[Bonddam]

Im afraid the Dragon beats my WA33 Elite.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Im afraid the Dragon beats my WA33 Elite.

Well wasn't there someone asking if you want to let go of your wa33 recently anyways?

 

[Bonddam]

There was it's too cool looking with all those tubes. I guess sell it and buy a new car.

 

[OceanRanger]

So are you saying it sounds better than the Headtrip II.

That is an awesome question and I'm not entirely sure how to answer it. To me, the Dragon beats the Headtrip II in depth and soundstage for sure. Indie folk is my primary genre. I feel like I am enjoying the midrange more and that longer listening sessions are more relaxed. To my ears if falls a bit short of the Headtrip with respect to dynamics and with the high end. This might just be a solid state vs. tubes thing. I should confess that this is my first adventure with an amp that has tubes, even if it is a hybrid.

In a perfect world I'd own a Dragon Level III and a Headtrip II Level II. In a slightly less perfect world with a smaller wallet and no space constraint, I'd own a Dragon Level III and a Headtrip II. Given my budget limitations, space constraints and the sound characteristics for which I am looking to solve, the Dragon Level III is DEFINITELY the best of Jeff's amp for me.

I've only had my new amp for a day and a half, but no regrets on my move from the Headtrip II to the Dragon Level III.

I will be curious about @Bonddam 's take on his Dragon, especially since he's more of an EDM listener.

Expecting a pair of Telefunken E88CC's (6DJ8) tomorrow.

 

[OceanRanger]

I'm confused by the dip switches. What does the grounding switch do?
Sucks I'm only going to have .5 amp of current.

Jeff suggested that I just try the four different options to see what sounds best with my config. For me, I was quickly able to determine that using the Resistor+Capacitor was preferred. I believe that this creates changes in the ground path.

 

[OceanRanger]

Day 3 brief update

After a few days I am experiencing more and more moments of wonder with this amp.

I received a pair of these Telefunken tubes today. It was easy to swap out the 12BH7 for my new 6DJ8s. They are actually E88CCs. I adjusted the dip switches for each channel and then moved the toggle from 12v to 6v. I quadruple checked the settings so as not to have a catastrophic failure. A minute later, after warm up, I was in bliss. The 6DJ8s have a higher gain so I moved the gain back down to 18db as that seems to be plenty for the TCs. Easy peasy. The adjustable gain in this amp has become another feature that I am appreciating. I have a silver dragon adapter coming for my Lolas. I can’t wait to try my CIEMs with this amp.

The 12BH7s that Jeff ships seem to be quality tubes, but I am preferring these 6DJ8s.

 

[Bonddam]

Jeff gave me the nicer knob at no cost. I'll be testing these 6922 Amperex Gold Pins I bought from Woo Audio.

 

[Bonddam]

Anyone have info on amp class and where the 5 watts ohm load is?

 

[Bonddam]

The Amperex 6922 gold pins are so much better. The Dragon has more girth in bass vs the HeadTrip very familiar to the WA33 with upgraded power tubes. The 6922 give a better tube sound to the amp. I can’t speak for all 6922 but the ones I have. I have gold lion gold pins I might try latter but see no point. The TAD 12 something are thin.

time for Mortal Combat the new one better be good reboot being it’s R rated. Only good thing about COVID don’t have to go to the theater.

 

[The Piper]

Only spread in between the other Wells Audio threads, mainly for the Milo and Headtrip.

It's a new Tube Hybrid amp.
Info from Jeff himself:
"The base model will sell for $1900.00 and the Level II version will be $3750.00. It will have the ability to use either 12bh7 or 6dj8 tubes. It will have dip switches to choose between 4 different gain setting so it should be comfortable for the most efficient to the hardest to drive headphones. It will have RCA as well as XLR inputs as standard. Outputs will be 6.3mm stereo plug as well as a stereo 4 pin"

The correct price points are $1500.00 for the base Dragon amplifier, $2500.00 for the Level II and $5500.00 for the Level III. The Dragon page is active on the Wellsaudio. Com website and has quite extensive information on the 3 Dragon levels.

 

[ThanatosVI]

The correct price points are $1500.00 for the base Dragon amplifier, $2500.00 for the Level II and $5500.00 for the Level III. The Dragon page is active on the Wellsaudio. Com website and has quite extensive information on the 3 Dragon levels.

I know, this quote from you Was many months ago.
I left it in even after the final prices were released to show, that you even decrease prices when possible.

 

[The Piper]

I know, this quote from you Was many months ago.
I left it in even after the final prices were released to show, that you even decrease prices when possible.

Thanks so much Thanatos.

 

[Bonddam]

So after some tube rolling the 6922 isn't a good option for high sensitivity headphones too loud. I switched to 12bh7 for my Solitaire P and Empyrean and everything smoothed out. Also I had bass deletion from left cup when set to 6dj8. I'm trying to think if lvl 2 and 3 are even needed. I'd look at the top lvl if it adds some warmth. The lvl 1 is clear enough and powerful enough with only .5 amps of current. The Dragon poops over the Milo Reference in authority. The Milo gives me a sound that struggles to sound right with 1266. The Milo is perfect for other headphones with it's bloom it adds to the bass with warm midrange. The Dragon Just does everything right.

 

[The Piper]

The Dragon is still new and needs many hours to fully break in. It should get even better sounding with more smoothness, more depth, separation and more warmth.

 

[Bonddam]

Just speaking to Jeff and getting setup for my upgrade to lvl3. This Dragon is more enjoyable then listening to the Woo. So I've decided I will sell the Elite. The WA33 is sluggish and it cost arm an leg.