[skeptic]

I'll try to remember to take a photo of the stock sockets on my WA3 sometime this weekend (assuming no one beats me to the punch).  My anecdotal experience, having used the amp daily for the past two years, is that I can't identify any issue with the stock sockets that would suggest a need to upgrade to teflon...  Gold plating is nice I suppose, but many of the "best" nos tubes don't have gold pins.  In any event, if it were my money, I'd save it for a TS5998 and a nice pair of nos amperex, siemens or mullard ecc88's(aka 6992's) or e188cc's (aka 7302's).  The latter are good for 10,000 hours, so it is really a question of how often you are going to be switching them up for the simple sake of variety.

 

[avsBuddy]

Is there a good source for Tung-Sol 5998 tubes? So ceramic sockets don't have same "tulip"pins that Teflons sockets do? I agree on the gold plating  - if tubes don't have gold plated pins, than it's an extra material jump in a signal path. Also has anyone actually had a ceramic socket shutter, or is just a hearsay. I guess I have no problem spending on Teflon sockets if it means long term reliability (for WA2 it's $150!), but if there is not sound improvement, and questionable usability improvement - than there is little point, no?

 

[nikongod]

 
Quote:

Also has anyone actually had a ceramic socket shutter, or is just a hearsay. 
 

It dosnt happen. Has anyone actually had a Teflon socket deform or is that just speculation? I said that dosnt happen too. I was simply providing a counterexample to the speculation you posted. 
 
Quote:

I agree on the gold plating  - if tubes don't have gold plated pins, than it's an extra material jump in a signal path.

 
An extra material jump in the signal path? I'm pretty sure you made that up.
 
Whats worse:
"an extra material jump in the signal path" or an oxidized connector? There are countless examples of oxidized connectors causing equipment to malfunction, they stopped happening so often when people started using gold plated connectors. 

 

[skeptic]

Quote:

There are countless examples of oxidized connectors causing equipment to malfunction, they stopped happening so often when people started using gold plated connectors. 

Fair point.  Now you've got me nervous about what I may find when I pull my tubes and bust out the macro lens.

 

[avsBuddy]

I think we all are bunch of obsessive compulsive idiots - comes with the job (Hobby)

As far as material jump - I don't make it up - there is a difference in resistance, and ideally you want to have as little variance in materials in a signal path (Cooper to Gold to Cooper to Rhodium to Silver etc). Whether it makes significant difference in sound vs possibility of oxidation is a separate discussion, poster might very well be right that the later is more damaging. I'm on a fence whether Teflon sockets warrant a $150 premium and open to all opinions. I'm new to the tubes and don't have any significant experience dealing with ceramic sockets, much less with Teflon.

 

[illharmonics]

I'm in the same boat as the OP, in regards to the HD650s, although I pulled the trigger on a WA6 with a Sophia Princess and pair of 6D7R nos tubes. Reading through this has made me doubt my decision though. I've never owned a headphone amp, aside from an iBasso and a self-built CMOY, so I'm guessing anything that I hear will be worlds beyond what I've ever heard. 
 
I take it that it all comes down to personal taste. My WA6 ships in a few days. 

 

[LAmitchell]

Quote:

I'm in the same boat as LAmitchell, I recently purchased a pair of HD650s and am looking for an amp to pair with them. These are the first full sized headphones of any merit that I have owned. I own a few decent IEMs though, such as UE triple.fi 10 and ER-6i. 
 
 

 
Hey Vansen, while I was going through all this decision making about the WOO amps, I thought
 
"hey maybe I should just sell these damn hd650's and simplify things by getting a really high-end IEM."
 
 
but then I figured there must be some kind of audio nirvana i would be missing out on if I didn't get a tube amp+hd650 combo.
 
your thoughts?

 

[Vansen]

Quote:

 
your thoughts?

 
I have the same thoughts as you. I love IEMs, and I've owned a few over the years. I almost went and bought a pair of JH Audio. I would still love to own a pair, I'm sure my wannabe audiophilia-itis will take over one day. But this time around I decided to go with something larger, and that is the HD650 + WA3. I'm going to pick up a HeadAmp Pico DAC soon, too. Unless someone can convince me that I should get something else for about the same price.

Now... if only the HD650s looked as cool as the AKG K701s:

 

[BIG POPPA]

To the OP, was in the same boat a year ago. Got fed up with my DV 336. Woo 3+ or 6. Had HD 580's then. Lucky that I'm in Seattle. We have many meets up here. Was familiar with the Woo sound. Things I considered between these two amps: Cost, what upgrades I wanted, TUBES, TUBES, TUBES. Very important.  Yeah you can't use the Sophia Princess, but you can use a GEC A1834. Besides the upgrades that were on the site I asked Jack a lot of things like upgrading wire, rca's, IEC,. The only thing he wouldn't do at the time was the wire. After I found were he did it for someone else. Ended up with a 3+ with The Gold plated tube bases, then the Blackgates caps, Furutech Rhodium plated IEC (had the fuses already), WBT top of line copper RCA's (tried to get rhodium). It was what he had on hand. Got lucky, and got a GEC A1834, Bendix 6080WB, and a Mullard CV2884 right off the bat. Been liking the rhodium Tesla E88CC's. Have the HD 650's now. No desire to upgrade anytime soon. Listen to my rig about 4-5 hours every night.

 

[LAmitchell]

Quote:

 

Now... if only the HD650s looked as cool as the AKG K701s:

just about ANYTHING would look cool on her

 
i do like the RETRO way those AKG's look, but when i tried em on
it felt like i should be directing AIRPLANE TRAFFIC on the airport runways.
 
 
 
 
 
 
someone told me that this picture is BIG POPPA's girlfriend listening
to his WOO 3+ right after he had the blackgates mod.....
 

 
BIGPOPPA sure has good taste in both amps&women!
 
 
 
 

 

[BIG POPPA]

Dude, I am married. That is not cool.
 
Quote:

just about ANYTHING would look cool on her

 
i do like the RETRO way those AKG's look, but when i tried em on
it felt like i should be directing AIRPLANE TRAFFIC on the airport runways.
 
 
 
 
 
 
someone told me that this picture is BIG POPPA's girlfriend listening
to his WOO 3+ right after he had the blackgates mod.....
 

 
BIGPOPPA sure has good taste in both amps&women!
 
 
 
 

 

[LAmitchell]

oops, my bad

 
 
 

 

[fatcat28037]

I haven't heard the HD650 with the WA3, I have however spent some time with it and a WA6. It pairs very well with the 6. I think if I were in your shoes, and could spring for the extra $125, I'd go for the WA6. Over the long run it will fill your amp requirements better than the 3. Oh, and glad we didn't get into the whole tube rolling thing.

Quote:

I can't seem to find a SOLID ANSWER to this question after reading 4+ hours of forum messages,
 
so I hope you don't mind if I ask you myself:
 
 
With my HD650's should I get the WA3 or WA6. There's a $125 price difference.
 
It will be my first headphone amp, so please don't send me through a maze of tube-rolling options

 
 
 
Thanks.
 
Tom

 

[Golden Monkey]

Try wearing those AKG's for hours on end though...ugh.

 

[skeptic]

Quote:

I'll try to remember to take a photo of the stock sockets on my WA3 sometime this weekend (assuming no one beats me to the punch)....

Per your request avsBuddy, here are a few shots of the sockets on my WA3: http://www.flickr.com/photos/skeptic-headfi/