[Gibson59]

I'm considering either of these amps to drive both Hifiman HE1000 v2 and Sony Z1R headphones. I've looked and really haven't found much comparing these exact two. With all the tube upgrades the WA22 ends up being around the same price as the ZDS. I'll be using my Schiit Bitfrost Multibit DAC (single ended output only) that i'm really happy with and don't plan on upgrading in the near future. I'm upgrading from a Lyr 2 amp that just doesn't do these headphones justice IMO.

Today I auditioned the WA22/bitfrost with both the HE1000 and Z1R and absolutely loved the sound. I'm especially impressed because the WA22 was not upgraded and additionally i've read that using a balance input with the WA22 sounds even better... wow!

Unfortunately I'm fairly certain I won't have a chance to audition the ZDS so I would be buying blind (aside from the recommendations from members here of course).

I much prefer the look and size of the WA22 (in silver it matches my hifi setup perfectly). So much more that it's influencing me a bit. I hate to admit that, but it is what it is, I care about aesthetics. I'm not saying the ZDS is ugly by any means, I just prefer the WA22 with my setup.

With all that said if the consensus is that performance wise the ZDS just blows the upgraded WA22 away i'll definitely go with it. I don't want to get the WA22 now and end up upgrading in 6 months because i read that the ZDS is so much better. I'm really looking for my end game amp within my budget.

Thoughts?

 

[Contrails]

You can also get the WA22 with a preamp function. Worth it IMO.

If you like the sound from a stock WA22, you will love it with upgraded tubes. But it needs the right tubes and they are not cheap. Looks wise, it's a very handsome amp and mine always draws attention whenever we have people over. I have the black one and with a 596 rectifier, it's an attention whore.

I can't comment on a ZDS as I haven't heard one myself. But it is a fantastic amp from what everyone says. The other thing to remember is a ZDS would have a better resale value and only needs one tube to be rolled and the preamp option is standard.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

The ZDS will not be a good match for the HE1000 at all. It is a fantastic amp--I own one-- but is designed primarily for high impedance dynamic drivers. However, despite its low nominal impedance, the Utopia is an exception that works very well with the ZDS, due to its peculiar impedance curve. For HE1000, I would go with something transformer coupled from the tube amp realm, otherwise solid state. OTL also seems like a bad idea for the Sonys.

 

[Dvdlucena]

Nice thread. Any more comparisons?