jonnybee123
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 3, 2009
- Posts
- 36
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- 0
Okay guys, got some questions and perhaps I could use a little guidance.
A little Background for ya:
I currently own a DV 336 SE, this was my first dedicated headphone amp. Before I purchased the DV I was actually contemplating more expensive amps, but I figured I'd be prudent and not invest too much into a hobby that I wasn't sure I would always have the time for (please note that I've never not had the time for music). But once I acquired a USB DAC, anytime in front of the computer was headphone time, perhaps I was on to something. Although the amp really brought my Senns to life, it really didn't please me all that much with my 325i's (holy Grate-oh batman), that I actually sometimes prefer to run the Grado's off my ipod.
Flash-forward to a few weeks ago, I see a WA6 locally at a good price and given it was a local sale without shipping, I was confident I could give it a spin with zero risk. Although not as bright as my DARKvoice, the tone just seemed so much more natural, things seemed more focused...I liked. Now my Grado's were getting as much if not more play than my 650s, and my Senn's were showing me the kind of soundstage headphones are capable of. At this point I knew I could discern differences in sound quality, not just differences in output levels......does that make me a 'believer'?
I am loving my WA6 so much that I get in touch with Jack re doing the PDPS mod and grabbing a Sophia Princess, but there is one major issue I have with the WA6. My WA6 was just no where near as loud as my DV, where I would listen to the DV between 8:30 and 9:30 my WA6 would be going over 12:00 quite frequently. So I found myself longing for the increased headroom that I know the WA6 SE has. I was very close to sending the amp back to Queens, but in the end I felt that I did not want to settle (not that the WA6 was any old slouch, but...).
Current conundrum:
So I sold the WA6 over the weekend, and wow, do I ever miss it. Although I knew by selling it, I would be forcing myself to get a move on acquiring a WA6 SE (and help fund it). I am very close to ordering a stock WA6 SE, but I can't but wonder what kind of improvement the parts upgrade will yield. The upgrade represents an increase in cost of almost %50, obviously it would be unreasonable to assume a proportional increase in performance, I just would like to know that the difference would be significant.
My gut says just get the stock unit. If I were to go stock how hard would it be for me to acquire the parts and have someone locally swap them out down the road (perhaps even myself). How doable is this? Even if it costs me more than $450 in the future, its a cost I'd rather incur down the road. I am also pretty sure that I will acquire a 274b down the road too, just want to burn it in first.
Should I be prepared to spend $1500 on an amp, maybe I want a B22. I've never heard one, nor a high end SS amp for that matter, but given all I've absorbed from my research the B22 seems to be the bee's knees when it comes to dynamic headphone amps. Unfortunately, they're kinda pricey new and used ones are few and far between. As I mentioned before, I am really longing for my departed Woo and I am not sure I have the patience to wait for a used B22. So I think I will most likely go for a new amp.
So lets assume for a sec that I am prepared to break/straddle the $1500 price point, that's a new 2 board B22 or a new wa6se with parts. Does anybody have experience with that variant of the B22 vs the Woo? I think a used 4 board B22 with both SE and balanced output would be ideal, but who knows how long I'll have to wait and I'll possibly be short on funds when one comes up.
All I want to do is buy a great amp that will keep me satisfied for years while minimizing both cost and perhaps more importantly, regret. I think I had few more questions, but this long winded post has left me winded.
Thanks for listening,
Jon
A little Background for ya:
I currently own a DV 336 SE, this was my first dedicated headphone amp. Before I purchased the DV I was actually contemplating more expensive amps, but I figured I'd be prudent and not invest too much into a hobby that I wasn't sure I would always have the time for (please note that I've never not had the time for music). But once I acquired a USB DAC, anytime in front of the computer was headphone time, perhaps I was on to something. Although the amp really brought my Senns to life, it really didn't please me all that much with my 325i's (holy Grate-oh batman), that I actually sometimes prefer to run the Grado's off my ipod.
Flash-forward to a few weeks ago, I see a WA6 locally at a good price and given it was a local sale without shipping, I was confident I could give it a spin with zero risk. Although not as bright as my DARKvoice, the tone just seemed so much more natural, things seemed more focused...I liked. Now my Grado's were getting as much if not more play than my 650s, and my Senn's were showing me the kind of soundstage headphones are capable of. At this point I knew I could discern differences in sound quality, not just differences in output levels......does that make me a 'believer'?
I am loving my WA6 so much that I get in touch with Jack re doing the PDPS mod and grabbing a Sophia Princess, but there is one major issue I have with the WA6. My WA6 was just no where near as loud as my DV, where I would listen to the DV between 8:30 and 9:30 my WA6 would be going over 12:00 quite frequently. So I found myself longing for the increased headroom that I know the WA6 SE has. I was very close to sending the amp back to Queens, but in the end I felt that I did not want to settle (not that the WA6 was any old slouch, but...).
Current conundrum:
So I sold the WA6 over the weekend, and wow, do I ever miss it. Although I knew by selling it, I would be forcing myself to get a move on acquiring a WA6 SE (and help fund it). I am very close to ordering a stock WA6 SE, but I can't but wonder what kind of improvement the parts upgrade will yield. The upgrade represents an increase in cost of almost %50, obviously it would be unreasonable to assume a proportional increase in performance, I just would like to know that the difference would be significant.
My gut says just get the stock unit. If I were to go stock how hard would it be for me to acquire the parts and have someone locally swap them out down the road (perhaps even myself). How doable is this? Even if it costs me more than $450 in the future, its a cost I'd rather incur down the road. I am also pretty sure that I will acquire a 274b down the road too, just want to burn it in first.
Should I be prepared to spend $1500 on an amp, maybe I want a B22. I've never heard one, nor a high end SS amp for that matter, but given all I've absorbed from my research the B22 seems to be the bee's knees when it comes to dynamic headphone amps. Unfortunately, they're kinda pricey new and used ones are few and far between. As I mentioned before, I am really longing for my departed Woo and I am not sure I have the patience to wait for a used B22. So I think I will most likely go for a new amp.
So lets assume for a sec that I am prepared to break/straddle the $1500 price point, that's a new 2 board B22 or a new wa6se with parts. Does anybody have experience with that variant of the B22 vs the Woo? I think a used 4 board B22 with both SE and balanced output would be ideal, but who knows how long I'll have to wait and I'll possibly be short on funds when one comes up.
All I want to do is buy a great amp that will keep me satisfied for years while minimizing both cost and perhaps more importantly, regret. I think I had few more questions, but this long winded post has left me winded.
Thanks for listening,
Jon
