[Clayton SF]

Quote:

Yeah, the Tung Sol's give off a very understated glow but deep down they're absolutely menacing!
 
By the way, does anyone have experience with rolling the rectifier tubes in the WA2?  I kept the stock EI EZ80's in but I have a set of Amperex Holland EZ80's.

I've rolled Philips Holland, and Valvo EZ80's as well as Mullard England EZ81's. The difference too subtle for me to notice. But perhaps with the Tung-Sol combo it may make a difference.

 

[Skylab]

I definitely think the Mullard EZ80 sounded better than the EI.

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

I definitely think the Mullard EZ80 sounded better than the EI.

Yes, the Mullards certainly did sound better than the EI. I think my Valvos are fakes. I'm not certain but the logos look too perfect and both look exactly the same. Most NOS aren't that identical. Of course I'm no expert but I just thought it too perfect. Maybe that's why I can't the difference between the EI and the Valvo.

 

[oldwine]

I have rolled the stock EZ80 to RCA one, the improvement are more solid bass, and the most important, those are cheap!!!!
 
BTW, i want to find the Tung Sol's 5998, or other 6080/7236's (like Mullard), but not find them on eBay, etc. anyone can give me some clue on setting them (reliable seller, of course)
 
Thanks

 

[mew001]

JayG, did you ever update your experiences with the WA2 and HD800?

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

I have rolled the stock EZ80 to RCA one, the improvement are more solid bass, and the most important, those are cheap!!!!
 
BTW, i want to find the Tung Sol's 5998, or other 6080/7236's (like Mullard), but not find them on eBay, etc. anyone can give me some clue on setting them (reliable seller, of course)
 
Thanks

At last check, www.vacuumtubes.net had 5998's for $40 each.  I have always gotten great tubes from them, and I have ordered a lot from them, but another head-fier said he bought a pair that were pretty microphonic, FWIW.

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

At last check, www.vacuumtubes.net had 5998's for $40 each.  I have always gotten great tubes from them, and I have ordered a lot from them, but another head-fier said he bought a pair that were pretty microphonic, FWIW.

Thanks for the link. Would you know the difference between the 5998 and the 5998A other than price? Thanks!

 

[Skylab]

The 5998A's I have seen are from GE, and are straight-bottle, and really look more like 6AS7GA's.  I would avoid these.  Hodigy got a 5998A from Tung-Sol that seems to basically be a 7236, but I have never seen one of those before, and I think they are more rare.  Best to stick with the 5998.

 

[Thaddy]

Skylab, have you listened to the Denon D5000's out of the WA2?  These are on my short list of headphones to buy as I'm looking for something with a bit more bottom end than the HD650's offer up.

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

Skylab, have you listened to the Denon D5000's out of the WA2?  These are on my short list of headphones to buy as I'm looking for something with a bit more bottom end than the HD650's offer up.

^ x2. Yes, I've been mulling over the D5000's as well. Polished looking phones them are too, yep. Lovely.
 

 

[Skylab]

No, for two reasons.  One, I only have the D7000, not the 5000.  But moreover, the WA2 is not the right amp for the low-impedance Denons.  WA6 is a much better choice for the Denons.  I use my WA2 with the Beyer T1, and with those, it's spectacular.

 

[Thaddy]

That's what I was afraid to hear.  I'm not sure if I'm crazy or just forgetting what my old HD650's used to sound like, but I feel like a lot of the low end is gone.  They seem a bit more forward in the mid section and lacking some of the bass impact that I recall.  Based purely on FR graphs, it looks like the T1's will have what I need, just at three times the cost of the HD 650's

    Hey, at least if you order them from Jack you get a free headphone stand!

 

[Clayton SF]

If the Denon D5000 is rated at 25 ohms and the WA2 has a range of 25-600 ohms, why is it not the right amp for low-impedance Denons?

 

[Skylab]

This has been covered quite a bit, but the WA2 is output transformer less. As such, it will have a higher output impedance than most SS amps, or transformer-coupled tube amps like the WA6. I don't see that Woo has published a spec for the output impedance of the WA2, but in an OTL amp the output impedance is determined by the output tube, since it drives the output directly. Much of the time, OTL output impedances are 50ohms plus, and this will mean there won't be a good damping factor for a 25 ohm headphone. How much that matters sonically will vary by amp, headphone, and listener, but generally, it will result in somewhat looser bass, and potentially some treble roll-off.

That doesn't mean you won't like the results, just that from a purely technical perspective, it isn't ideal.

 

[Clayton SF]

I should have searched for those discussion points so thanks for recapping the information for me. I got the WA2 headphone impedance specs from Woo Audio's site.