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i had the WA6SE for about a week now, so i thought it'd be time to give some impressions. i originally wanted to wait a bit til i received the MAD ear+ purist to do a comparison, however it did not arrive yet, so i will save that for later.
to be honest, i was not initially "blown away" by this amp at all. this is a very different sounding amp aside from all the amps i had in the past. it took me a while to adjust to the sound and appreciate its qualities. the WA6SE is not a traditional tube amp. in fact it sounds like a hybrid of solid state/tube. it's got the details, punch, and dynamics of a SS and the warmth and (massive) soundstage of a tube. it is an very involving amp and takes your mind away from anything else that you're doing (i had to pause the music while writing this). it does however needs a good warming up before a good listen. i say a good 30-45 mins for the initial bit of harshness to go away.
the WA6SE is indeed in a class of its own. it immerses you into the music letting you hear everything; every note and beat with precision and detail. bass notes hit with snap, drums hit with a kick, and cymbals hit with a punch. the cymbals will have a nice ring to it that lingers for a few seconds. the feel is less intimate, but more lively and energetic. you'll no longer feel like you're in a small room with a band of five. rather you'll feel as if you're in a arena in the front row with a band of fifty.
this WA6SE brings out the best in your headphones. it drives all my low/high impedance phones with ease. out of all of my phones, i preferred the HD650 and K701 over the RS1i. i found the WA6SE/RS1i combo too be a bit too bright/forward for my taste.
i listened to Roy Haynes' Birds of a Feather for reference. with the HD650, the focus here is the bass and drums. bass is nice, tight, and textured. every note is hit with precision, snap, and PRaT. i consider my K701 to be my most neutral and balanced phone. while listening to the same track, there is no focus on a particular instrument here; trumpets, drums, bass all hit with same amount of impact. the sound is really nice, even, and detailed. i enjoy listening to the K701 as much as i do with the HD650 with the WA6SE. with the RS1i, the main focus here is the saxophone, trumpets, and horns. however, everything else in the background is still felt with amazing detail.
to be continued...
picture courtesy of peanuthead's nice camera work:
7/14/09 – woo audio 6 SE impressions updated
I recently picked up a new DAC, a PS Audio DLIII in replace of the Beresford TC7520 in my main rig, so I thought I follow up my impressions of the Woo audio 6. The Mapletree Ear+ Purist never did arrive, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to do a head to head comparison. I may be able to do one based on memory though, however, in the future.
Take back what I said about the WA6 having bad synergy with the RS1i. With this new DAC in place, I can definitely hear the synergy between these two. The sound of the woo audio, like I said before, is unique; too describe it in words the best thing I could think of is that I feel like I’m listening to a highly crafted and engineered amp. The sound is luxurious; I feel like I’m listening to a Mercedes Benz. It is definitely a tube amp, its got that tubey roundness, weight, and body to the sound. Not to say that it is slow and mellow sounding though; it is upfront and lively, you can definitely count on not falling asleep with this on.
It’s a joy listening to jazz music like Diana Krall with this amp. You can hear every note being plucked and feel it with oomph. Her voice just comes through and melts in your ears.
I really like the sound of the Woo, the overall sound is consistent with each headphone I plug into it. Having owning it for over a month now, I can say that it drives Grado’s and K701 easily with very good synergy. Are they a match made in heaven? I can’t say that they are for sure…I have yet to hear an amp that will make them sound “glorious”.
As far as the synergy with the HD650, it is quite good. It does sound a little congested though upon first start up, but the sound does open up a bit after having the amp on for more than a couple of hours. While the sound is good, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the sound and wanting more out of it.
As you know I have posted this amp for sale in the forums. I have been very pleased with the sound and its uniqueness and didn’t want to come across as disappointed. As much as I want to keep this amp, I don’t feel that it fits with my current system. I’m looking for a different sound and heading towards the balanced route. The sound of the Woo will be missed dearly though…you can expect impressions of the WA22 in the future.
BTW, it also drives the new HF2’s quite nicely.
to be honest, i was not initially "blown away" by this amp at all. this is a very different sounding amp aside from all the amps i had in the past. it took me a while to adjust to the sound and appreciate its qualities. the WA6SE is not a traditional tube amp. in fact it sounds like a hybrid of solid state/tube. it's got the details, punch, and dynamics of a SS and the warmth and (massive) soundstage of a tube. it is an very involving amp and takes your mind away from anything else that you're doing (i had to pause the music while writing this). it does however needs a good warming up before a good listen. i say a good 30-45 mins for the initial bit of harshness to go away.
the WA6SE is indeed in a class of its own. it immerses you into the music letting you hear everything; every note and beat with precision and detail. bass notes hit with snap, drums hit with a kick, and cymbals hit with a punch. the cymbals will have a nice ring to it that lingers for a few seconds. the feel is less intimate, but more lively and energetic. you'll no longer feel like you're in a small room with a band of five. rather you'll feel as if you're in a arena in the front row with a band of fifty.
this WA6SE brings out the best in your headphones. it drives all my low/high impedance phones with ease. out of all of my phones, i preferred the HD650 and K701 over the RS1i. i found the WA6SE/RS1i combo too be a bit too bright/forward for my taste.
i listened to Roy Haynes' Birds of a Feather for reference. with the HD650, the focus here is the bass and drums. bass is nice, tight, and textured. every note is hit with precision, snap, and PRaT. i consider my K701 to be my most neutral and balanced phone. while listening to the same track, there is no focus on a particular instrument here; trumpets, drums, bass all hit with same amount of impact. the sound is really nice, even, and detailed. i enjoy listening to the K701 as much as i do with the HD650 with the WA6SE. with the RS1i, the main focus here is the saxophone, trumpets, and horns. however, everything else in the background is still felt with amazing detail.
to be continued...
picture courtesy of peanuthead's nice camera work:
7/14/09 – woo audio 6 SE impressions updated
I recently picked up a new DAC, a PS Audio DLIII in replace of the Beresford TC7520 in my main rig, so I thought I follow up my impressions of the Woo audio 6. The Mapletree Ear+ Purist never did arrive, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to do a head to head comparison. I may be able to do one based on memory though, however, in the future.
Take back what I said about the WA6 having bad synergy with the RS1i. With this new DAC in place, I can definitely hear the synergy between these two. The sound of the woo audio, like I said before, is unique; too describe it in words the best thing I could think of is that I feel like I’m listening to a highly crafted and engineered amp. The sound is luxurious; I feel like I’m listening to a Mercedes Benz. It is definitely a tube amp, its got that tubey roundness, weight, and body to the sound. Not to say that it is slow and mellow sounding though; it is upfront and lively, you can definitely count on not falling asleep with this on.
It’s a joy listening to jazz music like Diana Krall with this amp. You can hear every note being plucked and feel it with oomph. Her voice just comes through and melts in your ears.
I really like the sound of the Woo, the overall sound is consistent with each headphone I plug into it. Having owning it for over a month now, I can say that it drives Grado’s and K701 easily with very good synergy. Are they a match made in heaven? I can’t say that they are for sure…I have yet to hear an amp that will make them sound “glorious”.
As far as the synergy with the HD650, it is quite good. It does sound a little congested though upon first start up, but the sound does open up a bit after having the amp on for more than a couple of hours. While the sound is good, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the sound and wanting more out of it.
As you know I have posted this amp for sale in the forums. I have been very pleased with the sound and its uniqueness and didn’t want to come across as disappointed. As much as I want to keep this amp, I don’t feel that it fits with my current system. I’m looking for a different sound and heading towards the balanced route. The sound of the Woo will be missed dearly though…you can expect impressions of the WA22 in the future.
BTW, it also drives the new HF2’s quite nicely.
