[mikeymad]

Well just as my ES-1 setup is finishing up it's burn-in (right around 500 hours) I had to do something to keep things fresh.

Enter the woo wa6 - maxed out.

I am not sure of its amount of play before, so I will make sure to give the VCaps plenty of burn-in.

I am very happy with the sound pushing the Grado GS-1000's, and the AT W5000's. I have not been too impressed with its perfomance with the hd650's even using the impedance switch. But maybe some Tube Rolling will help that out. But these may become my GS-1000 amp with W5000's now and then.

Cheers,

 

[vcoheda]

one dynamic and one electrostatic. makes sense.

 

[takezo]

nice pics...and yes, i'm not impressed with the senn650 with the maxxed
wa-6 either although the 600 sounds better in mine ears...i use the akg701
almost exclusively with the wa-6 now...

good luck with the burn-in...i'm on my 700+ hrs. now and the darn
thing is still going from great sounding to hints of muddiness that
seem to last for weeks, albeit i'm only playing several hrs. per day...
the black gate caps, as well as the v-caps, take a long time to
stabilize, it seems...

for the rectifiers, try the gz32 (philips, brimar or mullard) for mid-bloom tubey
sound with great tactile in the mid-range, the 5r4gy (brimar) for larger
soundstage and refined highs, and the gz34 metal (any of the 3 versions)
for the most solid state-like impact/dynamics...

for the drivers/power triode tubes, the 6de7 are relatively dynamic like the
gz34's, whereas the 6we7 (fat bottle/thin bottle) are more like a cross
between the 5r4gy and the gz32...

and remember, you have to burn in the tubes as well...the tube
characteristics are better fleshed out after approx. 10+ hrs. of burn in...

 

[Bob Jones]

Luv my wa6.Thought they brought the 650 to the next level.Bought the gs1k's and well

 

[GAD]

I have the non-maxed WA6, and I love the sound with the 650s, though on some recordings the level leaves something to be desired. Luckily I can boost the signal with my DA10, but I'd rather not have to.

GAD

 

[nickknutson]

How does that amp effect the sound of the 650's? Does it make them darker sounding?

 

[mikeymad]

Thanks for the writeup takezo. I will have to poke around once I get the burn-in done. Mine run 24/7 to get there quick.

I also should mention that I have not re-cabled my 650's yet. That might help out in the long run, but I love the sound with my GS-1000's, so much that I don't worry about the other cans right now.

There is always tomorrow.... tomorrow................

Cheers,

 

[mikeymad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickknutson /img/forum/go_quote.gif How does that amp effect the sound of the 650's? Does it make them darker sounding?

Not really, it is more a detail and pace thing. I have had great fun with the 650's on my ASL MG MkIII, bass vibrating my head, nice soundstage, and overall presentation. With the Woo it just does not seem to have the presentation that the Grado's do (I know it costs 3x), detailed, warm, with a wonderful midrange. I have not tried the woo with any other high impedance headphones as well. So maybe a tube combo that is not pushed the 650s well. The low ohm Grado's and AT's seem to be liking it right now.

Cheers,

 

[takezo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickknutson /img/forum/go_quote.gif How does that amp effect the sound of the 650's? Does it make them darker sounding?

for me, the 650 sounds less controlled in the bass region and the lower-mid
region is kinda muddier with the wa-6 maxxed using the 5u4g rectifier and
the 6de7 than with the 701 and the 600, but that may just be my personal
affinities and the fact that these caps fluctuate like mad going from great to
not so great SQ...i may've used the 650 during the down curve...but honesstly,
nothing sounds exceptional with the 5u4g and the wa-6, just average imo...

i've been using the 5r4ga rectifier and the big bottle 6ew7 as driver for the
past month or so with the 701 mainly...the SQ suddenly turned for the
better about two nights ago and still sounds exceptional tonite...everything
is so detailed, tactile with great separation and huge soundstage...i'm
crossing my fingers the sound signature stays like this...permanently...

 

[mikeymad]

Oh I never said:

Running the Philips 'Milliwatt' GZ32
And the two Sylvania 6DE7's

.... for now.......

I have a set of Sovtek 6DE7's that I think I liked a little bit better, But I will compare later.

I also have the following:
5AR4 - China
GE 5U4 GB - USA

Cheers,

 

[Elk]

I purchased a Woo 6 to drive my HD650s. I thought the sound is great but I really have nothing to compare it to. It seemed to drive my friends AKG701s well too. Forgive my ignorance, but what is the difference in the standard Woo 6 and the maxed out version? Also the woo site lists the woo 6 input impedance as 100 Kilo-Ohms. Is this really 100000 Ohms? Just wondering because several DACs I've looked at list output impedance in the range of 1,000 ohms or lower.

Thanks
Kelly

 

[takezo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I purchased a Woo 6 to drive my HD650s. I thought the sound is great but I really have nothing to compare it to. It seemed to drive my friends AKG701s well too. Forgive my ignorance, but what is the difference in the standard Woo 6 and the maxed out version? Also the woo site lists the woo 6 input impedance as 100 Kilo-Ohms. Is this really 100000 Ohms? Just wondering because several DACs I've looked at list output impedance in the range of 1,000 ohms or lower. Thanks Kelly

hi, the 650 sounds fine with the wa-4 maxed but nothing spectacular, imo...but then again, it's just an opinion...

the maxed out version has better capacitors all around to give better dynamics, sound-stage and superior low-volume-level detail...

regarding the impedance, you may want to drop jack woo an email to get
a definitive answer...

 

[Elk]

Thanks Takezo
I see now were you can order the Woo 6 with upgraded caps on the website. I don't think that was an option when mine was ordered. If anyone cares about the input impedience I'll post Jacks responce. I'll also ask if its the same with the upgraded version.

Kelly

 

[Elk]

Jacks responce is in. He says "It is normal that tube amp has a 100,000 ohms input impedance. Solid state and OP usually have much lower impedance."
Thats pretty straight forward.

Has any one had a chance to compare the maxed and non-maxed WA6?

 

[takezo]

hi elk,

i didn't have the chance to do an A-B comparison, since i modded
it myself, but the initial impression i got from the modded version,
which took me several hours to do, was that it sounded much
more authoritative with better low volume detail, punchy/dynamic
with a larger soundstage and better separation of the notes...
the music sounded more lively and clear...

only down side is the long burn-in required for the capacitors to
stabilize...i'm on my 750th+ hour and it stills hasn't completely
stabilized, though the fluctuation seems to be getting smaller...
hope this helps.