[whirlwind]

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?

Not on this amp...but I have heard the tube combo on another amp many times.....5998 / ECC35 & Mullard 6080 / ECC35
You should be quite happy

 

[Roasty]

Not on this amp...but I have heard the tube combo on another amp many times.....5998 / ECC35 & Mullard 6080 / ECC35
You should be quite happy

Wow dude! I posted that in 2019 haha
The WA22 went to a new owner a while back...

 

[whirlwind]

Wow dude! I posted that in 2019 haha
The WA22 went to a new owner a while back...

Ha....man this thread must not get much action....LOL

 

[Zurv]

Wow dude! I posted that in 2019 haha
The WA22 went to a new owner a while back...

Can't fault the guy... playing catch up with Roasty gear is a full time job! (My personal fav for your gear is still those plastic panels to make cut outs.)
(also i nero'd this thread sorry )

 

[hillbilly559]

I really like my new WA22, but was wondering what tubes I could look for that provide extended highs?

It's not that the amp is lacking on top, but probably more that my older ears sometimes crave more treble.

 

[MIKELAP]

I really like my new WA22, but was wondering what tubes I could look for that provide extended highs?

It's not that the amp is lacking on top, but probably more that my older ears sometimes crave more treble.

I really liked these,but you will need adapters

 

[hillbilly559]

Are those driver tubes?

Thanks

 

[MIKELAP]

Are those driver tubes?

Thanks

yes , i had 7308 written down so compatible with these here's a list of 6v. tubes

 

[hillbilly559]

That's cool, thanks!

I only had the tube list from Woo. I'll check these out.

 

[MIKELAP]

That's cool, thanks!

I only had the tube list from Woo. I'll check these out.

These are tubes and adapters i am actually using as Driver's . First a 5670 to 6SN7 adapter with this adapter i can use (6385,5670,6N3P,6N26P,396A,) - 12AX7to 6SN7 adapter tubes used are 12AV7,6414,5965,12AT7,5814,5751,6201. - ECC88 to 6SN7 adapter tube used are 6DJ8,6H31PI-EB, 6922,6N6P,6FQ7,6GU7,6CG7,- Another adapter is the ECC31 to 6SN7 - Also there's the 6F8G\6C8G to 6SN7 adapter - Rectifier adapter's 5Z3 to 5U4G - RK60 to 5U4G Adapter . That should keep you busy .Have fun

 

[hifixman]

For those of you own WA22 now. What tubes have you been rolling? Too busy to listen your Amp or too lazy to post?

All listening is done with only HD650 with Stefan AudioArt and Cardas Balanced cable .

Round 1
Russian 6AS7G, Sylvania 6SN7WGTA brown base, Mullard 5AS4
This is not very good start. I could tell the high is congested, mid is sweet and too creammy. there is big mid bass hump mix with lower mid. lower bass has good impact. there is some fuzz around the edge of the sound. Hump at left channel in and out sometimes. HD650 sound darker than It was.

Round 2
Russian 6AS7G 2nd Tested pair, Brimar 6SN7GT tall black glass ($250 a pair), Mullard 5AS4
Change out Sylvania was good idea for 2nd though. Brimar clean and opened up sound little bit while have the tube sweetness. bass get tighter and deeper with more info in there.

round 3
changed out Mullard 5AS4 to Amperex GZ34 Holland
This is 1st major change to sound, it took away all the slowness and extra fat of amp. no more hump. Not super black background but black enough even at 1:00 in the morning. Nice pair with HD650. I guess the problem I had was 5AS4, which was to creammy.

Round 4
2 Pair of GEC 6AS7G arrived, Brown base with round sidewall (both pair for $300)
Compare with Russian tubes, well there is nothing to compare. GEC bettered in every way, but the change was not as big as GZ34 swap. I would say there is one star better out of 5 star rating system for GEC 6AS7G.

Round 5
I ordered a pair of 6F8G/VT-99 adapters from ebay, a guy name Glenn. pictures is in the thread " Got my paws on WA22". They are very well made for the price at $40/pair. and you can chose cable color too. For those of you remember SiglePower Audio was charging people over $100 for adapters?
Now pair of Raytheon in place of 6SN7. Turn on the amp let it warmed up for 5 min. Put on Headphone...... Holy crap! I jump out the chair. My amp is burnning!


























No just kidding. The amp sounds so expansive with ton of air on top, while still tube sweet. the mid is very clear and engaging, soundfile has enlarge with all 3 dimensions The bass is very clean and powerful, when low bass note kicks in you feel your heart is pumping faster. Compare to 6F8G's Brimar are very tubey maybe good to pair with HD800 or something bright. then I put Sylvania 6SN7WGTA back in just to make sure, Sylvania just don't have the "impact" to music like 6F8G do.

Round 6
Got 6CG7/6FQ7 adapter fro same guy. pair of Amperex 6CG7/6FQ7 made in US by Philips. They look like very tall 12AU7, Very quick to warm up.
6CG7 sound even Little more open than 6F8G, very deep impactfull bass. At this time my Zu Varial cable sound little harsh on the top so I swap the cable to ELF Gold (gold plated copper) that made sound more life like again. Note: ELF is not slow and boring by any mean, they have no shielding. 6CG7 are most soild state sounding so far, as well as in speed, detail and impact. It is very strange about them, as they don't have the body like Brimar, but the bass weight much more, kicks harder and faster than Brimar. 6F8G have mixture of both type. To my tast I would not use 6CG7 with silver cable as they may sound bright. But very good match with HD650.

For those of you still pay big bucks for 6SN7 type, it is the time to move on.

I would like to try 12AU7 , 274B, and 5U4G soon.



Update as 1/13/2017, I don't believe this thread is still going after 8 years. I sold my WA22 and moved on to better amps and headphones. I did have fun with my WA22 that taught me many things in my audiophile life and I am still benefited from the knowledge I gained. My WA22 quickly got very expensive with all the tubes, but SQ wise, the investment to performance ratio was very very poor with WA22. Now, I am enjoying an ALO Audio continental dual mono amp with Mullard tubes much better than my maxed out WA22 at 1/3 of the total price. So, time to move on guys, there are many fishes in the sea......

This thread still is going after 13 years thank you for starting it

 

[alishafai]

This thread still is going after 13 years thank you for starting it

I've pretty much stayed with the stock set. I spent money getting a TT2 to go along with the WA22.

 

[Seamaster]

After many years of burning Benjamin and gear changes, looking back at my old path with WA22, it was wild and crazy to try everything first-hand, experiences gained and benefit my entire Hi-Fi life, the WA22 was rather a learning tool to me than an instrument to enjoy music. There was a lots money wasted. WA22, sound quality wise, it is a mid-fi product by today's standard. Peace-out guys.

Low powered SET amp, or 300B driven 845 are the ways to go......

 

[Seamaster]

After many years of burning Benjamin and gear changes, looking back at my old path with WA22, it was wild and crazy to try everything first-hand, experiences gained and benefit my entire Hi-Fi life, the WA22 was rather a learning tool to me than an instrument to enjoy music. There was a lots money wasted. WA22, sound quality wise, it is a mid-fi product by today's standard. Peace-out guys.

Low powered SET amp, or 300B driven 845 are the ways to go......

And don't forget great OTL amps as well. Single ended all the way, balanced design is relatively unnecessary, because in a lots of cases, it adds technical correctness to the sound signature and takes away emotion and timbre.

 

[hifixman]

Like I said Sometimes something is universal that everyone will love. Stock WA22 Vs. tubed-up WA22 just like Bose Vs. a nice pair of Tannoy. I take Tannoy anytime. Only using stock tubes with WA22, you really have no idea what you have missed, or you already missed everything.

I don't think when Jack and his father created WA22, to expect to sound this good. I did not expect this good for $2350 (preamp) or $1900 either. That is why I tried 12AU7 to find out what was their design goal, what they were trying to achieve, and tonal reference was. Larry tested the prototype which used 12AU7 with very good result. But after tube rolling, I can tell WA22 got new life. I am not a bass head by any mean. The "impact" thing is very hard to explain for a person use English as 3rd language. It makes you "feel" the music...... Someone help me here?

When I did my reviews, I did have everybody else tast in mind.

When you get your own WA22 on hands, and find out what's going on, then you will owe me an apology. Remember that.

could you graciously confirm which 12AU7 tubes specifically you were referring to? I'm new to tube rolling but I know I want more and better bass and dynamics.

Sincerely!