[Dan Lee]

I think I may try the Sophia 1st cause its a good bit less expensive than the WE and some suggest it to be close to the sound.

 

[attmci]

I think I may try the Sophia 1st cause its a good bit less expensive than the WE and some suggest it to be close to the sound.

Don't waste your $.......Get a better tube if you want better SQ.

But I know it depends.

 

[Roasty]

I just sprung for a pair of mullard ecc35 on ebay. Heard they're good.

Anyone have experience pairing them with TS5998 / WE421A / Mullard 6080?

 

[Dan Lee]

@attmci you don't think the Sophia 274B is any good? How bout the Brimar? I will happily take as many recommendations as I can get. I don't have endless money to spend on tubes, but I also don't want the sound to be equal to or less then the stock tubes.

Thanks

 

[attmci]

@attmci you don't think the Sophia 274B is any good? How bout the Brimar? I will happily take as many recommendations as I can get. I don't have endless money to spend on tubes, but I also don't want the sound to be equal to or less then the stock tubes.

Thanks

According to your signature, you have a very good taste. So a WE422a is recommended for your 22.

 

[Dan Lee]

Thank you for the advice my friend I will look at those as well. I have always liked WE's.

 

[Dan Lee]

So I have recently done some tube rolling and got a pair of Ether 2's which were my previous favorite pair of planars even over the LCD 4 (though in fairness I simply could have been one of the unlucky few to get a 4 in which the drivers werent as good as they were meant to be).

My Ether 2 only came with single ended cables unfortunately. I have in the past heard vast differences between SE and Balanced, but I am not familiar enough with the WA22 or any Woo products for that matter to know if it is worth getting a balanced cable to hear the difference. Right now the E2's do sound good, but compared to the 009S they are noticeably flawed. Perhaps this should be an obvious observation, but I do wonder if having a decent balanced would help all that much.

I was also wondering if any of you with the 2nd gen wa22's have by chance compared the preamp function of this amp to that of the Schiit Freya or Freya+? I only ask because if I do end up running no planars then having the WA22 becomes less of a necessity. Where the Freya + has a bypass feature, an auto shut off feature, a remote control, and would seemingly be a bit easier to roll tubes.

 

[Dave01236]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to buy a wa-22 in the future. I do know I absolutely have to buy upgraded tubes. The problem is, I'm a noob and I really don't know what to get. Some help would REALLY be appreciated. I will probably be willing to spend around $400 on tubes the day I will buy the amp, and maybe another 400 a few weeks later. My setup is the he 1000SE headphones, the yggdrasil DAC and for now I have the mjolnir 2 amp.

So Im looking for an upgraded rectifier, upgraded driver tubes and upgraded power tubes. In all honesty all I want is the tubes to sound really good, a lot better than the stock tubes. I listen to metal music, only. So possibly some tubes that can give the wa22 some impact, some punch and some speed would be awesome.

I'm asking help to people that spent a lot on tubes, people that tried a lot of tubes out there. The thread is old but I hope people can still help me. Thanks

 

[Thaddy]

I have been very satisfied with a few pairs of NOS Chatham 6AS7G bottom getter clear top power tubes ($40), RCA JAN 6SN7 Gray Glass preamp tubes ($100), and an RCA dual-bottom getter smooth plate 5R4GY rectifier. With these tubes, the background is nearly as black as my GS-X Mk2, and the sound is a good improvement over stock, all for under $200. The Chatham's were purchased a while ago, but the 6SN7 Gray Glass and RCA 5R4GY are recent purchases. You don't have to start with the 5998's and WE 274B's. I would suggest finding some low noise NOS tubes that test well, and they don't have to break the bank to sound good.

 

[BillinSF]

I have been away from my Woo for a few months. Just played about 50 of my 60's through 80's songs. Mostly through my PC with Tidal and a couple of NPR tiny desk concerts. Concerts, funk and dance music.

Damn! We are all so lucky to have this equipment. My friend who was over could not believe the SQ.

Only tube comments are WE422A, TS 5998s and RCA early 40's gray glass VT-231 drivers kill it all.

Nice weekend to all.

 

[Relaxasaurus]

I have a WA22 on the way and have been looking through this thread. Looks lie for a more lush or "creamy" sound signature the RCA gray glass is a great bet. Is there a huge difference between the 1940's and 60's models, other than price?

1960s: https://tubedepot.com/products/rca-6sn7gt-gtb-black-plate?

1940s: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-NOS-Matched-RCA-JAN-6SN7GT-VT-231-WWII-Tubes-USA-1945/193415580206

 

[abvolt]

Congrats on your wa22 purchase you'll love their sound. With the wa22 there are a ton of variations in different tube combo's that's what really cinched the deal for me getting this amp.The rca @ tubedepot seems a little high priced to me you can find much better deals, The vt-231 on ebay is a good choice I own 2 pair they sound very good..enjoy your new amp.

 

[koven]

I have a WA22 on the way and have been looking through this thread. Looks lie for a more lush or "creamy" sound signature the RCA gray glass is a great bet. Is there a huge difference between the 1940's and 60's models, other than price?

1960s: https://tubedepot.com/products/rca-6sn7gt-gtb-black-plate?

1940s: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-NOS-Matched-RCA-JAN-6SN7GT-VT-231-WWII-Tubes-USA-1945/193415580206

Unrelated but I just watched some of your videos in your YT link. Keep up the good work and wish you success. WA22 is going to sound amazing w/ the headphones you have.

 

[Relaxasaurus]

Unrelated but I just watched some of your videos in your YT link. Keep up the good work and wish you success. WA22 is going to sound amazing w/ the headphones you have.

Many thanks! I'm having a blast doing these videos with my daughter Be sure to subscribe, have some fun stuff in the pipeline

 

[Zurv]

I have a WA22 on the way and have been looking through this thread. Looks lie for a more lush or "creamy" sound signature the RCA gray glass is a great bet. Is there a huge difference between the 1940's and 60's models, other than price?

1960s: https://tubedepot.com/products/rca-6sn7gt-gtb-black-plate?

1940s: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-NOS-Matched-RCA-JAN-6SN7GT-VT-231-WWII-Tubes-USA-1945/193415580206

*necro*

What did you end up getting?