[bsiegler]

Which review? Show me lol. ABYSS in their YouTube introduction was the only time I heard it. Anyway I emailed ABYSS and they replied to me that what I am experiencing is normal. SQ is still exceptional. You just need to turn Up volume. Not that it really matters to me since all my openbacks are only for home use. Most often I use them with ny Ferrum stack so I am really never lacking in power. But the MR is impressive. I rank it high there with my Susvara among my favorites

Sorry for the very late reply to this comment, but which Ferrum stack are you running? Do you have the Wandla or the OOR/Hypsos? I'm thinking about trialing Ferrum or Topping A/D70 alongside the WA7 I'm getting with the MR and Empyrean II and curious which direction to go...

 

[MillionAntz]

I’m curious how the Woo Audio WA7 would do paired with my Calderas. I’ve heard WA7 is pretty neutral but I’m mostly curious the dynamics/punchiness of the amp. Any thoughts would be great, thanks!

 

[Lightspeed12]

I’m curious how the Woo Audio WA7 would do paired with my Calderas. I’ve heard WA7 is pretty neutral but I’m mostly curious the dynamics/punchiness of the amp. Any thoughts would be great, thanks!

Not sure about Caldera but use focal clear og, focal radiance, dt1990 pro, arya stealth, he1000v2, ananda stealth all the sennheiser hd600 series headphones on my wa7 fireflies 3rd gen & the dynamics/punchers is great but I am running RCA Tubes in the wa7 which are warmer.

 

[peripheralsdealer]

Anyone who can share thoughts on wa7 paired with lcd-5, utopia 2022, meze elite?
With emphasize on pop music, mostly bass & vocals.

 

[Lightspeed12]

Anyone who can share thoughts on wa7 paired with lcd-5, utopia 2022, meze elite?
With emphasize on pop music, mostly bass & vocals.

I can say the wa7 fireflies third generation works well with the lcd-x, focal clear og, focal radiance, & all my hifiman & sennheisers.
Absolutely love the wa7 for vocals.
I have the lcd-2 fazer model coming next week maybe sooner which I can't wait to try with the wa7.
But having said that I have RCA 12au7 clear top tubes in my wa7 not the standard ones.
RCA are warmer & richer great for female & male vocals.

 

[quiquenaranjo]

Very happy with my wa7, sounds amazing with my Focal Clears OG and my HD800S.
However, with my Meze 109pros connected to the wa7 I can hear a very noticeable "hum" noise, more present on the balanced output but also there on the SE output. With the HD800S the noise is barely noticeable, and just a little with the Clears but not disturbing.
Is this noise normal? And why is that noise so more loud with the Mezes? Are the 109pros just a bad pairing with the wa7, or is the wa7 unit defective? Does any other Headfier have experience pairing the 109pros and the wa7? Thanks in advance

 

[peripheralsdealer]

Is this noise normal?

I never had any hum with any headphones (diana v2, 800s, 8xx, and more) only a minor noise with IEMs, very subtle but when music plays its gone.

So maybe something is going on with your unit?
Could be (probably not) "damaged" power cable or USB / rca cables that you use?
Could be just the unit or even the tubes actually, as I have seen people commenting on noise then changed tubes and everything was okay.

You can order cheap 12au7 tubes & replace cables (cheap cables) to "debug" it.

Or you can just message Mike from Woo : )

 

[akukula]

I find it strange you having a hum. I have paired my WA7 with 800s, Focal Clears MG, ABYSS MR and never had any hum. Only slight hum with sensitive IEMs that hoes away when I start playing music.

 

[Lightspeed12]

I find it strange you having a hum. I have paired my WA7 with 800s, Focal Clears MG, ABYSS MR and never had any hum. Only slight hum with sensitive IEMs that hoes away when I start playing music.

Do you have that hum in one ear or both ears ?
How many hours have you used the wa7 for tubes do burn in over time.
If you ever decide on tube rolling the RCA 12AU7 Clear tops are excellent for a clear spacious warm sound.
Also the dt1990 pro with dekoni velour pads are a fantastic match with the wa7.
I have run my focal og, focal radiance, hifiman he1000v2, arya v3, lcd-2 & all the 600 sennheiser headphones on mine & no hum.
The wa7 fireflies 3rd generation is definitely a keeper.

 

[quiquenaranjo]

Thank you all very much for your answers and tips! I'm a little worried indeed.

I never had any hum with any headphones (diana v2, 800s, 8xx, and more) only a minor noise with IEMs, very subtle but when music plays it's gone.

Yeah, that's the case for me with my 800s, a minor background noise. Just a little more noise with the Clears (that doesn't disturb the music plays), but with the 109pros the humming background noise is very loud, to the point it's not at all pleasing to use these headphones with the WA7.

Could be (probably not) "damaged" power cable or USB / rca cables that you use?

I use the stock usb-c cable connected to my Mac mini or to my iPad Pro. But the problem can't be the usb cable because the noise is present even with the usb cable detached from the wa7

Could be just the unit or even the tubes actually, as I have seen people commenting on noise then changed tubes and everything was okay.

You can order cheap 12au7 tubes & replace cables (cheap cables) to "debug" it.

Or you can just message Mike from Woo : )

Thanks for the tip yes maybe it's the tubes...
The headphones cables are very good quality : I use meze silver cables and sometimes hart audio cables.
The 109pros, with those cables, work flawlessly with my Mojo2, pitch black background.

Do you have that hum in one ear or both ears ?
How many hours have you used the wa7 for tubes do burn in over time.
If you ever decide on tube rolling the RCA 12AU7 Clear tops are excellent for a clear spacious warm sound.
Also the dt1990 pro with dekoni velour pads are a fantastic match with the wa7.
I have run my focal og, focal radiance, hifiman he1000v2, arya v3, lcd-2 & all the 600 sennheiser headphones on mine & no hum.
The wa7 fireflies 3rd generation is definitely a keeper.

Yeah the hum arrives to both ears.
The amp is fairly new (I received it by the end of January 2024). I've used it around 20 hours, mainly with the 800s and clears, for the reasons explained above.
Thanks for the tube recommendation! I'll take a look! But I think I'm going to contact Woo Audio to discern the problem before spending on high quality tubes

The FAQ on woo audio website mentions the possibility of "light hums/noises" in the point 22 of the page :

"22: What to do when my amplifier developed a light hum/noise?
Noises can come from many different places. e.g. power source, audio cables, environmental EMI. To test, please try the following.
- disconnect all cables from the amplifier.
- install ALL stock tubes.
- move amplifier to another area of the house. e.g. living room, kitchen countertop, office, etc. (This is important to isolate the amplifier from other components).
- keep cell phones, WiFi routers, powered hard drives and other high EMI devices away from the amplifier.
- connect AC power cord directly to a wall outlet (no conditioners or power strips).
- connect headphones to the amplifier and set volume to 11 o’clock position.
- listen through headphone. Do you still hear the hum?
If you still hear the hum, try a ground-lift adapter (for testing ONLY). If the hum goes away using the adapter, you have a ground-loop issue in the house. You can use a device called HUM-X."

I've tried from another area of the apartment and I still hear the hum...

What puzzles me is that the noise, being very light with one headphone (hd800s), is like ten times stronger with another (109pros). And it varies in intensity when I turn up the volume. And that happens even with no music and even with the usb cable detached...

I love the wa7 with the 800s and Clears, it sounds really great, but at this moment I can't use it with my Mezes

 

[akukula]

Do you have another pair of tubes? Try it if you do. Just a thought

 

[Lightspeed12]

Thank you all very much for your answers and tips! I'm a little worried indeed.

Yeah, that's the case for me with my 800s, a minor background noise. Just a little more noise with the Clears (that doesn't disturb the music plays), but with the 109pros the humming background noise is very loud, to the point it's not at all pleasing to use these headphones with the WA7.

I use the stock usb-c cable connected to my Mac mini or to my iPad Pro. But the problem can't be the usb cable because the noise is present even with the usb cable detached from the wa7

Thanks for the tip yes maybe it's the tubes...
The headphones cables are very good quality : I use meze silver cables and sometimes hart audio cables.
The 109pros, with those cables, work flawlessly with my Mojo2, pitch black background.

Yeah the hum arrives to both ears.
The amp is fairly new (I received it by the end of January 2024). I've used it around 20 hours, mainly with the 800s and clears, for the reasons explained above.
Thanks for the tube recommendation! I'll take a look! But I think I'm going to contact Woo Audio to discern the problem before spending on high quality tubes

The FAQ on woo audio website mentions the possibility of "light hums/noises" in the point 22 of the page :

"22: What to do when my amplifier developed a light hum/noise?
Noises can come from many different places. e.g. power source, audio cables, environmental EMI. To test, please try the following.
- disconnect all cables from the amplifier.
- install ALL stock tubes.
- move amplifier to another area of the house. e.g. living room, kitchen countertop, office, etc. (This is important to isolate the amplifier from other components).
- keep cell phones, WiFi routers, powered hard drives and other high EMI devices away from the amplifier.
- connect AC power cord directly to a wall outlet (no conditioners or power strips).
- connect headphones to the amplifier and set volume to 11 o’clock position.
- listen through headphone. Do you still hear the hum?
If you still hear the hum, try a ground-lift adapter (for testing ONLY). If the hum goes away using the adapter, you have a ground-loop issue in the house. You can use a device called HUM-X."

I've tried from another area of the apartment and I still hear the hum...

What puzzles me is that the noise, being very light with one headphone (hd800s), is like ten times stronger with another (109pros). And it varies in intensity when I turn up the volume. And that happens even with no music and even with the usb cable detached...

I love the wa7 with the 800s and Clears, it sounds really great, but at this moment I can't use it with my Mezes

Does the hum increase with the volume?
Headphones have different impedance which could make the hum louder in different headphones.
Also google tube burn in some tubes can take up to 72 hours before a noise will disappear.
I had a noise in one of my Mazda 12au7 tubes (slight crackle sound) i ended up cleaning up the pins with extremely fine sand paper which took the noise away.

 

[BdoneganDXB]

I recently got an Android Tablet and noticed that Tidal does not prompt for exclusive Access to the WA7 3rd Gen when connected.
Other than using UAPP, has anyone been able to get this to work. ?