Towert7
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2005
- Posts
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It's silly for me to be calling this my 'initial' impressions, since I have had the GS-1 now for a long time (over a year), and the WA6 for quite a few months. The reason for this is that I've found it very hard to form my thoughts on how these two amps differ.
Is that a good thing? Maybe. I can safely say that these amps are VERY close.
I have my GS-1 which has the variable volume control. My WA6 was purchased before he offered options for upgrades, and so I can not comment on what possible changes are in my amp vs what he now offers. I did have WooAudio add a loop out to my amp though.
Fit and finish:
In terms of physical specs, the WA6 is much heavier than the GS-1. MUCH. It feels like it was milled from a solid piece of aluminium. I like how the WA6 has the power bottom on the front. The GS-1 has it on the back, so depending on how you have it setup it can be hard to access at times. The GS-1 lends itself to being stacked. I can’t stack anything on the WA6. The WA6 has a much coarser grain to the aluminium. The brushed aluminium on the GS-1 is much finer and less pronounced, and also smoother. Both look equally nice to me.
I like how the GS-1 has 2 headphone outputs. I also like how it has the H/L gain switch on the front. Stock, the GS-1 has more features (2 inputs, preamp, dual headphone output, loop out).
The power LED on both are nice and not very obtrusive.
I have not had a problem with either of these units. They work flawlessly.
The tubes on the WA6 get HOT!!! Easily a burn hazard. Keep this in mind if you have kids or pets.
Price wise:
Stock vs. Stock, the WA6 is about 280$us cheaper. Consider though the amount of money you may sink into various tubes for the WA6. Your typical 6DE7 will run you 5$, your typical 5U4G will run about 15$, and your typical 5AR4 old stock will run you 80$+.
After the price of a few tubes, they are close in price. Close enough to safely say they are within the same price bracket.
How do they sound?
I feed both with my wonderful Paradisea+ source with WE396A Old Stock. This source is known for having a wonderful midrange with no digital harshness.
As I said before, both sound very close in general. The most noticeable difference is in their spatial presentation.
The GS-1 has a more involved sound in which you can better position sounds. The GS-1 also sounds more spacious and more encapsulating. With the WA6, I find it more of an 'in front of me' type of sound vs. an encapsulating sound. Sounds are harder to position in the WA6. Sounds seem to blend in together with each other.
Some people may read into this that the WA6 has a milder, more relaxed type of sound (and it does).... but to me it is not for the better. I prefer the presentation of the GS-1. It is more lively and engaging and creates a more pleasurable experience when listening through headphones.
I find these differences quite subtle, and these are the biggest differences I find between the two of them.
The only other difference I consistently notice is that the high frequency sounds more spacious and encapsulating on the GS-1, and is a little more pronounced vs. the WA6. You loose a tiny bit of the ‘bite’ to the HF sounds with the WA6, for better or for worse (you decide). With my source, I do not need to tame the HF bite (I.E, when plucking a high string on the classical guitar).
So how do they compare?
Well, it seems the GS-1 is doing a slightly better job at revealing just what the source is presenting. The WA6 seems to be adding a tiny bit more of its own flavor to the sound, making the highs a little more mellow and the presentation a little less encapsulating. These differences are quite subtle though.
With my source and choice of headphones, I prefer the GS-1. I have not heard a song on the WA6 that sounds better than on the GS-1 with any of my headphones, though they are darn close most of the time and sometimes I can’t even tell a difference. Keep in mind that my source is naturally warm with no digital harshness. You may have a different sonic signature in your source that may actually favor the WA6, though the spatial presentation suffers a little.
For completeness:
I do ~90% of my listening with my Sennheiser HD650 headphones. I have also used my AKG K701 and Grado HF-1 to compare, and come up with the same subtle distinctions.
In all fairness I have not tried out the exotic tubes for the WA6 (the Mullard 5AR4 or even more exotic).
For the 6DE7 tubes I have used matched pairs of:
Admiral 6DE7, Gt. Britain, ~1970.
GE 6DE7, Canada.
Sylvania 6DE7, USA.
I find no differences between these 3 types. At the moment I have the admirals in my amp.
For the rectifier I have used:
Sovtek 5U4G, Russia.
Sylvania 5U4GB, USA. NOS.
GE 5U4GB, USA. NOS.
JJ 5AR4 (GZ34S), Slovak republic. New Stock.
No Name 5AR4, China. New Stock.
Sovtek 5AR4, Russia. New Stock.
I liked the NOS GE and sylvania. I actually liked the 5AR4 from china, but it broke on me. The Sovtek 5AR4 seems to add the least coloration of the bunch with the tightest bass, and I currently have that in it.
And of course, now WooAudio offers all sorts of pricey upgrades to the WA6 that can EAISLY increase the price of it past that of the GS-1. I have no idea what these upgrades really do to the amp.
HeadAmp offers a Stepped volume control, but I have no idea what that does to the amp (besides loss of convenience).
Summary:
In summary, in my system I prefer the GS-1 with all of my headphones. The only reason I would go to the WA6 is if I wanted to heat up my dorm room faster. But they are DARN close, especially when I’m not critically listening. This might be saying a lot for a tube amp to sound close to the amp nicknamed ‘wire with amplification’.
Pics :
Hope this helps, and feel free to comment!
~Drew
Is that a good thing? Maybe. I can safely say that these amps are VERY close.
I have my GS-1 which has the variable volume control. My WA6 was purchased before he offered options for upgrades, and so I can not comment on what possible changes are in my amp vs what he now offers. I did have WooAudio add a loop out to my amp though.
Fit and finish:
In terms of physical specs, the WA6 is much heavier than the GS-1. MUCH. It feels like it was milled from a solid piece of aluminium. I like how the WA6 has the power bottom on the front. The GS-1 has it on the back, so depending on how you have it setup it can be hard to access at times. The GS-1 lends itself to being stacked. I can’t stack anything on the WA6. The WA6 has a much coarser grain to the aluminium. The brushed aluminium on the GS-1 is much finer and less pronounced, and also smoother. Both look equally nice to me.
I like how the GS-1 has 2 headphone outputs. I also like how it has the H/L gain switch on the front. Stock, the GS-1 has more features (2 inputs, preamp, dual headphone output, loop out).
The power LED on both are nice and not very obtrusive.
I have not had a problem with either of these units. They work flawlessly.
The tubes on the WA6 get HOT!!! Easily a burn hazard. Keep this in mind if you have kids or pets.
Price wise:
Stock vs. Stock, the WA6 is about 280$us cheaper. Consider though the amount of money you may sink into various tubes for the WA6. Your typical 6DE7 will run you 5$, your typical 5U4G will run about 15$, and your typical 5AR4 old stock will run you 80$+.
After the price of a few tubes, they are close in price. Close enough to safely say they are within the same price bracket.
How do they sound?
I feed both with my wonderful Paradisea+ source with WE396A Old Stock. This source is known for having a wonderful midrange with no digital harshness.
As I said before, both sound very close in general. The most noticeable difference is in their spatial presentation.
The GS-1 has a more involved sound in which you can better position sounds. The GS-1 also sounds more spacious and more encapsulating. With the WA6, I find it more of an 'in front of me' type of sound vs. an encapsulating sound. Sounds are harder to position in the WA6. Sounds seem to blend in together with each other.
Some people may read into this that the WA6 has a milder, more relaxed type of sound (and it does).... but to me it is not for the better. I prefer the presentation of the GS-1. It is more lively and engaging and creates a more pleasurable experience when listening through headphones.
I find these differences quite subtle, and these are the biggest differences I find between the two of them.
The only other difference I consistently notice is that the high frequency sounds more spacious and encapsulating on the GS-1, and is a little more pronounced vs. the WA6. You loose a tiny bit of the ‘bite’ to the HF sounds with the WA6, for better or for worse (you decide). With my source, I do not need to tame the HF bite (I.E, when plucking a high string on the classical guitar).
So how do they compare?
Well, it seems the GS-1 is doing a slightly better job at revealing just what the source is presenting. The WA6 seems to be adding a tiny bit more of its own flavor to the sound, making the highs a little more mellow and the presentation a little less encapsulating. These differences are quite subtle though.
With my source and choice of headphones, I prefer the GS-1. I have not heard a song on the WA6 that sounds better than on the GS-1 with any of my headphones, though they are darn close most of the time and sometimes I can’t even tell a difference. Keep in mind that my source is naturally warm with no digital harshness. You may have a different sonic signature in your source that may actually favor the WA6, though the spatial presentation suffers a little.
For completeness:
I do ~90% of my listening with my Sennheiser HD650 headphones. I have also used my AKG K701 and Grado HF-1 to compare, and come up with the same subtle distinctions.
In all fairness I have not tried out the exotic tubes for the WA6 (the Mullard 5AR4 or even more exotic).
For the 6DE7 tubes I have used matched pairs of:
Admiral 6DE7, Gt. Britain, ~1970.
GE 6DE7, Canada.
Sylvania 6DE7, USA.
I find no differences between these 3 types. At the moment I have the admirals in my amp.
For the rectifier I have used:
Sovtek 5U4G, Russia.
Sylvania 5U4GB, USA. NOS.
GE 5U4GB, USA. NOS.
JJ 5AR4 (GZ34S), Slovak republic. New Stock.
No Name 5AR4, China. New Stock.
Sovtek 5AR4, Russia. New Stock.
I liked the NOS GE and sylvania. I actually liked the 5AR4 from china, but it broke on me. The Sovtek 5AR4 seems to add the least coloration of the bunch with the tightest bass, and I currently have that in it.
And of course, now WooAudio offers all sorts of pricey upgrades to the WA6 that can EAISLY increase the price of it past that of the GS-1. I have no idea what these upgrades really do to the amp.
HeadAmp offers a Stepped volume control, but I have no idea what that does to the amp (besides loss of convenience).
Summary:
In summary, in my system I prefer the GS-1 with all of my headphones. The only reason I would go to the WA6 is if I wanted to heat up my dorm room faster. But they are DARN close, especially when I’m not critically listening. This might be saying a lot for a tube amp to sound close to the amp nicknamed ‘wire with amplification’.
Pics :
Hope this helps, and feel free to comment!
~Drew
