[Leny]

Gags72, I think the Sonnet is far better than all of the intro-level solid-state amps, and the guy behind it seems genuine. The 6H30 is a very good amplifier tube and the 5AR4 is a long-lived rectifier. I see no reason why you should be dissapointed. Personally, I also like the colour!

 

[Valens7]

It ultimately ended up not being my cup of tea, but the Sonett is a very good amp. I think you'll be quite pleased with it driving the HD650. That headphone benefits from a little neutrality, and the Sonett has that kind of sound.

I'd like to add that, in my opinion, it is easily the nicest-looking gadget that I've ever owned. The pics on Don's site don't even nearly do it justice, especially the color. You may be pleasantly surprised when you get yours.

 

[Gags72]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valens7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It ultimately ended up not being my cup of tea, but the Sonett is a very good amp. I think you'll be quite pleased with it driving the HD650. That headphone benefits from a little neutrality, and the Sonett has that kind of sound. I'd like to add that, in my opinion, it is easily the nicest-looking gadget that I've ever owned. The pics on Don's site don't even nearly do it justice, especially the color. You may be pleasantly surprised when you get yours.

Hi
Can I ask what was not your cup of tea with the Sonnet?
Thanks

 

[Henerenry]

Never heard a sonett, but I have a fully upgraded wa2 and it sounds really good with my hd650 and my dt880.

It also performs quite well as a preamp.

As far as "lushness" goes, I think it depends on the tubes, with the stock tube, there is a definate mid range "lushness" with the upgraded tubes, much less so.

I bet both sound great though!

 

[glitch39]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gags72 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I see you have a little dot VI, how does it fit into this whole thing? Any comparisons?

not sure what you mean, but I have listened to both. The DNA sounds better, to my ears, at least.

 

[Gags72]

Yeah that is what I wanted to know.
Ta

 

[manuvajpai]

The Sonett doesn't have a true-balanced out. In fact the balanced option on sale is not truly balanced either. The SE version will be a better choice. As for the quality of the SE output, it is considered better than several truly-balanced amps much higher in price, so much so that it was considered to be one of the best tube options for HD800 south of $2K. It is a very musical and pleasing amp, without being tame.

PS - I do not own either of these amps, just repeating what I have gathered around in the forum.

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manuvajpai /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Sonett doesn't have a true-balanced out. In fact the balanced option on sale is not truly balanced either. The SE version will be a better choice. As for the quality of the SE output, it is considered better than several truly-balanced amps much higher in price, so much so that it was considered to be one of the best tube options for HD800 south of $2K. It is a very musical and pleasing amp, without being tame. PS - I do not own either of these amps, just repeating what I have gathered around in the forum.

Why is that? Like the Balancing Act, the Sonnett uses output transformers to get you balanced output. Going by your reasoning, the Balancing Act might as well be SE as well?

 

[Leny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manuvajpai /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Sonett doesn't have a true-balanced out.

Just for reference, I understand that the balanced-output Sonnet has a centre-tapped output transformer, and as such has a true balanced output.


Quote:

Originally Posted by manuvajpai /img/forum/go_quote.gif In fact the balanced option on sale is not truly balanced either. PS - I do not own either of these amps, just repeating what I have gathered around in the forum.

"Not truly balanced"? Presumably you mean from input all the way through to the output? Yes, you are right. However it does not need to be. There is a whole load of misinformation and total b_llsh1tt floating around here about 'truly balanced' amps mainly to help the marketing of one or two companies. Don't worry about it. The Sonnet is fine.

 

[Donald North]

As Leny has posted, the balanced-output Sonett is truly balanced and differential, with the output transformers' secondaries being center-tapped and grounded for safety.

 

[manuvajpai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donald North /img/forum/go_quote.gif As Leny has posted, the balanced-output Sonett is truly balanced and differential, with the output transformers' secondaries being center-tapped and grounded for safety.

I apologize in that case for the misinformation. I guess I am also one of those who bought into the marketing hype. Although in defence of your wonderful product (ironically against my misinformation), it is supposed to on-par with even costlier "truely-balanced" solutions when driving even the best dynamics, even in SE mode (FWIR).

 

[Jeremy]

I have the DNA Sonett and the HD650s. They're a magical combination to my ears. I have not heard the WA2.

 

[takezo]

i would give a go on the dna sonett. it makes use of the 6n30p-dr tubes, which is a very
sweet sounding tube. i'm wondering if the 6n6p tube can be used on it as well? these are
almost as sweet at fraction of the cost of the 6n30p. and the sonett is transformer-coupled
as well, which is a good thing in my book, when implemented correctly.

 

[forbigger]

i go for sonett too. One of things that i hate on woo when it comes to their high end range is the upgrades. i go for sonett and wont worry if i get the best or not.....the worries stops there

 

[Double F]

I have the base WA2 and find it a excellent. I have not heard the Sonett but I like the fact Jack builds the WA2 himself rather than subcontracting it out to someone. The 6080 power tubes and 6dj8 drive tubes have a lot of variations, are plentiful and allow tweaking the sound to your taste or cans.

I agree the upgrade options are kind of a unnecessary choice. The tube sockets and Black Gate Caps are over rated IMHO and made my choice easy.