[olegausany]

   
Yes, everyone hears things differently. I really liked the WA7 for the HD700.

I do like HD700 with WA7 and so much more than HD650 that's why I bought them after trying Headamp demo pair. The only what I'm trying to say that I prefer Alpha Dogs with WA7 and HD700 with Schiit stack with Russian 6N1P tubes for Lyr. Never heard HD650 with Schiit stack so can't comment

 

[ninjapirate9901]

  Just wanted to shamelessly plug yet another amp for the Alpha Dog: http://www.garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_004.htm
 
Not that I've heard the pairing with the Alpha Dog, just throwing it out there an an option.

 
I have heard it, and it is a pretty good pairing. I owned a Lyr for most of last year but replaced it with the Ember

 

[KmanChu]

  Sometimes, I think power is over-rated.  I'm not so sure headphones are like muscle cars, where too much power is not anywhere near enough...  My opinion of course.  I know lots of folks like lots of power with the AD's and other planars.
 

+1 Raw power ratings are over rated. You can hook up a so-called 100 W/ch  AV receiver to a pair of good speakers and not get the clarity and authority you would get with a First Watt low power pure Class A amp at moderate volumes. Of course if you start pushing the volume the First Watt will clip whereas the cheap 100 Wpc receiver will ultimately play louder. 
 
Ability to deliver instantaneous current even as impedance changes is way more important than raw power rating. As long as it drives the load in a linear fashion without compressing the signal it will sound lively and dynamic. An amp that might run in mostly Class AB mode may have high total power ratings but intrinsically compresses the signal a bit, dynamics, imaging, everything will suffer. 
 
A good Class A amp that runs in linear mode and has little compression will "sound" way more powerful than a Class AB of similar or even higher rated power. Lots of amps are heavily Class A biased and will run in linear mode at lower power outputs then move into a Class AB mode as power demand increases. For these amps, getting one with a very high power output rating will allow one to run in mostly the Class A mode for listening because no one actually listens to 1W RMS through headphones.

 

[JeremyR]

  +1 Raw power ratings are over rated. You can hook up a so-called 100 W/ch  AV receiver to a pair of good speakers and not get the clarity and authority you would get with a First Watt low power pure Class A amp at moderate volumes. Of course if you start pushing the volume the First Watt will clip whereas the cheap 100 Wpc receiver will ultimately play louder. 

 
While I agree with you, no one in the market for a $600 pair of headphones are curious if they should use a mjolnir Amp, or one from Walmart. All the Amps here are good quality amps. Now the question is about power.

 

[sunneebear]

The question might be about power. Just so happens the the dogs sound really good in some.

The HE6 I have to say does need more power to sound its best but that does not mean it sounds good on any power amp. I went through four before I found the sound I liked.

 

[KmanChu]

   
While I agree with you, no one in the market for a $600 pair of headphones are curious if they should use a mjolnir Amp, or one from Walmart. All the Amps here are good quality amps. Now the question is about power.

I guess my main point is that instantaneous current delivery is really more important than a brute power rating. Things like increased power supply capacitance can make an amp sound more "powerful" without changing the power rating. Anyway, past a certain point I think people are hearing the improvements in components like power supply which are needed to support an output power of several watts even though they will never actually push the amp past 1W under any circumstances when they headphones are actually on their ears. My point is that if a 1W amp delivers the first 500 mW as well as a Mjolnir, then extra power of the Mjolnir isn't needed. The Mjolnir might sound better still, but it's not because of it's power output capability.
 
Anyway, I guess I originally just wanted to agree with someone who said they thought power specifications were overrated. 

 

[koolas]

One should consider an amp with one set of tubes, to be an entirely different amp, than the same amp with a different set of tubes.

For example, the Bellari with its stock new production Chinese tube, could not be more different than the Bellari with a 1960s German tube...

Don't know about other amps, but Alpha Dogs from PanAm sound great, but on Mullards they sound extreme! I mean holly cow!

 

[Oldnslo]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57565267-47/wowed-by-the-woo-wa7-headphone-amplifier/
 
http://dagogo.com/woo-audio-wa7-fireflies-dac-headphone-amplifier-review
 
It's not difficult to find reviews favoring the WA7 with Audeze's LCD-2.  I also saw a favorable review pairing it with Fostex t50rp, but can't find it now.  Looked at too many reviews!
 
Just as I did with the AD's, which I'm also buying on faith and good vibes after having read pretty much every available review, I'm happy to choose the WA7.  After corresponding with both Ray Samuels about his Raptor and Frank Iacone about the WA7 and the WA6SE, I made a choice to have an all-in-one unit that's going to look awesome, have high-wife-approval, and will sound--according to all who have reviewed the unit--like angels singing.  (I was actually looking at several other Woo products when Frank guided me towards the WA7 for it's DAC, which is when I realized that the Raptor didn't have a built-in DAC, either.  Sorry, Ray!)  For what it's worth, I'm also springing for the EH gold tipped tubes.  Seems like if one has a chance to use gold-tipped tubes, it's a must, right?  Would've been better if they'd been unobtainium tubes, but still...  
 
Listen, the AD's are going to kick the stuffing out of the 990 Pros (250) that I use for radio or the UE 10's that I use for travel, whether I drive it with a WA7, my SR-71A, or by rubbing a sweater really fast with a balloon.  
 
I specifically did NOT ask Dan to endorse one electronics mfgr over another.  Didn't think it fair to put him on the spot.  Instead, I'm happy to say that Ray Samuels has ALWAYS been a great guy to deal with and I was very impressed with Frank Iacone as well.  I'm not going wrong here with a WA7.  I'm may be new to Head-fi, but I'm not new at all to hi-fi.  
 
Now, can someone report how the AD's sound cranking Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies or is that going to be my job?

 

[Oldnslo]

It isn't hard to find reviews favorably pairing the WA7 with Audeze LCD-2's.  Saw one that gushed about the WA7 with a T50RP, too.  I don't have enough posts to put in links. 
 
I went with AD's after reading pretty much every review I could find, lurking here, and even talking to Dan.  Did pretty much the same thing with the amp side--I was comparing Ray Samuel's Raptor with the WA7.  After corresponding with Ray Samuels and Frank Iacone, I went with the unit that will have high wife-approval and will look and sound awesome.  (I was actually comparing the Raptor to the WA6SE when Frank guided me to the WA7 because of the built-in DAC... which is when I realized that the Raptor didn't have a DAC, either.  Sorry, Ray!)  I'm also springing for the gold-tipped tubes because if it's an option to have gold-tipped tubes, seems like that's the thing to do, right?  I mean, it would have been better if they'd been unobtanium-tipped, but still!
 
Listen, the AD's are going to kick the stuffing out of the DT990 Pros (250) that I use for radio and the UE 10's that I use for travel.  And that's whether I drive them with a WA7, my SR-71A, or by rubbing my sweater really fast with a balloon.   
 
For what it's worth, I didn't ask Dan to endorse one amp or another.  Didn't think it fair to put him on the spot.  But I will say that Ray Samuels has ALWAYS been a great guy to deal with and that I was also very impressed with Frank Iacone at Woo.   I'm not going wrong here with a WA7.
 
Now, can someone report how the AD's sound cranking Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies or is that going to be my job?

 

[MattTCG]

Groovyd likes the AD with the WA7. Check in with him. He also just got the lcd-x and xc this week and says that the wa7 sounds fantastic with it. 

 

[Mullet]

Finally joining the club. Ordered my pair this evening. I'm going to possibly decide between these and Thunderpants for my closed headphones to be used during daytime hours at work. When no one is around I rock out with my AKG K240 Sextetts.

 

[bmichels]

  Groovyd likes the AD with the WA7. Check in with him. He also just got the lcd-x and xc this week and says that the wa7 sounds fantastic with it. 

 
nice headphones you have !  
 
Could you tell me which one between the AD and the LCD-XC  does leak the less sound outside ? And do one of them leak even less than the SigPRO (that I already tested as OK on my "non leaking" requirements) ?
 
I am indeed looking for the best possible headphone to use at work and also ... in the bed near my wife sleeping.
 
thanks for your advices

 

[jaytee189]

AD + Woo WA7 + files from MacBook Pro using Audirvana Player.
Sounds is okay but not that great. Details are there but lacks of power for my taste.
 
 

 IPC 80 GB + Alo RX mk3b + pure copper lod to 3.5 using switchcraft.
Sounds much fuller and the impact is awesome. 
details and instrument separation is good too.
One of my Fave set up for driving AD.
 
 

Fostex HPP1 + AD.
Sounds pretty warm and fun but definitely lacks of power.
 
 

I tried A-B ing between the Theorem and Clas dB+Duet combo.
Theorem sounds fine to my ears. 
Clas dB+Duet just sounds more refined and take my attentions more.
 

Clas dB+ Cypher Labs Duet + AD
One of my current favorite portable at the moment.
Power is enough to my liking, details are good. 
 
These are my short impressions after giving a full listening sessions to all these set up. 
I do own all these equipments used in this review.
 
Regards,
Jaytee189

 

[koolas]

The LCD-2 + WA7 is advertised here by many as good combo. Then if you want 2/3 price on both you go AD + PanAm

The thing is LCD-2 is better headphone than AD, and WA7 is better amp than PanAm. My guess is the amount of "better" is similar between these two headphones and two amps.

 

[LoveKnight]

I do not think the WA7s are suitable for planars. It pairs ... fine but not great,  yes the WA7 has smooth lush sound with very addictive bass however with dynamic headphones. That is why Woo brought the WA7 with higher power tubes to CAMJAM 2013. Check Sonido's message, he found out the Emotiva Mini X a-100 is better for planars and many other powerful amps.