Of all the "gifts" I've bought for myself in my lifetime, I think the WA2 might be my best purchase. Upgraded with good tubes, a few tweaks, and other decent equipment, and it's just transporting. For the thousands upon thousands of hours of pleasure, even euphoria, it's given me, I just can't...

So, an update. I managed to get a pair of the Marconi / Osram / GEC U709 rectifiers. Still trying to get their sound in my head. They've been described as "supercharging" the amp. They're more like British-Made Mullard EZ81s (specifying British because the ones made on the continent are very...

lucaskite's did a wonderful job describing all these tubes. Thank you: I found this very helpful. However, re: the Mullard EZ81s--it sounds like he may have gotten a bum pair. In fact, I'd rank the British-made Mullard EZ81s (often OEM Philips Miniwatt) as #2 or 3 on this list. Mine are really...

So much of high end audio seems like it's about frequency swapping: change a cable, or whatever, and you hear new details in one frequency range, but lose others. The RME ADI-2 DAC is the first piece of equipment I've bought in years that I can definitely say I hear more, without frequency...

Yes, a cable helped. But after doing an A/B comparison between the Pure i20 and the Fiio, there's still a very great difference (I mean, without an EQ). I just can't get the Fiio to sound as good, for whatever reason (one's streaming through Toslink, the other through Coax, but they shouldn't...

Nope, I used the Fiio included dongle.

FYI, to all those who were reading my posts thinking, what the hell?  The issue was interference.  The more I thought about the specific sound issues, the more I was convinced it had to be interference (interference can disproportionately affect higher frequencies).  The moment I swapped out the...

That's why Head-Fi has profiles. Click on my user name, then select "view profile." You can also read a user's other posts. I assure you, my perception is not faulty. Th

I'd be grateful if you'd do me the courtesy, here and elsewhere, of not assuming that I'm somehow misunderstanding, or don't get it. But I do appreciate you trying to reproduce my issue. Software can control/influence the quality of the data stream, as can interference (which is why I replaced...

i was aware of the need to switch between line out and coax. I probably nearly broke the option before the firmware came out. That's not the problem. The coax out didn't work before the beta firmware; it did after.

Thanks for the reply.  I'm not using the coax in conjunction with the headphones (that'd kind of defeat the purpose of coaxial out).  Something is definitely wrong with the coax out using the 1.11 beta.  I haven't installed 1.1 (I assume that's included with 1.11?)  When I first opened the unit...

I'm probably an unusual customer, buying the unit just for the coax out.  But setting aside that issue--that the one feature I want doesn't currently work well enough that I can use it--I'd like to say how impressed I am with the player.  The design, the packaging (I'm glad Fiio appears to be...

Please fix the Coax out.  There's something wrong with the implementation at present: data's definitely being lost.  I've confirmed 100% it's not my DAC or cable.  The coax out function simply didn't work at all until I downloaded the latest beta firmware 1.1.  Now that it does basically work...

I'll try replacing my coax cable with something a little more high end.  Since I'm switching from Toslink, I just bought an inexpensive--but typically quite good--Mediabridge cable until I could figure out what cable to buy for the X3.  But right now, it seems the fault lies with the X3 2nd Gen...

My coax out--the entire reason I bought the X3--wouldn't work until this firmware update.  Sadly, the quality of the output isn't usable.  Data's being lost.  If I could respond more generally--there should an instruction for removing the X3 cover.  I've never seen anything like it, and didn't...

It's Woo Audio's official position that the Tung Sol 5998 is a superior tube to the Tung Sol 7236 in the WA2. Jack believes the TS 7236 should only be purchased as a substitute, when a good pair of TS 5998s can't be found. Perhaps someone would be kind enough to cross post this to the WA2 tube...

Ha! Yes, you win. All it took for me to find the Tung Sol 5998s tolerable was an intentional distortion in the music. Speaking of which--it's really hard to tune for dynamics! But I'm not such a purist that I find an EQ morally and ethically objectionable. Isn't that big of me?

Perhaps not a scientist so much as just plain mad. Who uses a tuning fork on their stereo? Bill, I knew I'd wear you down on the 7236s--if not with refutable logic, then at least with repetitive persistance. Seriously, though, I'm really enjoying the 5998s now!

I spent some time figuring out why I prefer Tung Sol 7236s to 5998s. It's never been about imaging (the 5998s beat the 7236s pretty handily on that measure), but about the sound signature. For me, the 5998s have always sounded slightly off in the treble, though I couldn't precisely place it. So...

Yes, the GEC 6AS7Gs are 5998-type power tubes, and they're rarer than hens' teeth. I almost had a pair a few months ago, but the tube store that had them sold out the day before I called. They're generally considered the best tubes available for the WA2--those and Western Electric 421As (which...

Wow. How's that for timing? I posted before I saw Dubstep Girl's message.

Aww, shucks, Bill. Thanks. I've learned a lot from you too. Yeah, I really like Tung Sol 7236s (not 7236s generally--just the Tung Sols) and generally prefer them to Tung Sol 5998s. But I'm in a minuscule minority with that opinion, and I certainly recognize and appreciate the 5998s many...

Thanks, Mikoss. At the moment, I'm using Amperex 7308s, which I like quite a lot. I'm saving for Telefunken 6922s, but I recently made a pretty major (for me) audio purchase (a Silnote Posieden ES power cord, which is amazing), so the Telefunkens will have to wait a few months. If you click on...