ERA-1. I have never heard them this good. I am going to experiment with some different tubes, but I am already saving up for my next splurge..
What's your set-up ? ( Or anyone's if you care to share )

I was actually describing Meze Empyrean with Ayon ha3 With wa6se Meze seemed to me more soft and less apparent (stillngood though) Hights are rolled off. I only had a short chance to listen to meze/wa6se yesterday. I am just about to continue.

Meze are tricky. They may sound mediocrate but they upscale a lot with proper amp.

 

[bpiotrow13]

And here it is Shipping took more that 3 weeks, but finally i have it. As mentioned built quality is stunning

 

[Wid]

And here it is Shipping took more that 3 weeks, but finally i have it. As mentioned built quality is stunning

What tubes ya got there?

 

[bpiotrow13]

What tubes ya got there?

Westinghouse 6fd7 and Sophia Princess. Really nice sounding. I use it with Meze Empyrean and MHDT Orchid DAC, cables are Cardas Parsec. The sound is much more veiled than Ayon but still dynamic. With aggresive trumpets it i smooth like butter With Ayon ha3 it is like live concert but with wa6se it is like seating at the back of the pub with glass of whisky)