Impressions: Woo Audio GES (upgraded) / Stax
Mar 28, 2008 at 6:57 PM Post #16 of 39
Here’s a quote from Aaron from the He1.2b thread:

“Using the Mullard and Valvo (Siemens) 12AX7's in the GES instead of the stock Tung Sol 12BZ7's has greatly improved the tonal output overall”

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/3895071-post503.html

I believe the 12BZ7’s were the upgrade tube Woo offers.

You can use 2 matched pairs to increase the number of possibilities. Trying a good vintage pair on the last stage should have the greatest effect on the sound.


Mitch
 
Mar 28, 2008 at 7:40 PM Post #17 of 39
i think if you ask, Jack will include better tubes than the standard stock upon purchase - for a cost of course, but can save you some time.
 
Mar 30, 2008 at 9:14 PM Post #18 of 39
When Kevin Gilmore was commenting on the prototype, he stated:

"I have listened to these units for literally thousands of hours, trying various kinds of tubes, ranging from NOS Mullard, RCA, GE and Raytheon to current-made junk. The feedback makes all these tubes sound virtually alike. Not at all like some tube preamps that sound dramatically different depending on the tube you use."

I am interested to hear from GES owners who have done some tube-rolling to see how Woo's implementation of Kevin's design responds to different tubes.
 
Mar 30, 2008 at 10:32 PM Post #19 of 39
If the type of tube used in the amp made No Audible Difference why would Jack Woo offer “better tubes than the standard stock upon purchase - for a cost of course”?

Why would he offer an upgrade for the tubes if it didn’t make a difference?


Mitch
 
Mar 31, 2008 at 1:32 PM Post #20 of 39
I'll ask the question again:

If the type of tube used in the amp made No Audible Difference why would Jack Woo offer “better tubes than the standard stock upon purchase - for a cost of course”?

Why would he offer an upgrade for the tubes if it didn’t make a difference?


Mitch
 
Mar 31, 2008 at 4:10 PM Post #21 of 39
Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'll ask the question again:

If the type of tube used in the amp made No Audible Difference why would Jack Woo offer “better tubes than the standard stock upon purchase - for a cost of course”?

Why would he offer an upgrade for the tubes if it didn’t make a difference?


Mitch



Because Jack Woo believes they do make a difference. Kevin Gilmore does not.
 
Mar 31, 2008 at 4:47 PM Post #22 of 39
Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'll ask the question again:

If the type of tube used in the amp made No Audible Difference why would Jack Woo offer “better tubes than the standard stock upon purchase - for a cost of course”?

Why would he offer an upgrade for the tubes if it didn’t make a difference?


Mitch



It isn't uncommon in the hi-fi world to offer upgrades that do little or nothing to better the performance just because the buyers want them. I'm certainly no accusing Woo of doing that but this isn't rare. As to whether or not better tubes matter then it depends on the circuit. A circuit with no feedback is very dependent on the quality of every component and the sound changes radically as the tubes age. Feedback stabilizes the circuit so that changes in tubes aren't as dramatic but the superior quality of the vintage tubes should still result in better sound.
 
Mar 31, 2008 at 5:04 PM Post #23 of 39
@braillediver:

No one said that the upgrade offered by Jack Wu did contain any tube upgade. Please read again my first post in this thread. So apparently Jack is inline with what Kevin Gilmore states.
 
Mar 31, 2008 at 5:18 PM Post #24 of 39
^^ he was referring to my post.

i'm not sure it's too controversial a statement to suggest that different tubes can yield an improvement in sound. i find it odd that people are even discussing this.
 
Mar 31, 2008 at 5:24 PM Post #25 of 39
Please read the entire thread like I did before commenting?

I was commenting on this statement by Wilcox:

When Kevin Gilmore was commenting on the prototype, he stated:
"I have listened to these units for literally thousands of hours, trying various kinds of tubes, ranging from NOS Mullard, RCA, GE and Raytheon to current-made junk. The feedback makes all these tubes sound virtually alike. Not at all like some tube preamps that sound dramatically different depending on the tube you use."“

I saw 2 statements that were diametrically opposed to each other and wanted a clarification.


Mitch
 
May 11, 2008 at 1:07 AM Post #26 of 39
nice bump to find out how the woo GES is performing with ongoing use...
 
May 12, 2008 at 1:10 AM Post #28 of 39
I've been in contact with Jack recently inquiring about the GES. When first asked about upgrades he informed me about the mills-ra resistors and auricap capacitor upgrades as mentioned by the OP in the first post. Only when asked specifically if he could include NOS tubes did he offer to send some 12BZ7 GE/Sylvanias at an additional cost, which seems to indicate he doesnt think it necessary.
 
May 12, 2008 at 4:07 PM Post #29 of 39
I rolled the tubes in my upgraded GES after less than a week. I used Sylvania 12ax7wa. There was a very dramatic improvement and after 200 hours even more. I have had it for a month now and I love it.
 
May 13, 2008 at 1:01 PM Post #30 of 39
Quote:

Originally Posted by gimmish /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I rolled the tubes in my upgraded GES after less than a week. I used Sylvania 12ax7wa. There was a very dramatic improvement and after 200 hours even more. I have had it for a month now and I love it.


I changed the stock EH12AX7 for some New Sensor new production Mullard 12AX7, and couldn't hear much of a difference.
At least, I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference in a blind test.

What made more of a difference was upgrading the IC's, which was immediately noticeable.
Besides that, I'm still very happy with my unit.
 

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