[AudioDuck]

Hi everyone! I joined the WA2 club just last week and I've been blown away with the sound quality coming out of this amp... even with the stock tubes it came with.

I'd been thinking about trying an OTL amp for some time... since I have 2 ZMF headphones and lots of people rave about OTL's with high impedence headphones. After reading reviews and posts here on Head-Fi, I almost bought the WA2 during Woo's holiday sale, but just couldn't quite convince myself.

But then a couple weeks ago I came across a great deal on a demo unit from an online dealer and couldn't resist. They had either color available, and after oscillating back and forth I finally decided on the black unit... only to have the silver unit show up at my doorstep 2 days later ... but all's good because I really love the silver color in person and wouldn't have it any other way now! The amp is much more beautiful in person than pictures, it's just a work of art.

And the build quality is stellar... much higher than I'd expected. Inserting the tubes in the sockets has just the right amount of resistance... no wiggling or rocking... just solidly seating themselves in the the sockets. Same goes for the 1/4" headphone jack... just a satisfying thunk sound as the cable is fully connected. And the volume knob has a nice weight, turns smoothly, and looks classy with combination of the shiny surface and matte sides.

I'm typically not overly impressed with the sound any new audio equipment... but tell myself to just be patient, give it time to break in and for myself to adjust to the new sound. But that hasn't been the case with the WA2 at all! As soon as I started listening to it with my ZMF Atrium headphones I thought oh my goodness, what is going on here? I'm hearing all kinds of details throughout a very natural large soundstage. Side to side, front to back, I can pick out the instruments very distinctly... even in complex mixes which often can degenerate into a muddled mess. The vocals are clear, transparent, and airy, but without grain.

So thanks to all the posters on this thread for helping me discover this wonderful amp!

Congratulations!

As an owner of a silver unit (and I normally favor black hi-fi gear), I think you got the best color option for the WA2. As it’s practically a solid block of aluminum it looks amazing that way.

And yes, there are tons of tips on ways to roll tubes and so on (fuse upgrades if you’re into that, power cord choices, etc.).

My advice: Once you decide to upgrade tubes, go for quality within your budget rather than trying a bunch of different tubes that are cheap, unless you’re into trial and error.

At least in my case, if I’d listened to a couple of wise folks here, I could have gotten to where I am now tube-wise for about 1/2-1/3 of what I’ve spent.

(And yes, feel free to DM me with questions)

 

[billyleungkt]

Congratulations!

As an owner of a silver unit (and I normally favor black hi-fi gear), I think you got the best color option for the WA2. As it’s practically a solid block of aluminum it looks amazing that way.

And yes, there are tons of tips on ways to roll tubes and so on (fuse upgrades if you’re into that, power cord choices, etc.).

My advice: Once you decide to upgrade tubes, go for quality within your budget rather than trying a bunch of different tubes that are cheap, unless you’re into trial and error.

At least in my case, if I’d listened to a couple of wise folks here, I could have gotten to where I am now tube-wise for about 1/2-1/3 of what I’ve spent.

(And yes, feel free to DM me with questions)

Cant agree more. I went NOS tung sol 5998 power tubes and amperex 6922 orange globe driver tubes. A-B testing with stock tubes have massively upg. I have ZMF verite, aeolus and HD800S (most surprised to enhance the weak points of these cans). Take your time and enjoy the searching process!

 

[wolverine72]

Thanks for the warm welcome to the thread !

Realized I forgot to include a couple pictures of my WA2

And now with my LTD Bubinga Atrium

 

[AudioDuck]

Thanks for the warm welcome to the thread !

Realized I forgot to include a couple pictures of my WA2


And now with my LTD Bubinga Atrium

Gorgeous combo! That Bubinga looks great.

The fact that you have a multi-bit/R2R DAC (Bimby if I recall) as well helps with source/amp/headphones really working well together. The R2R -> tube amp -> ZMF combination is a very musical and enjoyable one.

I have started to see the WA2 as almost a platform for tube rolling (though to my earlier point, less experimentation = more efficient use of funds) as the amp is extremely flexible with adapters. But nailing down 1-2 pairs of power tubes, 1-2 pairs of input tubes, and 1 pair of rectifiers quickly can really save some $.

 

[wolverine72]

The fact that you have a multi-bit/R2R DAC (Bimby if I recall) as well helps with source/amp/headphones really working well together. The R2R -> tube amp -> ZMF combination is a very musical and enjoyable one.

Yes, the Bifrost 2 multibit DAC was a nice upgrade to my system when I got it a couple years ago.

Now that I'm pairing it with the WA2, I've surprisingly discovered that I prefer running it in NOS Mode (Non-Oversampled), because I find that the instruments are more well defined and the soundstage to has more depth and 3d-ness when using this mode! I hadn’t noticed a difference when using my other tube amp.

Over on the Bifrost thread, running the DAC in NOS Mode is controversial... as most strongly dislike it... but there are a few posters with tube amps who prefer it this way... hearing the same improvements that I hear.

 

[wolverine72]

I have started to see the WA2 as almost a platform for tube rolling (though to my earlier point, less experimentation = more efficient use of funds) as the amp is extremely flexible with adapters. But nailing down 1-2 pairs of power tubes, 1-2 pairs of input tubes, and 1 pair of rectifiers quickly can really save some $.

As mentioned above, I'm very happy with the sound of the WA2 with my stock tubes at this point. That said, tube amps are meant to be rolled ... so I definitely need to roll something!

I'm interested in high quality tubes, not quantity, but don't want to break the bank either! I want a warm, engaging presentation, large enveloping soundstage, with perhaps a bit of a extra bass.

The threads have a lot of good recommendations on driver tubes and rectifier tubes that seem reasonably priced. So I've been eyeing the:

• Brimar 12AT7 CV455 KB/FB (knowing I need adapters)
• RFT E81CC Gold Pins
• Brimar EZ81 CV5072
• RFT EZ81

But the recommended power tubes all seem quite expensive... GEC 6080 ($455/pair), TS5998 ($300/pair), and beyond.

What do you guys think would be a good power tube pairing for me?
Maybe some Mullard 6080 CV2984's?
Or some less renowned 6080's or 6SA7G's that can actually be found from a reputable source? (<$200/pair)
Or do I just need to go big?

 

[jonathan c]

As mentioned above, I'm very happy with the sound of the WA2 with my stock tubes at this point. That said, tube amps are meant to be rolled ... so I definitely need to roll something!

I'm interested in high quality tubes, not quantity, but don't want to break the bank either! I want a warm, engaging presentation, large enveloping soundstage, with perhaps a bit of a extra bass.

The threads have a lot of good recommendations on driver tubes and rectifier tubes that seem reasonably priced. So I've been eyeing the:

• Brimar 12AT7 CV455 KB/FB (knowing I need adapters)
• RFT E81CC Gold Pins
• Brimar EZ81 CV5072
• RFT EZ81

But the recommended power tubes all seem quite expensive... GEC 6080 ($455/pair), TS5998 ($300/pair), and beyond.

What do you guys think would be a good power tube pairing for me?
Maybe some Mullard 6080 CV2984's?
Or some less renowned 6080's or 6SA7G's that can actually be found from a reputable source? (<$200/pair)
Or do I just need to go big?

Raytheon 6080WC is a very good power tube. Believe it or not, so is GE 5998A. Neither of these cost & … .

 

[AudioDuck]

As mentioned above, I'm very happy with the sound of the WA2 with my stock tubes at this point. That said, tube amps are meant to be rolled ... so I definitely need to roll something!

I'm interested in high quality tubes, not quantity, but don't want to break the bank either! I want a warm, engaging presentation, large enveloping soundstage, with perhaps a bit of a extra bass.

The threads have a lot of good recommendations on driver tubes and rectifier tubes that seem reasonably priced. So I've been eyeing the:

• Brimar 12AT7 CV455 KB/FB (knowing I need adapters)
• RFT E81CC Gold Pins
• Brimar EZ81 CV5072
• RFT EZ81

But the recommended power tubes all seem quite expensive... GEC 6080 ($455/pair), TS5998 ($300/pair), and beyond.

I would also suggest Tung-Sol 7236s or Sylvania 7236s as good power tube options. The T-S pairs are harder to find these days and are getting more spendy. I did find a good pair of Sylvanias as backups for under $100 though.

I completely agree with the choices you list above.

 

[wolverine72]

Raytheon 6080WC is a very good power tube. Believe it or not, so is GE 5998A. Neither of these cost & … .

I would also suggest Tung-Sol 7236s or Sylvania 7236s as good power tube options. The T-S pairs are harder to find these days and are getting more spendy. I did find a good pair of Sylvanias as backups for under $100 though.

I completely agree with the choices you list above.

Hi guys! Thanks for the advice.

@jonathan c . I saw your picture of the Raytheon 6080WC on this thread... and found some for sale on ebay... and they all look identical to my Sylvania labeled 6080... so I think my 6080's are actually re-labeled Raytheon's... none of the Sylvania's I've seen look like mine!

Maybe that's why I've liked the stock tubes so far .

So, I took a close up picture of the top of the tube... not sure if you still have your Raytheon around for a comparison.

Just want to make sure I don't end up potentially buying the same tube I already have!

 

[blackdragon87]

I'm considering buying please pm me

 

[jonathan c]

I'm considering buying please pm me

To whom is this addressed?

 

[shwnwllms]

To whom is this addressed?

Sir, this is an Arby’s.

 

[blackdragon87]

Anyone who might be willing to see sell theirs

 

[jonathan c]

Sir, this is an Arby’s.

R.B. as in ‘rectifier based’?

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Sir, this is an Arby’s.

“We gots the beats!”