Woo 3+: Adventures in Tuberolling (update page 6)
Oct 28, 2008 at 11:53 PM Post #18 of 90
You should have just kept the Woo in the first place, then this could be YOUR thread, lol...
 
Oct 29, 2008 at 12:00 AM Post #19 of 90
it's always hindsight, isn't it?
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Oct 29, 2008 at 12:10 AM Post #20 of 90
So honestly, do you like the Zero or the OMZ better? What about the Woo 3+ vs. the LD IV?

(ok, I know that's new, and you went all tube-crazy with the LD, and the OMZ you didn't have a whole lot of time with, and that was prior to going with the 650's...)

If you could do it all over again, what would you go with?
 
Oct 29, 2008 at 12:37 AM Post #22 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif
LOL...no WAY I was going to spend that silly cash for the 421A. I actually have a nice offer for a pair of 5998s (yeah, I know...I only need one, so we'll see...I'll either keep the other as a spare, or pass it along to another Woo owner).


5998's have been steadily going up in price, so buying more than one isn't the worse thing you could do.
 
Oct 29, 2008 at 12:42 AM Post #23 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by glitch39 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
laidback does not mean lack of dynamics for me

for me, dull would be the word to describe lack of dynamics.

It's hard to describe, it you haven't rolled all those tubes before


OK, I see where you're coming from. Usually laid back is used to describe a tube that is soft sounding - which would mean lacking in dynamics - and dull sounding would mean a tube that is lacking in treble energy.
 
Oct 29, 2008 at 12:45 AM Post #24 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif
So honestly, do you like the Zero or the OMZ better? What about the Woo 3+ vs. the LD IV?

(ok, I know that's new, and you went all tube-crazy with the LD, and the OMZ you didn't have a whole lot of time with, and that was prior to going with the 650's...)

If you could do it all over again, what would you go with?


It's best to audition it. They both have nice specs though. My gut feeling is to go with the Woo amp because they really are solid and well built. My feeling is that the tubes for the Woo amp are easier to find but I could be wrong. This can be an important factor for the future. Also, from my personal experience, service is much better from Woo than Little Dot brotha.
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Oct 29, 2008 at 3:25 AM Post #25 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by KZEE /img/forum/go_quote.gif
5998's have been steadily going up in price, so buying more than one isn't the worse thing you could do.


Yeah, that's sorta what I was thinking...I'll keep the 7236, the pair of 5998's, and sell the others. They were not expensive at all, and I took them mostly out of curiousity anyway, just to compare.

Spareribs - The reason I was asking him is we worked together, and took different approaches, but he had vastly more experience in audiophilia than I did. When I was still muddling along with 128k mp3s on my Sony MDR-V700's, he had been into tubes and stuff since he was a young'n. I remember when I wanted some new "earbuds", and he showed me Ety's...I almost crapped at the idea of spending $300 (list at the time) on the ER-4, and forget even needing an amp...I thought that was stupid. Here I am, years later, thousands of dollars sunk into head-fi, and still not satisfied, lol. Everything in my sig I pretty much owe to glitch's guidance, although a lot of it was my own route...for instance, the HD650, OMZ, MKV (now sold), my cabling (all of it), the DIP...that was all me. Glitch is never satisfied either, and is a lot more willing to buy something, fiddle with it, compare, sell on, and try something new (hence in the past couple of years 3-4 amps, 5-6 phones, 3-4 DACs, all sorts of cables, etc), and I've benefitted from his trial and error (and got to try out a lot of stuff myself in the process). He sold me his D2000's (since sold on as well), the Woo 3+, and been my tube pimp (he's got some crazy tubemafia connections I am not privy to). All in all, great guidance, but I asked because he tried my OMZ and liked it, tried my 650s and didn't at first, but went with them in the end once he found the right amp, and had both the LDIVse and this Woo, sold both, and got another MKIV...it never ends. Plus, he can't stand me having something better, so he's constantly one-upping me, lol. He almost went fully balanced from source to ears...thank god he didn't, or it would have been too much for both of us...our wives would KILL us...
 
Oct 30, 2008 at 3:23 AM Post #26 of 90
I'm really loving these Bugle Boys...there's a lot of dynamic liveliness and detail I didn't expect to be there with a tube with such relaxed sound. These seem to be a bit more dependant on source material...high resolution recordings sound amazing. Less well mastered stuff sounds a bit dull and flat. The 7308 is still my choice for now if I was forced to keep ONE set of tubes. But then again, the 7308s would last a lot longer, lol...
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 3:53 PM Post #27 of 90
Well, good news...I'm getting a pair of sweet Tung-Sol 5998s from Nate (n_maher), so my tube wish list is complete...and I'll have a backup! The coke bottle design of the 5998 is so cool looking...I can't wait to see one all a-glow.

One thing that has me stumped is the relationship between the 5998 and the 7236. Every reference to the 7236 I've come across lists them as "the computer rated version of the 5998", but they look nothing alike, and have totally different designs. The different 6080s I have are a little different form each other, but are fundamentally the same design. If the 7236 and 5998 are electrically the same, that's one thing, but saying they are just rated differently is like saying that a Honda Accord and Accord Hybrid are the same...
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. The 5998 and the 421A on the other hand are pretty much exactly the same tube, only difference being black (421A) or grey (5998) plates, yet the variation in price between the two is completely nuts...
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 4:48 PM Post #28 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Every reference to the 7236 I've come across lists them as "the computer rated version of the 5998", but they look nothing alike, and have totally different designs. The different 6080s I have are a little different form each other, but are fundamentally the same design. If the 7236 and 5998 are electrically the same, that's one thing, but saying they are just rated differently is like saying that a Honda Accord and Accord Hybrid are the same...
confused.gif
.


I don't know if the 7236 and 5998 are electrically the same, but I do know that they sure don't sound the same.
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 4:56 PM Post #29 of 90
You mentioned that the 5998 was very dynamic and punchy, but if you were to compare the 7236 and 5998 across the board, what would you have to say (pros and cons) for both, and in the end, which do you like better (I'm assuming based on earlier comments, you'd go for the 5998)?
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 6:13 PM Post #30 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You mentioned that the 5998 was very dynamic and punchy, but if you were to compare the 7236 and 5998 across the board, what would you have to say (pros and cons) for both, and in the end, which do you like better (I'm assuming based on earlier comments, you'd go for the 5998)?


Yes, the 5998 was by far my favorite power tube for the WA3, and it took my amp to a whole new level.
The 7236 had the best bass out of any of the power tubes I tried in my WA3, but to my ears it was a bit white-noisish sounding, it lacked a bit in dynamics, and lacked in tonal colors. The 5998 was the best balanced of all the tubes I tried - it was very dynamic and punchy, it had great tone to it, and was liquid sounding.
But I would imagine that some of the the sound qualities that I just described are headphone and cable dependent, so as always YMMV.
 
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