[HeadphoneAddict]

Right now my favorite with the Edition 9 is either the 336i or the Single Power Square Wave XL with discrete output (running the Ed 9 SE on the balanced amp). I find the Edition 9 to do very well with my Dark Voice 336i with JAN CRC RCA 6AS7G tube in the rear and Sylvania VT-231 in the front (also good with Tung Sol 5998 in the rear, and in the front I like the Sylvania Bad Boy, or RCA grey glass VT-231, and even JAN CRC RCA 5692 red base).

However, with the WA6 maxed with pseudo dual power supply, I found with the metal base 1955 GZ34 rectifier or Holland Amperex Bugle Boy GZ34 that the Edition 9 could be a little dark and bassy, while those tubes are fantastic with the RS-1. But, switching the rectifier to a Sovtek 5U4G seems to perk up the highs for the Edition 9 and make them less dark, but that tube makes the treble on the RS-1 sound kinda plasticky.

So, while the WA6 is phenomenal with the RS-1, the 336i seems best of the two with the Edition 9. I have tried 4 different brands of 6DE7 tubes in the front, but those are hard to find and make less of a difference than the rectifier tubes do. I don't know why cAsE sEnSiTiVe and Jamato8 don't have the same problem with the Edition 9 highs being rolled off in the WA6 unless I just still have the wrong tubes (Perhaps one of them will sell me a good Edition 9 rectifier, because this doesn't happen with my Grados, D2000 or HD600).

Other good amps for the Edition 9 that are not far behind the top two but are within the stated budget are as follows: The Edition 9 seem to have some very good synergy with my Travagans Red with OPA627 or AD743 opamps. The TTVJ Portable Millett Hybrid and RSA Predator are my favorite portables with it, but the Pico is not bad at all with the Edition 9. The 9's also loved naamanf's M^3 with OPA627 (or 637, I forget) about as much as the Red, which when he visited me we also compared the M^3 and Red to the headphone out of the Apogee Mini-DAC (which was pretty good with them too). I was also surprised with the Firestone Audio Cute Beyond combined with the Edition 9 when I did my review on the Cute, being almost as good as the Red with them.

 

[jamato8]

On that highs and bass hard to say. The power supply modification for the Woo 6 for cAsE and mine is using the Black Gate nonpolar and in Super E configuration, which supplies a very fast response for transients. The BG nonpolar are different from their polar in having no equal imo among this type of capacitor but of course they come at a price. My highs are fine and the bass with most all tubes is fast and articulate and never heavy unless the recording is. Also I come off of the power supply at a different point than Woo Audio, which balances the current need better. At times it sounds like I am listening to a live feed.