Golden Monkey
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2008
- Posts
- 1,986
- Likes
- 22
Man, I thought I was done...figured I'd had everything settled and no more equipment would be necessary. I had a nice easy to maintain system full of details and soundstage, neutrality, transparency, naturalness, etc.
I'd fastidiously avoided tubes - didn't want to deal with maintenance, availability, or having a new obsession to geek on. I didn't want coloration. I didn't want "old".
I was wrong.
I did some thinking about purity of signal path, analog and digital domains, the nature of my soul, "musicality" vs. "resolution", the sound of one hand clapping, bears sh!tting in woods, etc. and realized maybe I should give tube amps a shot.
I was offered the chance to try out a WA3+ by glitch39 (my former boss, audio guru, devil's advocate, friend, and bane of my wife's existance because he got me into this hobby). He's been my tester, since he's so curious about new equipment. I'll pretty much let him run through the gamut of stuff, and once he finds what he wants to keep, I know he'll offer it to me soon because he'll go balanced, go bigger, go MORE in pursuit of Nirvana. He gushed about the Woo after knowing he wanted an OTL design, trying all sorts of amps out, and was ready to settle until another pardigm shift in wants.
Enter the Woo. He's replaced the stock power tube with a NOS Tung-Sol 7236. Says to me, "you should try your HD650's with tubes...", says, "this Tung-Sol has crazy bass", and "if you do, you'll want to sell your MKV".
Yeah, right.
He should know though...he's tried ALL my equipment, but I'm skeptical...we've always had differences in opinion re: solid state vs. tubes, among other things. Only thing I was right about was my DAC...he liked that, and he's hard to impress. Almost every difference always comes down to him being right, and him giving me the "told you so" face. Jerk.
I didn't want to try tubes...I just didn't. I knew I'd go nuts. I didn't want to maintain them. Damn it.
Anyway...I take the Woo home, wife rolls her eyes, asks "how much is that ugly thing going to cost?", and I assure her that it's just a temporary demo, nothing to worry about...
Less than an hour after getting home I get this email:
"Subj: Tried it yet?
So what is your quick comment? Curious to see (hear) if we have the same taste."
Plug it in, warm it up, and reply:
"Not yet...gotta spend some wife-time, lol. Glowing tubes are cooooool tho."
I fidget through a couple of hours of TV time, and finally can't take it any longer. MUST TRY AMP...
Stunned silence while listening to Dire Straits. Email reply:
"Um...wow. Jesus, this thing sounds REALLY nice. Warm, lush, lively, clear, very full - if the comparison was to wine, the MKV would be a chardonnay, the Woo is a Spanish Tempranillo - weird choice, but it's more than a merlot and not a heavy pinot or cab. Tempranillos are spicy, fruity, rich and full, sorta like a merlot with sparkle.
Anyway, I digress. I listened to Dire Straits' first album (Sultans of Swing, etc.), which is a really awesome recording, and it sounded...awesome.
There's more warmth and "upfrontiness" compared to the MKV, and there's a tasty zing to the tone - hard to describe. I think it's pleasant distortion. Soundstage has a lot of width, with way more depth and heighth than the MKV. I don't know...more in every dimension, yet somehow more up front? I need to listen to more stuff to nail it down.
Where the LD is very bright and controlled and detailed (in the high end, I'm saying), the Woo is just as bright, but has a more natural analog sound to it...it's not a pure, clean, even treble like the LD (which comes across as somehow artificial).
Bass is awesome. Very well defined and impactful. Not boomy, not loud, just...bassy and visceral. The LD hits low and hard, but this seems more solid.
As of right now, this thing is a keeper."
More listening with other music.
[size=x-small]"Oh, and...no veil! Not that I really think there IS one to begin with, but its definitely not there now. Its very clear and unmuffled."[/size]
More listening...
[size=x-small]"I like the cleanliness and detail of solid state, but now I think I understand "musicality" compared to "sterility". The Woo feels more exciting and rough around the edges (but in a good way), and the MKV is more transparent, which is what I thought I wanted before, but I think I like a bit more flavor, lol. It's like comparing spring water (mkv) to sparkling mineral water.[/size]
How far off-base from your impressions am I? You had more time with the MKV than I've had with this one so far..."
What can I sell? The MKV? The Denons I don't really use anymore? A kidney? My firstborn? I HAVE to have this amp.
His reply:
"[size=x-small]Did I not say .... I told you so....
"[/size]
[size=x-small]Jerk.[/size]
I'd fastidiously avoided tubes - didn't want to deal with maintenance, availability, or having a new obsession to geek on. I didn't want coloration. I didn't want "old".
I was wrong.
I did some thinking about purity of signal path, analog and digital domains, the nature of my soul, "musicality" vs. "resolution", the sound of one hand clapping, bears sh!tting in woods, etc. and realized maybe I should give tube amps a shot.
I was offered the chance to try out a WA3+ by glitch39 (my former boss, audio guru, devil's advocate, friend, and bane of my wife's existance because he got me into this hobby). He's been my tester, since he's so curious about new equipment. I'll pretty much let him run through the gamut of stuff, and once he finds what he wants to keep, I know he'll offer it to me soon because he'll go balanced, go bigger, go MORE in pursuit of Nirvana. He gushed about the Woo after knowing he wanted an OTL design, trying all sorts of amps out, and was ready to settle until another pardigm shift in wants.
Enter the Woo. He's replaced the stock power tube with a NOS Tung-Sol 7236. Says to me, "you should try your HD650's with tubes...", says, "this Tung-Sol has crazy bass", and "if you do, you'll want to sell your MKV".
Yeah, right.
He should know though...he's tried ALL my equipment, but I'm skeptical...we've always had differences in opinion re: solid state vs. tubes, among other things. Only thing I was right about was my DAC...he liked that, and he's hard to impress. Almost every difference always comes down to him being right, and him giving me the "told you so" face. Jerk.
I didn't want to try tubes...I just didn't. I knew I'd go nuts. I didn't want to maintain them. Damn it.
Anyway...I take the Woo home, wife rolls her eyes, asks "how much is that ugly thing going to cost?", and I assure her that it's just a temporary demo, nothing to worry about...
Less than an hour after getting home I get this email:
"Subj: Tried it yet?
So what is your quick comment? Curious to see (hear) if we have the same taste."
Plug it in, warm it up, and reply:
"Not yet...gotta spend some wife-time, lol. Glowing tubes are cooooool tho."
I fidget through a couple of hours of TV time, and finally can't take it any longer. MUST TRY AMP...
Stunned silence while listening to Dire Straits. Email reply:
"Um...wow. Jesus, this thing sounds REALLY nice. Warm, lush, lively, clear, very full - if the comparison was to wine, the MKV would be a chardonnay, the Woo is a Spanish Tempranillo - weird choice, but it's more than a merlot and not a heavy pinot or cab. Tempranillos are spicy, fruity, rich and full, sorta like a merlot with sparkle.
Anyway, I digress. I listened to Dire Straits' first album (Sultans of Swing, etc.), which is a really awesome recording, and it sounded...awesome.
There's more warmth and "upfrontiness" compared to the MKV, and there's a tasty zing to the tone - hard to describe. I think it's pleasant distortion. Soundstage has a lot of width, with way more depth and heighth than the MKV. I don't know...more in every dimension, yet somehow more up front? I need to listen to more stuff to nail it down.
Where the LD is very bright and controlled and detailed (in the high end, I'm saying), the Woo is just as bright, but has a more natural analog sound to it...it's not a pure, clean, even treble like the LD (which comes across as somehow artificial).
Bass is awesome. Very well defined and impactful. Not boomy, not loud, just...bassy and visceral. The LD hits low and hard, but this seems more solid.
As of right now, this thing is a keeper."
More listening with other music.
[size=x-small]"Oh, and...no veil! Not that I really think there IS one to begin with, but its definitely not there now. Its very clear and unmuffled."[/size]
More listening...
[size=x-small]"I like the cleanliness and detail of solid state, but now I think I understand "musicality" compared to "sterility". The Woo feels more exciting and rough around the edges (but in a good way), and the MKV is more transparent, which is what I thought I wanted before, but I think I like a bit more flavor, lol. It's like comparing spring water (mkv) to sparkling mineral water.[/size]
How far off-base from your impressions am I? You had more time with the MKV than I've had with this one so far..."
What can I sell? The MKV? The Denons I don't really use anymore? A kidney? My firstborn? I HAVE to have this amp.
His reply:
"[size=x-small]Did I not say .... I told you so....
[size=x-small]Jerk.[/size]
