[bpiotrow13]

Got these beauties today and I enjoy it much more than the WE421A. It simply ticks all boxes with better micro details, sweeter and warmer mid and pleasant tonality. I am pairing them with WE274A and Marconi B65 in my Woo WA22, and the synergy is exceptional. With these I finally reached my endgame in tube rolling.

Wow, it must have cost a fortune Looks impresive

 

[jonathan c]

Got these beauties today and I enjoy it much more than the WE421A. It simply ticks all boxes with better micro details, sweeter and warmer mid and pleasant tonality. I am pairing them with WE274A and Marconi B65 in my Woo WA22, and the synergy is exceptional. With these I finally reached my endgame in tube rolling.

Now it is time for backups…

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Now it is time for backups…

And back-ups for the back-ups.

 

[jonathan c]

And back-ups for the back-ups.

Algebraically that could end up as:

Backup^Backup

 

[HTSkywalker]

Got these beauties today and I enjoy it much more than the WE421A. It simply ticks all boxes with better micro details, sweeter and warmer mid and pleasant tonality. I am pairing them with WE274A and Marconi B65 in my Woo WA22, and the synergy is exceptional. With these I finally reached my endgame in tube rolling.

See you have the Final Audio phones
How do they sound with tubes ?

 

[bpiotrow13]

And back-ups for the back-ups.

The back up issue causes i only buy tubes i can afford to have a few back up pairs.. if i only have one pair i could get used to it too much in case it fails

 

[lumdicks]

See you have the Final Audio phones
How do they sound with tubes ?

It sounds good with WA22 but I prefer its pairing with Kinki more. I have done my tube rolling with Susvara as reference (WA22 as preamp, Kinki as poweramp) but I shall spend more time on the D8000 and Empyrean, which can be driven by WA22 alone.

 

[lumdicks]

Now it is time for backups…

Talking about backup.......

 

[lumdicks]

Talking about backup......

 

[bpiotrow13]

Talking about backup......

Good, I am doing exactly the same

 

[thecrow]

Got these beauties today and I enjoy it much more than the WE421A. It simply ticks all boxes with better micro details, sweeter and warmer mid and pleasant tonality. I am pairing them with WE274A and Marconi B65 in my Woo WA22, and the synergy is exceptional. With these I finally reached my endgame in tube rolling.

The gec6as7g have no comparison.

They are set and forget - with no need to buy or roll any other 6080/6as7g tubes

imho and, at least, for my preferences (with my wa2)

 

[bpiotrow13]

he gec6as7g have no comparison.

They are set and forget - with no need to buy or roll any other 6080/6as7g tubes

imho and, at least, for my preferences (with my wa2)

I can only belive it, but where to buy gec 6as7 for decent price?

 

[thecrow]

I can only belive it, but where to buy gec 6as7 for decent price?

That’s the kicker - prices have become ridiculous and imho even make these tube amps less attractive for those that know about the tube options before buying the tube amp. Personally i bought my wa2 before looking into tubes.
But knowing what i know and having heard what i have heard now (ie various tubes) I would be somewhat reluctant to buy the wa2 as I would probably want the gec tubes and would not settle for any of the others options. So I would have to include the cost of these tubes with the cost of the amp (as a total expenditure) in making a decision to buy the amp or not.


Luckily….I found my gec tubes a few years ago. Managed to pick up about 5 or 6 over time and only one has died thus far.
They were never sold as perfectly matched,. And slime I picked up as singles but they have come up with no problems for my listening.
A few have a slight hum that is audible when no music is being played - and i can put up with that rather than paying typical high prices which have even gone up by about 40% in the last few years.

Keep an eye out for them on eBay and you may get lucky on a half decent pair at a half decent price.

Or buy one very good pair at whatever price you can manage to get and you’re set…..if that suits your preferences.
Remember a great pair, let alone (close to ) NOS should last quite a few years.

Otherwise there is also the we421a or the Tung sol 5998 which are suitable mid price options

Ymmv, my 2c

 

[bpiotrow13]

That’s the kicker - prices have become ridiculous and imho even make these tube amps less attractive for those that know about the tube options before buying the tube amp. Personally i bought my wa2 before looking into tubes.
But knowing what i know and having heard what i have heard now (ie various tubes) I would be somewhat reluctant to buy the wa2 as I would probably want the gec tubes and would not settle for any of the others options. So I would have to include the cost of these tubes with the cost of the amp (as a total expenditure) in making a decision to buy the amp or not.


Luckily….I found my gec tubes a few years ago. Managed to pick up about 5 or 6 over time and only one has died thus far.
They were never sold as perfectly matched,. And slime I picked up as singles but they have come up with no problems for my listening.
A few have a slight hum that is audible when no music is being played - and i can put up with that rather than paying typical high prices which have even gone up by about 40% in the last few years.

Keep an eye out for them on eBay and you may get lucky on a half decent pair at a half decent price.

Or buy one very good pair at whatever price you can manage to get and you’re set…..if that suits your preferences.
Remember a great pair, let alone (close to ) NOS should last quite a few years.

Otherwise there is also the we421a or the Tung sol 5998 which are suitable mid price options

Ymmv, my 2c

Yeah, wa2 is good, I also have it. However, I prefer warmer sound I think. I will have a chance to listen to custom OTL shortly and I may want to sell wa2. It sounds very good with other tubes as well (eg sylvania 7236), but probably I like more warm.

I have 4 pairs of TS 5998 already and some others

 

[thecrow]

Yeah, wa2 is good, I also have it. However, I prefer warmer sound I think. I will have a chance to listen to custom OTL shortly and I may want to sell wa2. It sounds very good with other tubes as well (eg sylvania 7236), but probably I like more warm.

I have 4 pairs of TS 5998 already and some others

I get my tone added via my holland 6dj8 tubes (and my detail through the gec6as7g) but I appreciate that if you lean towards a warmer sound that can be tackled through other 6080 tubes - and even with inexpensive options