[GAD]

Nice. So what was the total cost?

GAD

 

[jamato8]

Yap, everything I would have used. About what I did on the three in some ways. There isn't anything better than BG's and I know the V-caps are going to be great. Give around 400 hours of burn-in for the caps.

When it comes to the signal path, which the power supply is part of, spare no expense if you want the best, provided that you know the parts are of reference quality and not just another hype, and these parts are reference quality. Exciting stuff.

 

[3rdRock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GAD /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice. So what was the total cost? GAD

Hey GAD! Total cost with all the mods is right at $950.
(Gosh, I just realized that I could have had a WA2 for that price...
but of course, the WA2 doesn't have the V-Caps!)

While waiting on the amp, I've been scrounging up some tubes.
Got a selection of the 6DE7 Triodes in GE, RCA, Sylvania.
For the Rectifier, I have acquired a Mullard GZ32/CV593 which has been recommended by several WA6 users. Also picked up a Telefunken GZ34/5AR4 which is suppose to be very nice.

 

[takezo]

try to get some narrow diameter 6ew7 triodes, they're very nice...not as punchy as the 6de7 but drives a more refined and transparent sound with the 6ew7...not surprising since they seem to be of lower gain than the 6de7...i'm hearing more in the mid-region texture wise and while the 6de7 has a U-shape freq. characteristics, the 6ew7 has a more flatter freq. charact., imo...

if you can't find any narrow diameter types then you have the option to purchase those little socket extenders from jack to connect to the standard
wide diameter 6ew7...

 

[jamato8]

Telefunken didn't make GZ34's. They are most likely either Mullard or Amperex Holland. The code near the base etched in the glass will have the information as to where it was made.

Where do you get narrow 6EW7? Never heard of them but then the 6DE7 and 6EW7 are fairly new to me.

 

[takezo]

got the narrow diameter 6ew7s on ebay several weeks ago. the seller is an amp diyer and sold output-matched pairs in standard and narrow diameters...



here's a pic of a 6de7 on the left and narrow 6ew7 on right:

 

[takezo]

hey folks, what is the value of that resistor between the two 16v 220uF blackgate caps? is that brown, black, black for 10 ohms? isn't that rather low?
someone, please correct me...

nevermind...5-band brown,black,black,brown,brown = 1k ohms...

 

[3rdRock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Telefunken didn't make GZ34's.

You're right jamato8. Telefunken did not make GZ34's. I wish I had known that when it was sold to me as a German made Telefunken (and I thought I was buying a German made Telefunken), but I am new to tubes (and learning fast).

After a little research, it seems that it is actually the 3rd version of the Mullard GZ34 (Double 0-Getter - Same as the Bugle Boy GZ34) which were sometimes marked as Mullard, Philips, Amperex, Telefunken, Siemens, IEC, RCA, GE... but all of them were made in Blackburn of G.Britain by Mullard (late 1960s).

Oh well, maybe I didn't get burnt too bad! ($75)

 

[jamato8]

Does it have the serrated edges to the plate? You want the earlier version of the Blackburn, which don't have the serrated edges or the Amperex or Philips. RCA's were normally serrated edge versions. The Japanese 5AR4 is also nice and not too expensive. I remember when they sold for 15 or 20 dollars but they still can be had for 30 to 40 dollars. The Japanese went for max vaccuum and really paid attention to the quality. They were made on old Mullard tooling as were the EL34's and a few others. I have some nice Blackburn from early 1960 in storage and some nice Valvo.

 

[3rdRock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does it have the serrated edges to the plate?

Mine does not have the serrated edges. I think that the ones with the serrated edges are the 4th and final version of the GZ34 with a single 0-Getter made in Blackburn of G.Britain by Mullard in the 70's. (Maybe marked as Mullard, Philips, Amperex, Telefunken, Siemens, IEC, RCA, GE... )

jamato8 - Is this the Japanese 5AR4 you are refering to?
http://www.upscaleaudio.com/product....d=75&catid=48#

 

[jamato8]

There are two versions of the serrated edge. The last had the most serations. I am not crazy about either one but they are still better than most current production GZ34/5AR4's.

Yes, they should have the seam along the top, from what I remember and they would often say "made in Great Britain", but were made in Japan. They are a good quality tube and last a long time. - I don't remember for sure about the seam on the top but this can be easily researched but Upscale sells good tubes, but often at too high a price.

 

[3rdRock]

Well... Jack must have been impressed with my custom build WA6 w/Blackgates & V-Caps as I notice that he now offers these upgrades on his Website. Even shows a photo of my amps innards.

Link here > http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wa6.html

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3rdRock /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well... Jack must have been impressed with my custom build WA6 w/Blackgates & V-Caps as I notice that he now offers these upgrades on his Website. Even shows a photo of my amps innards. Link here > http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wa6.html

This is very tempting! So you got the v-caps and all three blackgate upgrade options?

Can anyone comment on how this compares to something like a Raptor, PPX3 Slam, etc.?

 

[3rdRock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is very tempting! So you got the v-caps and all three blackgate upgrade options? Can anyone comment on how this compares to something like a Raptor, PPX3 Slam, etc.?

Yes wakeride74, I ordered my WA6 with the three blackgate caps and the V-Caps. A few others have had Jack install the blackgates (or installed them themselves), and have reported a very favorable improvement over the base unit, but as far as I know, my build of the WA6 is the 1st with the V-Caps.

The VH Teflon V-Caps are considered by some to be one of the most important developments in "High-End Audio" in the last decade. To my knowledge, no other headphone amp builders are using V-Caps (or even offering them as an upgrade). Read about V-Caps here > http://v-cap.com/tefloncapacitors.html

Jack is still burning in my unit which should ship sometime this week. Since it is my understanding that it takes about 400 hours for the blackgates/V-Caps to settle, it will be about a month before I will be able to post my impressions. Even then, I will not be able to give a comparison with the Raptor (or anything else for that matter) as I have not heard any other headphone amps. My decision to go with the WA6 was influenced by the dozens of favorable comments on these Head-Fi forums over the past six months or so. I felt that by starting with an excellent basic amp design (WA6), and then upgrading it with the best available internal components, I could possibly wind up with something that will sound as good as most any single ended headphone amp available on the market today.

 

[mikeymad]

Great job 3rdRock on the WA6 upgrades. I have been looking into a GES order for a while, now I am thinking about upgrade paths for it as well.

Cheers,