[Covenant]

Just got the confirmation email from Jack that my payment has been received, with a rough ETA of 4 weeks.

I ordered:
Black WA6SE
Premium parts upgrade
Teflon tube sockets
Sophia Princess rectifier
Drive/Power tube replacements

Also on order are:
*Black Pico DAC-Only (to serve as a dedicated source for my new home rig).
*Twisted Cables 'Vortex' sennheiser cable for my HD600's - this, as I understand it, is the first one Qusp has made in this configuration, and has been newly christened the Vortex. It uses Cryoparts UP-OCC Cryo-treated copper in a double-twist, with a similar look to the Jena braided cables.
*Twisted Cables RCA to Mini interconnect, using the same wire, with Eichmann copper bullets and Cryoparts mini jack.
*Twisted Cables USB cable, using solid silver.
*Woo audio HPS-R headphone stand, in black.

Total wallet damage: approx $4100 AUD

Motto of the story, kids, is that Head-Fi is a dangerous place.

 

[dannie01]

Congrats! Smart decision with parts up-grade especially on BlackGate (but not sure in the DACT), you will never regret with your purchase. Put few hundreds of hours burn-in for the BG, be patient and you will notice changes that surprising you. Enjoy.

Edit. Oh sorry, as you are "Headphoneus Supremus", I said too much and pretending a pro.

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannie01 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Congrats! Smart decision with parts up-grade especially on BlackGate (but not sure in the DACT), you will never regret with your purchase. Put few hundreds of hours burn-in for the BG, be patient and you will notice changes that surprising you. Enjoy.

I didnt get the stepped attenuator, only all the other upgrades. Thus its an "upgraded" WA6SE, but not a "maxed"

But yeah, trying to be patient during burn-in is going to suck. I'll probably do a fair bit of listening while its burning anyway.

 

[dannie01]

I missed that you don't have the DACT, If I'm going to have the attenuator up-garde, I would consider the GoldPoint which jamato8 suggested to have a more linear control than the DACT.

 

[peanuthead]

Congrats! I see you've done quite a damage to your wallet.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Nice - glad I could help talk you into some of that gear. Living vicariously through others now...

 

[spookygonk]

Damn, I read that price as $1400, then blinked and it went to $4100. Nice way to spend the winter months in Oz.

 

[OutdoorXplorer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannie01 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I missed that you don't have the DACT, If I'm going to have the attenuator up-garde, I would consider the GoldPoint which jamato8 suggested to have a more linear control than the DACT.

I have Jack to made my amp with GoldPoint and I am receiving the unit latest tomorrow. It cost me $155 for the attenuator though and mine is now maxed.

 

[dannie01]

It seems to be a smart decision. Also, $155 is a reasonable price than a DACT which jamato8 claimed that it was somewhat a copy of GoldPoint in design. Hope you enjoy your new amp.

 

[S Smith]

Covenant, just curious to know why you decided against the stepped attenuator? It doesn't seem like cost was a big issue.

 

[rangen]

Wow, all that gear on the way at once. I don't know how you stand the wait. It sounds like you're going to be in for some serious listening fun.

I got my WA6SE recently, configured just like yours, except no Sophia Princess yet; I'll get that later, for a nice jolt of improvement down the road. I didn't go for the stepped attenuator because I wanted very fine control over volume, and feared finding that I wanted to be in a place between the two steps. It's not broken in yet, but I'm already deliriously happy with my new amplifier.

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by S Smith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Covenant, just curious to know why you decided against the stepped attenuator? It doesn't seem like cost was a big issue.

I dont like stepped attenuators, I prefer the usability and feel of a volume pot. Extremely accurate channel matching and slight decrease in distortion isnt so important to me.

Quote:

It's not broken in yet, but I'm already deliriously happy with my new amplifier.

I'm sure I will be as well

What headphones are you pairing yours with?

 

[rangen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif II'm sure I will be as well What headphones are you pairing yours with?

HD650 and JVC's HP-DX1000. One for each jack. Seems to drive both quite well, and apparently Jack Woo has given his blessing even to having them both plugged in at the same time.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

My Woo non stepped attenuator has very fine volume control with good balance, so I can use IEM with it as well as full size phones, and there is no hiss or noise either.

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangen /img/forum/go_quote.gif HD650 and JVC's HP-DX1000. One for each jack. Seems to drive both quite well, and apparently Jack Woo has given his blessing even to having them both plugged in at the same time.

Yeah, I dropped by a local audio store that sells the HD650 recently, I wanted to re-familiarise myself with their sound and how they compare to my HD600's. I tried them on a Lehmann solid state amp and an X-Can tubed amp, and they definitely liked the tubes more.

I think Senns in general just have an affinity for tubes, which is the main reason I went for a Woo amp rather than something like a 3-channel B22.