danmagicman7
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A college friend of mine has completed his SOHA II (DrkRipper). I couldn't help but do a little comparative review. Drkripper was in for a little listening, but I have more space in my setup, so I sat down and did a long bunch of listening. I will say some of the impressions that Drkripper had.
Both amps are pretty fresh, with the SOHA II having about 30 hours on it and the WA6 having maybe 40 hours on it. I'm not sure where the "sweet spot" is for each of the amps. Drkripper still has to do a bit of tweaking on the SOHA II (as all DIY'ers do constantly) but as of right now it sounds great.
Both amps have the "default" tubes put in them. Note that the SOHA II is a hybrid amp, and the Woo is a full tube amp, so many of the differences I am noting may be just because one is a hybrid, and one is a tube amp.
I like warmer sound, and Drkripper tends to like more aggressive sound (And really doesn't like the "fuzzily warm" sound that my Senn 595's have), so note that in the review.
The DAC's (really) mini review
Drkripper had his Entech Number Cruncher 203.2, and I have my slightly modded (resistor fix) Lite DAC-AH. In a few quick A/Bing sessions, I found that the Lite DAC-AH just had a better sound than the Entech. For some reason, I liked the Lite DAC-AH sound better than the Entech. It may be because I'm accustomed to the sound, but the Entech reproduced sounds that just sounded a bit "off" to me. The Lite DAC-AH provided better dynamics and soundstaging in my quick impressions between the two, so that is what I used to compare the amps.
Let's get started...
Both of these amps sound great. I really don't want to peg sound characteristic terms on these amps, but that's the only way I can describe the sound.
The WA6 (with PDPS mod) is about three times the expense of the SOHA II, but the SOHA II is a DIY build. The WA6 comes in at around ~$680 while the SOHA II rings in at ~$220.
On a good amount of music, the WA6 and SOHA II were neck and neck. After some critical and extended listening with different pairs of headphones revealed the differences between these two amps.
I'm going to refer to the Sennheiser 595's as the "Senn 595's" and both the Grado 225 and the Alessandro MS-2's as "Grados". The grados sound very similar, and took on similar type of musical changes when switching between the two amps.
Okay, here comes the easy part: pointing out the bigger differences. On any non "rock" music, such as classical, vocals, acoustic, instrumental etc, the WA6 really reigned supreme because of its openness, instrument separation, detail, and expansive soundstage. Both Drkripper and I agreed in the listening we did.
If you're a classical music fan, a jazz fan, an acoustic fan, or a vocals fan, you'll appreciate the pleasant sound of the WA6. When listening to the SOHA II, things were definitely just "missing" from those types of music. Just hard to put a finger on it. The SOHA II gave a colder presentation of the music, while the WA6 wrapped it up in some character. I like to hear character in instrumental music, so that was an easy choice for me.
An interesting thing to note here is that the WA6 excelled at the same music that the Senn 595's excelled at. The Senn 595's trounce the Grados in instrumental music for many of the reasons why WA6 is better than the SOHA II. So, interesting pairings can be made knowing that fact.
Okay, now that the easy part of the review is over, let's get some sound characteristics down.
A brief but probably incomplete list of sound differences
SOHA II
WA6
The Heated Battle: To Rock or Not?
Things got a lot more heated when I got listening to rock music. I went back and forth, and back and forth taking notes, concentrating, listening, taking breaks, etc. It was so hard to put a finger on what I liked about both amps.
Often times "rocking out" to your favorite tune is a lot more important than trying to pick the roses as you admire the great big soundstage of the track.
"Rocking out" is definitely what the Grados give you over the Senn 595's. While the Senn 595's can be great for rock, their warm and laid back nature sometimes doesn't cut it, and sometimes is annoying.
Let's break it down by the headphone.
Senn 595's
When the Senn 595's were too laid back and warm for some harder rock music, switching the SOHA II gave the Senn 595's some edge, but still didn't give them the Grado prat that they needed. In other music, I felt that the SOHA II deprived the Senns of what their character was meant to do (be warm, be open and airy) when the WA6 let the 595's really sing with a smooth and seductive sound character.
However, In my opinion, the Grados are superior over the Senn 595's for all rock in general, so that is what I really split hairs with here.
Grados
Hoo...boy. I ache trying to decide between the SOHA II and the WA6. That being said, with Rock music and Grados don't put much emphasis on soundstage, details, openness, etc. Since just that was the big difference between these two amps, this was a hard one.
As I mentioned before in my sound character breakdown, the WA6 grooves more and the SOHA II rocks more.
The SOHA II's brighter, cleaner presentation gave the raw edge of the guitars a nice, hard rock sound. However, while the WA6 softened up the guitars a bit, it improved upon the SOHA II by providing better bass definition and instrument separation. There were songs, even parts of songs where I wish I could have the best of both worlds, and I simply couldn't.
If someone thought the Grados had a little too much edge, the WA6 is a perfect match, but the SOHA II is an excellent match as well.
I spent the most time on the rock portion of my listening, and that's all I can say...it really was that close. It was so hard to put a finger on this stuff.
Wrapping things up
In consideration of everything, the WA6 brings out the best in most headphones. I also tried the beyerdynamic DT 770's 250 ohm and the Senn HD 25-1 II's and preferred them on the WA6 over the SOHA II. For critical listening, the WA6 pulls through in every regard and never disappoints. If you're into more music than rock, the WA6 is a clear winner.
However, if you are a huge grado fan, and really only listen to rock, it's hard to make a compelling argument to get the WA6 and pay (a lot) more. The SOHA II really rocks out with Grados and doesn't leave much to be desired.
The SOHA II is definitely a bargain in the way it can compete with the WA6. I think I could be content with the SOHA II if I didn't know about how things could sound with the WA6....but I already have heard the WA6...and definitely could not part with it. But then again, I'm sure all of us could part with our expensive equipment if we were able to forget how great it sounds.
I enjoyed listening to these amps, and hope you enjoyed reading the review.
As always, Cheers!
Both amps are pretty fresh, with the SOHA II having about 30 hours on it and the WA6 having maybe 40 hours on it. I'm not sure where the "sweet spot" is for each of the amps. Drkripper still has to do a bit of tweaking on the SOHA II (as all DIY'ers do constantly) but as of right now it sounds great.
Both amps have the "default" tubes put in them. Note that the SOHA II is a hybrid amp, and the Woo is a full tube amp, so many of the differences I am noting may be just because one is a hybrid, and one is a tube amp.
I like warmer sound, and Drkripper tends to like more aggressive sound (And really doesn't like the "fuzzily warm" sound that my Senn 595's have), so note that in the review.
The DAC's (really) mini review
Drkripper had his Entech Number Cruncher 203.2, and I have my slightly modded (resistor fix) Lite DAC-AH. In a few quick A/Bing sessions, I found that the Lite DAC-AH just had a better sound than the Entech. For some reason, I liked the Lite DAC-AH sound better than the Entech. It may be because I'm accustomed to the sound, but the Entech reproduced sounds that just sounded a bit "off" to me. The Lite DAC-AH provided better dynamics and soundstaging in my quick impressions between the two, so that is what I used to compare the amps.
Let's get started...
Both of these amps sound great. I really don't want to peg sound characteristic terms on these amps, but that's the only way I can describe the sound.
The WA6 (with PDPS mod) is about three times the expense of the SOHA II, but the SOHA II is a DIY build. The WA6 comes in at around ~$680 while the SOHA II rings in at ~$220.
On a good amount of music, the WA6 and SOHA II were neck and neck. After some critical and extended listening with different pairs of headphones revealed the differences between these two amps.
I'm going to refer to the Sennheiser 595's as the "Senn 595's" and both the Grado 225 and the Alessandro MS-2's as "Grados". The grados sound very similar, and took on similar type of musical changes when switching between the two amps.
Okay, here comes the easy part: pointing out the bigger differences. On any non "rock" music, such as classical, vocals, acoustic, instrumental etc, the WA6 really reigned supreme because of its openness, instrument separation, detail, and expansive soundstage. Both Drkripper and I agreed in the listening we did.
If you're a classical music fan, a jazz fan, an acoustic fan, or a vocals fan, you'll appreciate the pleasant sound of the WA6. When listening to the SOHA II, things were definitely just "missing" from those types of music. Just hard to put a finger on it. The SOHA II gave a colder presentation of the music, while the WA6 wrapped it up in some character. I like to hear character in instrumental music, so that was an easy choice for me.
An interesting thing to note here is that the WA6 excelled at the same music that the Senn 595's excelled at. The Senn 595's trounce the Grados in instrumental music for many of the reasons why WA6 is better than the SOHA II. So, interesting pairings can be made knowing that fact.
Okay, now that the easy part of the review is over, let's get some sound characteristics down.
A brief but probably incomplete list of sound differences
SOHA II
- A little more clean, but closed in.
- Little bright/harsh/grainy at times
- Bass can muffled/lacking definition
- Keeps the hard, raw edge of guitars, strong attack
- Upfront rockability
WA6
- A little more colored, smooth, warm, but open.
- Spaces things away from the listener a bit.
- Very nice low end bass definition
- Edge of guitars a little gone, a little "nice" on the attack
- Smooth groovability
The Heated Battle: To Rock or Not?
Things got a lot more heated when I got listening to rock music. I went back and forth, and back and forth taking notes, concentrating, listening, taking breaks, etc. It was so hard to put a finger on what I liked about both amps.
Often times "rocking out" to your favorite tune is a lot more important than trying to pick the roses as you admire the great big soundstage of the track.
"Rocking out" is definitely what the Grados give you over the Senn 595's. While the Senn 595's can be great for rock, their warm and laid back nature sometimes doesn't cut it, and sometimes is annoying.
Let's break it down by the headphone.
Senn 595's
When the Senn 595's were too laid back and warm for some harder rock music, switching the SOHA II gave the Senn 595's some edge, but still didn't give them the Grado prat that they needed. In other music, I felt that the SOHA II deprived the Senns of what their character was meant to do (be warm, be open and airy) when the WA6 let the 595's really sing with a smooth and seductive sound character.
However, In my opinion, the Grados are superior over the Senn 595's for all rock in general, so that is what I really split hairs with here.
Grados
Hoo...boy. I ache trying to decide between the SOHA II and the WA6. That being said, with Rock music and Grados don't put much emphasis on soundstage, details, openness, etc. Since just that was the big difference between these two amps, this was a hard one.
As I mentioned before in my sound character breakdown, the WA6 grooves more and the SOHA II rocks more.
The SOHA II's brighter, cleaner presentation gave the raw edge of the guitars a nice, hard rock sound. However, while the WA6 softened up the guitars a bit, it improved upon the SOHA II by providing better bass definition and instrument separation. There were songs, even parts of songs where I wish I could have the best of both worlds, and I simply couldn't.
If someone thought the Grados had a little too much edge, the WA6 is a perfect match, but the SOHA II is an excellent match as well.
I spent the most time on the rock portion of my listening, and that's all I can say...it really was that close. It was so hard to put a finger on this stuff.
Wrapping things up
In consideration of everything, the WA6 brings out the best in most headphones. I also tried the beyerdynamic DT 770's 250 ohm and the Senn HD 25-1 II's and preferred them on the WA6 over the SOHA II. For critical listening, the WA6 pulls through in every regard and never disappoints. If you're into more music than rock, the WA6 is a clear winner.
However, if you are a huge grado fan, and really only listen to rock, it's hard to make a compelling argument to get the WA6 and pay (a lot) more. The SOHA II really rocks out with Grados and doesn't leave much to be desired.
The SOHA II is definitely a bargain in the way it can compete with the WA6. I think I could be content with the SOHA II if I didn't know about how things could sound with the WA6....but I already have heard the WA6...and definitely could not part with it. But then again, I'm sure all of us could part with our expensive equipment if we were able to forget how great it sounds.
I enjoyed listening to these amps, and hope you enjoyed reading the review.
As always, Cheers!
