[Khragon]

I'm surprised the K1K output is used, it is very noisy for me using hd800. Back when I had the lcd2 it's a bit better but still unusable. Ether is supposed to be more efficient compared to lcd2, I would think that it would be worse.

 

[musicman59]

  WA5 is the official power source for MrSpeakers' new ETHER headphones.  Here's a pic of Dan's personal WA5 at CanJam SoCal.
 

 
I am not surprised!! 
I listened to that combo at Axona. First I listened to the Ether out of the 1/4" output and they sounded good but that was it..... then I switched cables to listen out of the balance (K1K) output and wow! the Ether scaled beautifully. The sound was impressive. The extra power was a HUGE difference.
 
That experienced was want made me think about selling my customized WA5-LE to order a WA5 and do the same customization in it.
 
I just wonder how the HE1K would sound out of the WA5 balanced output.....

 
My guess.... soon I'll be talking to Jack 

 

[masmole]

   
I am not surprised!! 
I listened to that combo at Axona. First I listened to the Ether out of the 1/4" output and they sounded good but that was it..... then I switched cables to listen out of the balance (K1K) output and wow! the Ether scaled beautifully. The sound was impressive. The extra power was a HUGE difference.
 
That experienced was want made me think about selling my customized WA5-LE to order a WA5 and do the same customization in it.
 
I just wonder how the HE1K would sound out of the WA5 balanced output.....

 
My guess.... soon I'll be talking to Jack 

What kind of mods did you do on your WA5 LE?  (aside from tube rolling)
 
I heard the Ether + WA5 at Axpona as well... stunning.  Overall, I still wasn't as impressed with the Ether as I was with the HE1K on HiFiman's big hybrid amp (unfortunately, I don't think the HE1K was ever brought down to the Woo booth to try with the WA5).  Either way, the WA5 is a great amp.   I considered the WA5 too before deciding on the WA22.   In the end, both were excellent but I was slightly more pleased with how the Audeze LCD3 sounded on the WA22 so I went that route.   Also helped that the WA22 was cheaper and had a smaller footprint making it ideal for my purposes.   I've always wondered why the WA5 doesn't have balanced inputs while the WA22 does.  Can it be updated to include balanced input?   Perhaps Mike L or someone from Woo can chime in?

 

[musicman59]

What kind of mods did you do on your WA5 LE?  (aside from tube rolling)

I heard the Ether + WA5 at Axpona as well... stunning.  Overall, I still wasn't as impressed with the Ether as I was with the HE1K on HiFiman's big hybrid amp (unfortunately, I don't think the HE1K was ever brought down to the Woo booth to try with the WA5).  Either way, the WA5 is a great amp.   I considered the WA5 too before deciding on the WA22.   In the end, both were excellent but I was slightly more pleased with how the Audeze LCD3 sounded on the WA22 so I went that route.   Also helped that the WA22 was cheaper and had a smaller footprint making it ideal for my purposes.   I've always wondered why the WA5 doesn't have balanced inputs while the WA22 does.  Can it be updated to include balanced input?   Perhaps Mike L or someone from Woo can chime in?

Funny, I went the other way. I was planning to buy the WA22 but after talking to Jack and listening to the WA5-LE with my T1 I changed my mind.

I agree I liked the HE1k better but the Ether was pretty good for its price.

I did teflone sockets, parts upgrade, tubes upgrade, all Neotech OCC Copper internal wiring (supplied by me), all Cardas Euthetic solder throughout (supplied by me), Noetech OCC Copper umbilical cord, WBT NextGen RCA connectors, ViaBlue spikes.

 

[Khragon]

That's a pretty extensive list? Did you compare the modded to stock?

 

[musicman59]

That's a pretty extensive list? Did you compare the modded to stock?

No but I know how the OCC Copper wires has done in other applications that's why I went with it.

 

[mikoss]

Nice @musicman59 - I totally appreciate upgraded parts, and I think it's a worthwhile investment once you find a piece of gear you're happy with. I personally enjoy teflon sockets, rolling NOS tubes and upgrading capacitors. Haven't tried different types of wiring or solder myself, but I think it's cool that Woo is able to work with you to customize your WA5.
 
I also think there's a market for listeners who are willing to pay a bit of cash to get those extras... I upgraded some caps inside my WA2, which made a nice improvement to the tonality, but I wish Woo had more options. DIY is fun, but getting that endorsement from the original designer is nice as well.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

 
What kind of mods did you do on your WA5 LE?  (aside from tube rolling)
 
I heard the Ether + WA5 at Axpona as well... stunning.  Overall, I still wasn't as impressed with the Ether as I was with the HE1K on HiFiman's big hybrid amp (unfortunately, I don't think the HE1K was ever brought down to the Woo booth to try with the WA5).  Either way, the WA5 is a great amp.   I considered the WA5 too before deciding on the WA22.   In the end, both were excellent but I was slightly more pleased with how the Audeze LCD3 sounded on the WA22 so I went that route.   Also helped that the WA22 was cheaper and had a smaller footprint making it ideal for my purposes.   I've always wondered why the WA5 doesn't have balanced inputs while the WA22 does.  Can it be updated to include balanced input?   Perhaps Mike L or someone from Woo can chime in?

 
I didn't get to hear it, but Jack felt confident enough to place an order so we'll have one for demo and a few to offer to our customers.  As soon as production HE-1000s ships, we'll have one for everybody to demo at trade shows.  Hopefully in time for Newport show in a few weeks. 
 
We will have ETHER for demo and for sale as well.  
 

 

[Khragon]

I plan to be at The Show Newport... please have the H1K there... !!!
 
Looking at that photo, Jack is using stock tubes on the WA5.  Can you ask Jack to bring a set of the upgraded tubes Woo is offering for WA5?

 

[masmole]

nice upgrades! but teflon sockets... don't all Woo amps already come with teflon sockets?

Just received my WA22 and it sure looks like teflon sockets are standard equipment.

 

[musicman59]

nice upgrades! but teflon sockets... don't all Woo amps already come with teflon sockets?

Just received my WA22 and it sure looks like teflon sockets are standard equipment.

They might be standard now but they were an optional upgrade when I bought mine.

 

[Stereolab42]

So, as promised, I gutted my HiFiMAN HE-Adapter and replaced everything with superior/overkill parts more suited to the LCD-XC. Top-quality Neutrik plug, Vishay RS-series 10ohm/10watt resistors in parallel, and Vishay NS-series 50ohm/10watt resistors in series.
 

 
After working up the courage to plug it into my WA5's speaker outputs and risk frying way too much worth of equipment, I did the deed and it sounds wonderful. Noise floor is gone due to the higher attenuation (the old resistors were tuned for the HE-6), and there is a brilliant fullness and spaciousness to the sound... maybe I'm just imagining it but I don't recall this wide of a soundstage with the front panel outputs. At some point I will A/B but right now I'm just enjoying it. I wonder if any hi-fi shops will let me plug this into their $50k tube amps. Probably not. I wouldn't if I was them.

 

[Silent One]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

  So, as promised, I gutted my HiFiMAN HE-Adapter and replaced everything with superior/overkill parts more suited to the LCD-XC. Top-quality Neutrik plug, Vishay RS-series 10ohm/10watt resistors in parallel, and Vishay NS-series 50ohm/10watt resistors in series.
 

 
After working up the courage to plug it into my WA5's speaker outputs and risk frying way too much worth of equipment, I did the deed and it sounds wonderful. Noise floor is gone due to the higher attenuation (the old resistors were tuned for the HE-6), and there is a brilliant fullness and spaciousness to the sound... maybe I'm just imagining it but I don't recall this wide of a soundstage with the front panel outputs. At some point I will A/B but right now I'm just enjoying it. I wonder if any hi-fi shops will let me plug this into their $50k tube amps. Probably not. I wouldn't if I was them.

 

Well done!
 
I too, wanna kick my HE-Adaper up w/higher quality parts.

 

[TonyNewman]

   
Yeah, I am so close to replacing my woo audio 5 for a 430HA because of the convenience of solid state; but then I see the look of tube and the sound.  I guess I will put up with it for right now.

 
I went with both (yes, I'm a gear person). The WA5 option gets very expensive very fast with nice glass. Those 300B tubes are killer expensive once you get into the top tier new production tubes (not even going to think about vintage WE300Bs) - Takatsukis / Elrogs / SERPs / EMLs - all pricey. Factor that into the consideration and the 430HA looks even better. IMHO the WA5 has to have nice glass in it compete in any sense with the 430HA. Average tubes just don't cut it - and as for the stock tubes - I'd rather feed my junk to a rabid mongoose, if you know what I mean...

 

[Khragon]

  So, as promised, I gutted my HiFiMAN HE-Adapter and replaced everything with superior/overkill parts more suited to the LCD-XC. Top-quality Neutrik plug, Vishay RS-series 10ohm/10watt resistors in parallel, and Vishay NS-series 50ohm/10watt resistors in series.

No internal photo? c'mon!!!