[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
the syl 7236 or ts5998 (if you can find them) are almost must-have upgrades. when i bought my wa2 i used this thread which really helped me see some of the options available for the other tubes.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/574969/good-tube-combinations-for-the-woo-audio-2

Between them, I'd go TS5998s (or TS7236 if you can't get the 5998s).

 

[Ultrainferno]

Or 2399!
 

 

[Dubstep Girl]

or the super rare we421a

 

[ardilla]

Which will cost more than the amp ;P
Quote:

or the super rare we421a

 

[Ultrainferno]

That depends, I bought the 6AS7G GEC for 17€ once
 

 

[chrisld]

I have the Woo Audio 2 with stepped attenuator and black gate caps and the Beyerdynamic T1 headphones.
 
I posted in depth here about the effect of the different tubes. The WA2 is very transparent but sounds terrible with the stock tubes I got with it. You cannot make any meaningful judgement about the WA2 using them. Throw them in the trash would be my advice. At a bare minimum I'd recommend the JJ rectifier and output tubes plus any kind of the large bottle type power tubes. This is an extremely cheap upgrade. For great sound 5998 tubes are a super choice (the 7236 are good too but very different, less air and more powerful sound). I use the Sylvania 7308 which are affordable and very good for output.
 
Just ordered LCD3 and will report when I get those. Also ordered all the parts for the CAPS 3.0 Carbon.
 
A product that seems very overlooked and underappreciated is the Apogee Duet 2. It's inexpensive and sounds wonderful having that combination of detail and musicality that's hard to find. It's a Mac only device but handles all bit rates, is driven right from USB and is semi-portable too. Great review of it here:
 
http://kenrockwell.com/audio/apogee/duet-2.htm

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

I have the Woo Audio 2 with stepped attenuator and black gate caps and the Beyerdynamic T1 headphones.
 
I posted in depth here about the effect of the different tubes. The WA2 is very transparent but sounds terrible with the stock tubes I got with it. You cannot make any meaningful judgement about the WA2 using them. Throw them in the trash would be my advice. At a bare minimum I'd recommend the JJ rectifier and output tubes plus any kind of the large bottle type power tubes. This is an extremely cheap upgrade. For great sound 5998 tubes are a super choice (the 7236 are good too but very different, less air and more powerful sound). I use the Sylvania 7308 which are affordable and very good for output.

 
 
i currently use Sylvania 7236 with the JAN-Sylvania 7308 and Tesla 6CA4 (EZ81) tubes. as far as i know the tesla rectifier is the older original version of the JJ tubes? 
 
btw, how are the sylvania 7308 considered affordable? cheapest right now was like $60 a tube somewhere or something. jack sells them as a WA2 upgrade for $260 a pair which i think is ridiculous, i paid alot less, like $40 bucks a pair or something when i got mine.

 

[chrisld]

Sorry I cannot define what you consider affordable. I think for the level of performance it's a great price. Some of the top tubes are $150 per tube or more.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i just don't consider affordable since theres alot of cheaper options available out there.

 

[chrisld]

It sure isn't the cheapest. Read my thread (and others on the merits of each tube). For me the Sylvania 7308 is the cheapest really good sounding tube of that type. If you want one that's cheap and good then I recommend the JJ which is what Jack should ship the WA2 with.
 
http://tubedepot.com/jj-e88ccg.html

 

[Dubstep Girl]

what about the mullard 2492?
 
 
and when i bought my WA2 last year, it came with phillips 6922, i didn't like them that much though

 

[chrisld]

Never tried them. They appear to be $150 and out of stock. At that price I assume they're great. I defer to Skylab on these exotic tubes.

 

[mab1376]

Quote:

Woo WA2 and HE-500 mini-review
 
Well, now I'm listening to "Dearth" by Deathspell Omega through the HE-500 run by the Woo Audio WA2. I cannot really find anything wrong with this setup. I have been listening to other types of music also (classical, modern jazz, flamenco etc, same playlist as I used in the review I link to below).
 
I have the stepped attenuator with 24 steps. My practical listening levels with the HE-500 are step 7 -12 . From step 13 it gets too loud for me. With classical pieces or other stuff with low level recordings I might go up to step 14 or 15. If I take the phones off I can keep turning the volume knob - it gets louder for every step till it reaches step 24. If I hold the headphones away from my ears (like 10 cm) I can hear the even at close to full volum, I cannot hear any disortion. 
 
I have the WA22 lined up beside the WA2 and I switch back and forth. Whilst the WA22 is a bit more punchy and slightly better defined, I cannot really say it is a whole lot of a difference. I also switch back and forth with the Lavry DA11, which is a very nice dac/amp indeed. It has a bit more bass punch than the WA2, but the WA2 has nice fullness to it that has its own right, and offers the spacious and relaxed sound. Using the HD650, the differences between the WA2/WA22 feels quite parallell. The WA22 is the punchier and tighter, whilst the WA2 is a bit more relaxed and pleasant, so to say. For people who are interested, red more here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/615810/the-beauty-and-the-beast-woo-wa2-vs-wa22
 
I cannot really understand how people can really be saying that the WA2 is underpowering the HE-500. The WA22 delivers a rated 1.5W in 30 ohms or something, and if there were a whole lot I was missing out with the WA2 - it would show in a direct comparison. I used the 5998 tubes in the WA22 to be sure I got the best of it, whilst I used some RCA 6080's in the WA2 to make my little comparison more universal. 
 
The sound from the WA2/HE500 is nice and fast sounding, very spacious with great soundstage. The bass is well defined and generous and reaches deep. Highs are crisp and clear, mids are clear and delicate.  In comparison, the WA22 has a pretty similiar sound sig (i would call them clear-sounding), but the bass is slightly more punchy, and things are a bit more defined in a way - but not so that I necessarily prefer the WA22 way. They are a bit different, but often either presentation has its right. 
 
Come to think of it - this must be a pretty good way of investigating the issue of how much power the HE-500 needs, I mean - using two amps that are designed by the same man to have a similar sound signature, but with internal design and different power outputs. 
 
As a final comment, I can tell that I am now listening the Enslaved playing Raidho - and I actually prefer it on the WA2. Thus, my conclusion to this little mini test is I cannot see any reason not to get the HE-500 for the WA2. To my ears and memory, it is not really that different from the higly regarded T1 + WA2 combo - but do not shoot me, it's been a while since I had the T1. The HE500 is 

 
Interesting, I have the WA22 in my sights specifically for the HE-500 which I don't own yet.
 
My current OTL amp is the LittleDot MK IV SE, and based on this post make me want to try it with my LittleDot before splurging on a WA22.

 

[ardilla]

Quote:

 
Interesting, I have the WA22 in my sights specifically for the HE-500 which I don't own yet.
 
My current OTL amp is the LittleDot MK IV SE, and based on this post make me want to try it with my LittleDot before splurging on a WA22.

 
The Little Dot is less powerfiul than the WA2, though

Spoiler: power%20charts

 
http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=820 vs http://wooaudio.com/docs/wooaudio_amplifier_comparisons.pdf
 
 

Little Dot
100 mW @ 32 ohm
 
WA2
310mW @32Ω, 400mW @60Ω
 
There are two reasons OTL's arent primary choice for power hungry orthos. 1) OTL's have generally low wattage - but here WA2 is quiet a powerful OTL. 2) Impedance matching. OTL's are by nature high impedance (WA2 is 70 ish output impedance) which generally creates a micmatch for low imp phones. However, impedance dismatch might create a nice sound - generally a bit fatter and fuller. 
 
In terms of bas control - the WA22 is totally superior. The WA2 has some very appealing advantages in the extremely fluid mids. 
 
Anyway - try with what you have first

 

[okw3188]

Hi, has anyone tried replacing the E88CC tube with 6CG7 in your WA2?
 
The thought came to my mind when I was tweaking with tubes on my Lyr (now sold, after upgrading to WA2).