[Gwarmi]

 
 
Don't forget that you'll need a pair of RCA cables to connect the signal between your DAC and WA2 amp.
 
Try to avoid really cheap and nasty Radio Shack cables. There's two schools of thought here - cable believers
and those that maintain a $10 pair sounds like a golden pair of $1000 Stealth Audio PSG-01 RCA's.
 
Don't go nuts here but don't buy crap either, that would be my advice. Plenty of reasonable $60-$100 options.

 

[bowmanonesky]

Quote:

 Plenty of DAC's in that bracket - too many to list even but here's a few :-
 
 - Schiit BiFrost with USB option
 
 - Quad Link D-1 DAC (This one is very new from 'Quad' the speaker maker, it's very sweet and soothing and pairs well with the T1)
 
 - 2nd hand Benchmark DAC1
 
 - 2nd hand Burson DAC (Another colorful DAC that can be quite entertaining)
 
 - Audio-gd 3.1 (Well under your price range but performs above that price range, may be hard to find second hand and new must be
   ordered directly from China - these guys make top stuff for every dollar you put down)
 
 - Bladelius USB DAC - another favorable DAC.
 
 Tube rolling is easy - imagine you're looking at your WA2 amp after it's been running for an hour or two, switch it off, and wait
 about an hour to allow the tubes to cool, never touch the tubes with a bare hand as greasy hands can leave marks and grease
 which will potentially decrease the life of the tube, always wear disposable gloves - gently rock the tube from the base and
 pull up - pop - out comes the tube. Set aside on a clean surface, always in the verticle position or even better - back in it's
 box.
 
 Grab the new tube, align the pins of the tube with pin socket holes that you can see, push down firmly. Done. Switch the
 WA2 back on.
 
 Woo Audio stock tubes are mostly decent Chinese made tubes - however better tubes exist out there, Jack Woo gives a great
 guide as to what tubes are best on his site - wooaudio.com
 
 But as a rough guide, you'd want to get the:-
 
 Sylvania 7236 power tubes (pair) these will swap the big ones that you see on the outside.
 
 and
 
 Either the Phillips JAN 6922 or Amperax 7308 driver tubes - these are the small ones you see out front.

Isn't the Burson not only a dac but a amp aswell so some of my money would be going to something i don't need because ive got the Wa2? i don't really like the Quad because its extremely ugly (im sorry i am usually all about the performance but it in case i can't say yes) i cant afford the benchmark dac1 cheapest i can find is $800 and im pritty sure it not the one with usb. i like the Audio-gd 3.1 But I'm worried if its not good enough for the t1? Also about the Bladelius since its very small would that mean a bigger and same performance be a lot cheaper? (like a laptop and a desktop) i just don't want my money to go to the compact size.
 

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Isn't the Burson not only a dac but a amp aswell so some of my money would be going to something i don't need because ive got the Wa2? i don't really like the Quad because its extremely ugly (im sorry i am usually all about the performance but it in case i can't say yes) i cant afford the benchmark dac1 cheapest i can find is $800 and im pritty sure it not the one with usb. i like the Audio-gd 3.1 But I'm worried if its not good enough for the t1? Also about the Bladelius since its very small would that mean a bigger and same performance be a lot cheaper? (like a laptop and a desktop) i just don't want my money to go to the compact size.
 

 
 Burson make the '160' which is only a solid state head amp.
 
 You're thinking of the Burson 160D ~ which is a combo amp and DAC, then there is the Burson DA-160
 which is just a DAC.
 
 If you want to stretch your cash a bit with Audio-gd then see if you can find a Reference-5 or a 
 
 Audio-gd DAC-19 - $640USD ex before shipping. Now this is a DAC - all 5 kilos of it with twin
 Burr Brown PCM1704UK inside ~ one of more sought after 'out of production' DAC chips.
 
 
 
 

 

[bowmanonesky]

Quote:

 
 Burson make the '160' which is only a solid state head amp.
 
 You're thinking of the Burson 160D ~ which is a combo amp and DAC, then there is the Burson DA-160
 which is just a DAC.
 
 If you want to stretch your cash a bit with Audio-gd then see if you can find a Reference-5 or a 
 
 Audio-gd DAC-19 - $640USD ex before shipping. Now this is a DAC - all 5 kilos of it with twin
 Burr Brown PCM1704UK inside ~ one of more sought after 'out of production' DAC chips.
 
 
 

 
So the DAC19DF will work well with the t1 and wa2 and connect to my laptop if so ******* sold! Reckon you could post a link where to buy the DAC19DF i cannot find it?

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

 
So the DAC19DF will work well with the t1 and wa2 and connect to my laptop if so ******* sold! Reckon you could post a link where to buy the DAC19DF i cannot find it?

 Again ~ that's the catch ~ it's only available like any other Audio-gd product directly from their website in China.
 I have heard a very similar model which is more or less the same DAC but the implementation of the analog output stage
 and power supply is even higher quality - the Audio-gd Reference 5 DAC (no longer for sale, was $1200USD), the DAC-19 is based on that design.

 

[bowmanonesky]

Quote:

 
 
Don't forget that you'll need a pair of RCA cables to connect the signal between your DAC and WA2 amp.
 
Try to avoid really cheap and nasty Radio Shack cables. There's two schools of thought here - cable believers
and those that maintain a $10 pair sounds like a golden pair of $1000 Stealth Audio PSG-01 RCA's.
 
Don't go nuts here but don't buy crap either, that would be my advice. Plenty of reasonable $60-$100 options.

So they don't come with those cords, aaaahhhh more money to spend i cant really find any fancy cords is there any particular brands. I found these are they ok http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=3788  ???
 


Quote:

 Again ~ that's the catch ~ it's only available like any other Audio-gd product directly from their website in China.
 I have heard a very similar model which is more or less the same DAC but the implementation of the analog output stage
 and power supply is even higher quality - the Audio-gd Reference 5 DAC (no longer for sale, was $1200USD), the DAC-19 is based on that design.

Ok then the dac-19 it is. It sucks that there website doesn't shooping cart. So all up how does buying a beyerdynamic t1, WA2, and a dac-12 sound?
 
 

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

So they don't come with those cords, aaaahhhh more money to spend i cant really find any fancy cords is there any particular brands. I found these are they ok http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=3788  ???
 

Ok then the dac-19 it is. It sucks that there website doesn't shooping cart. So all up how does buying a beyerdynamic t1, WA2, and a dac-12 sound?
 
 

 
 I'd opt for Kimber RCA cables at the Monster price point, a few more bucks at around $80 approx but these are good.
 
 http://www.aliexpress.com/store/809626/211354099-524647870/Kimber-Kable-PBJ-Terminated-RCA-interconnect-Cable-WBT0144-plug.htm
 
 Great thing about cables is that they're usually heavily discounted so one outlet price can vary dramatically from one place to another.
 

 

[bowmanonesky]

Quote:

 
 I'd opt for Kimber RCA cables at the Monster price point, a few more bucks at around $80 approx but these are good.
 
 http://www.aliexpress.com/store/809626/211354099-524647870/Kimber-Kable-PBJ-Terminated-RCA-interconnect-Cable-WBT0144-plug.htm
 
 Great thing about cables is that they're usually heavily discounted so one outlet price can vary dramatically from one place to another.
 

Just bought them man. i really hope all this stuff that you have recommended works out well because its a fck load of money lol. I really appreciate all your advice so far mate. Is there any other good advice i should know about?
 

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Just bought them man. i really hope all this stuff that you have recommended works out well because its a fck load of money lol. I really appreciate all your advice so far mate. Is there any other good advice i should know about?
 

 Try to setup your PC mainly for audio playback ~ don't run any intensive applications at the same time, remove any applications that you don't need
 and avoid using any hardcore anti virus as this can cause glitching or clipping with your playback.
 
 Let us know how it all pans out ~ pass on your comments and thoughts with a review thread.
 
 Ordered a DAC yet?

 

[bowmanonesky]

Quote:

 Try to setup your PC mainly for audio playback ~ don't run any intensive applications at the same time, remove any applications that you don't need
 and avoid using any hardcore anti virus as this can cause glitching or clipping with your playback.
 
 Let us know how it all pans out ~ pass on your comments and thoughts with a review thread.
 
 Ordered a DAC yet?

Thanks man! i just bought the dac-19 now so fingers crossed. so once i buy the wa2 and the t1 ill be sweet right?
 

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Thanks man! i just bought the dac-19 now so fingers crossed. so once i buy the wa2 and the t1 ill be sweet right?
 

 Yep you should now have everything that you need - your chain should look as follows
 
 Laptop --> USB cable (comes with DAC-19) ---> DAC-19 (USB input) ---> Kimber RCA cables ---> WA2 (RCA input 1) --> T1

 

[bowmanonesky]

Quote:

 Plenty of DAC's in that bracket - too many to list even but here's a few :-
 
 - Schiit BiFrost with USB option
 
 - Quad Link D-1 DAC (This one is very new from 'Quad' the speaker maker, it's very sweet and soothing and pairs well with the T1)
 
 - 2nd hand Benchmark DAC1
 
 - 2nd hand Burson DAC (Another colorful DAC that can be quite entertaining)
 
 - Audio-gd 3.1 (Well under your price range but performs above that price range, may be hard to find second hand and new must be
   ordered directly from China - these guys make top stuff for every dollar you put down)
 
 - Bladelius USB DAC - another favorable DAC.
 
 Tube rolling is easy - imagine you're looking at your WA2 amp after it's been running for an hour or two, switch it off, and wait
 about an hour to allow the tubes to cool, never touch the tubes with a bare hand as greasy hands can leave marks and grease
 which will potentially decrease the life of the tube, always wear disposable gloves - gently rock the tube from the base and
 pull up - pop - out comes the tube. Set aside on a clean surface, always in the verticle position or even better - back in it's
 box.
 
 Grab the new tube, align the pins of the tube with pin socket holes that you can see, push down firmly. Done. Switch the
 WA2 back on.
 
 Woo Audio stock tubes are mostly decent Chinese made tubes - however better tubes exist out there, Jack Woo gives a great
 guide as to what tubes are best on his site - wooaudio.com
 
 But as a rough guide, you'd want to get the:-
 
 Sylvania 7236 power tubes (pair) these will swap the big ones that you see on the outside.
 
 and
 
 Either the Phillips JAN 6922 or Amperax 7308 driver tubes - these are the small ones you see out front.

Hey mate sorry i was just looking over this again about the tube rolling. When you said about it getting too hot and replacing the tubes, is that tube that i pulled out wrecked? Can i use it when it cools down? Or do i have to keep buying  new tubes and where do you buy them? Just to be clear the tubes are the little light bulb lookin things right?
 
http://www.wooaudio.com/images/fullsize/wa2-11.jpg

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Hey mate sorry i was just looking over this again about the tube rolling. When you said about it getting too hot and replacing the tubes, is that tube that i pulled out wrecked? Can i use it when it cools down? Or do i have to keep buying  new tubes and where do you buy them? Just to be clear the tubes are the little light bulb lookin things right?
 
http://www.wooaudio.com/images/fullsize/wa2-11.jpg

 Nope, it's not wrecked ~ think of the tube as an ancient form of transistor, they're switching devices. Just do not touch them with your bare hand or ever
 roll them on their side as this may disturb their longevity. They last on average about 2,000 to 3,000 hours of use.
 
 Plenty of places exist to source this old yet very relevant type of audio technology - you will need to become proficient in the long term in regards to
 what tubes will suit your particular amp. Just swap the tubes initially to the tubes I suggested above - these have been personally approved by Jack
 Woo himself. Keep it simple ~ Buy from Woo, his warranty on these old tubes is second to none from my experience.
 
 
 

 

[giveit2menow]

how did this end up? match in heaven?
 

 

[thisthingz]

Sorry, a slight sidetrack but do most people prefer the t1 with tube amps?