The Woo Audio 2

[oldwine]

Thanks Clayton. In fact, 6v4 and ez80 are the SAME. as the tube box of the Cossor print out on the box.
 
About 5 hr of burning in, i wonder is it the OEM of Mullard, as its vocal are v. smooth and nice! i am immersed in the voice of Cecilia Bartoli!!!
 
Quote:

This is NOT about the 6V4 but a warning about the 6X4.
Jack had emailed that the 6X4 was used on the earlier WA2 and not on the current model.
 
Oct.10, 2010:
 
Hello Jack,
Can I use 6X4 rectifiers in my WA2? I see you used to use it in the WA2.

--Yes, the earlier WA2 use 6X4. You cannot use it in your WA2. The EZ80, in fact, is better suited in this design.
Jack

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

Thanks Clayton. In fact, 6v4 and ez80 are the SAME. as the tube box of the Cossor print out on the box.
 
About 5 hr of burning in, i wonder is it the OEM of Mullard, as its vocal are v. smooth and nice! i am immersed in the voice of Cecilia Bartoli!!!

Ah, Cecilia and Cossor. Sounds like another opera! I love Cecilia on headphones. She can be such a clown.

 

[ardilla]

I just tried to put some cheap Sony earbuds into the WA2, and it sounded extremely good! Better than many mid-price cans I've heard. So Yuin PK1 is on the way. Big amp, small speakers )

 

[ardilla]

^  Yuin PK1 sounds fabulous on the WA2 )

 

[MonkeyTennis]

Hi Guys,

I have been a reader of this forum for a number of years and have been inspired by many of your posts to buy myself some goodies. Took me ages to decide to pull the trigger but have just bought & received my WA2 and am very pleased with it.

When I asked Jack if the black gate capacitor option was still available he said he had 1 silver unit built with black gates, but this would be the last one. This was somewhat of a dilemma for me as I had my heart set on a black model and had been thinking about it for over a year! However as the amp is all about sound and less about aesthetics I snapped up the very last new WA2 with the black gates.

I have the stock tubes in right now although I did get all the upgrade tubes at the same time as buying the amp. Also went for the stepped attenuator. Will wait for the stock tubes to burn in (do they need to burn in?) and then I can have an upgrade to the other tubes and keep the stocks as spares

I am sure this has all been covered elsewhere but would be interested to know how long the black gates take to burn in - and what sonic changes I might expect to hear.
 
Thanks

 

[ardilla]

what's your phones?

 

[MonkeyTennis]

I've got the HD650's, same as you I see from your sig. Source used is a Marantz CD6003, also got a DAC Magic.

 

[ardilla]

Great
 
I really like the HD650. Had the T1's and HD800 - but they were too bright for my ears, they are both tilted toward bright and analytical  (T1 being the better of them, more warmth). HD650 is a more complete headphone. 
 
I run a SB touch thruogh a NOS dac and is very happy about it. NOS's are great Especially for HP listening

 

[MonkeyTennis]

Yes I have been very happy with the HD650's. Had them for a bout 3 years now. Only just got a dedicated HP amp though. Not got into streaming, I had everything in iTunes but have gone back to CD's for now. Not entirely sure about the DACMagic, it tends to remove the feeling a bit to my ears for some music. Rock music is more upfront and fun straight out of the Marantz CD player but complex orchestral stuff benefits from the clarity and separation offered by the Cambridge DAC.

 

[ardilla]

 
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What do you mean by "... it tends to remove the feeling a bit to my ears .. " exactly?
​

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Quote:

Yes I have been very happy with the HD650's. Had them for a bout 3 years now. Only just got a dedicated HP amp though. Not got into streaming, I had everything in iTunes but have gone back to CD's for now. Not entirely sure about the DACMagic, it tends to remove the feeling a bit to my ears for some music. Rock music is more upfront and fun straight out of the Marantz CD player but complex orchestral stuff benefits from the clarity and separation offered by the Cambridge DAC.

 

 

[MonkeyTennis]

Quote:

 

What do you mean by "... it tends to remove the feeling a bit to my ears .. " exactly?
​

 

 
I suppose I mean that my emotional reaction is lessened in some way. Vocals sound a little thinner, not as textured, and everything is pushed back a bit in the sound stage and the sound stage is widened. For orchestral pieces it can be a good thing as there is more separation of instruments and more clarity, but for a well recorded drum kit and distorted guitars sort of stuff it seems to remove some of the "warmth" maybe, not sure really. Its not a huge difference, but depending in what mood I am in it does make a difference. It also creates a small drop in volume as well which makes switching between the 2 maybe a slightly imperfect test as I would need to notch up the volume a bit when I switch to the DAC, its quite a subtle volume difference, but again does make a difference. I guess the CD player produces a more intimate in your face soundstage, whereas the DACMagic is more "polite" and refined. I look forward to hearing all the changes as the amp burns in.
 
The CD player is great and produces a very good cohesive sound and if I didn't already have the DAC (which I bought way before the CD player) then I wouldn't be making the comparison...
 
 

 

[ardilla]

I've got a very reasonably priced NOS (non oversampling dac) I think you would like It's warmer sounding and less "digital/clinical" than any other dac I have heard, without loosing out on detail... I really love it, and use it with the WA2 every day. Also - it is less fatiguing to listen to (but not in any way dull and boring). I keep pushing it several threads beause it is a reminder than good doesn't necessary mean expensive. There are many other headfiers that feel the same about it. 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/559930/2000-budget-help-me-build-my-system-amp-pairing-questions#post_7564335

 

[MonkeyTennis]

Thanks for the tip on the NOS dac Ardilla. Been listening to the dacmagic without switching between it and the marantz and have been really enjoying it. With the WA2 settling in it's probably way too early to be thinking about swapping parts of the chain just yet.

On an unrelated note I am looking for some closed cans that would be comparable to the HD650's if such a thing exists. Any ideas?

 

[ardilla]

Do you need closed cans with good isolation? Many closed cans doesn't really isolate that good anyway... 

 

[MonkeyTennis]

yes good isolation is the reason I need them, not to isolate me, but to isolate others from any leaking noise. I ran my Klipsch IEM (obviously very good isolation) from the WA2 and it didn't sound horrible, but not great and plus I wonder if the low impedance could damage the amp as It shouldn't be run with no load, I wonder if a low load could be bad as well?