[Stax-i-nox]

In a few weeks, I should be getting the first Woo5....looking forward to it. I will be trying it with the AKG BAP 1000 through my Sony Xa7es. My first listening impressions with this BAP 1000 are very positive so far. The BAP1000 has a somewhat thin sound to it. I have it in balanced mode, coming from a Sony XA7ES directly to the BAP. AKG says that the best sound should go through an amp, which is where the Woo5 comes in. Will post here after I have them both connected and have listened to them.

So far, the BAP seems to make the K1000 sound even more speaker like, with more depth etc to what the K1000 already does so well. It's like the performers are out in front of me. When I press the bypass switch on the BAP, the soundfield seems to collapse and the K1000 reverts back to what seems like "inside the head" sound...interesting difference.

 

[Spareribs]

Very cool. I am curious how the Woo 5 would compare with the Singlepower Extreme in terms of the K1000 usage. Especially if the Extreme were to be configured in a similar way to the Woo 5.

 

[PFKMan23]

Keep in mind the Woo5 is $2950, whereas the Extreme is $999

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Keep in mind the Woo5 is $2950, whereas the Extreme is $999

wle you right on the base price of the extreme I've seen many extremes priced at 2k plus with black gates and other extras.

The huge gap between the two, is the Woo is an intergrated amp as well as a single ended headphone amp and has a dedicated k1000 section. So you can drive your speaker and headphones as well. You simply can not do this with the extreme. I had listened to the extreme on several occasions and it's good with the k1000 but not the final word with them. Where the extreme excels is its ability to sound good with many headphones. If you wanted it to be a preamp or amp or wanted any of the upgraded you are north of 2k.

 

[Spareribs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif wle you right on the base price of the extreme I've seen many extremes priced at 2k plus with black gates and other extras. The huge gap between the two, is the Woo is an intergrated amp as well as a single ended headphone amp and has a dedicated k1000 section. So you can drive your speaker and headphones as well. You simply can not do this with the extreme. I had listened to the extreme on several occasions and it's good with the k1000 but not the final word with them. Where the extreme excels is its ability to sound good with many headphones. If you wanted it to be a preamp or amp or wanted any of the upgraded you are north of 2k.

Right, if the Extreme were to be configured like the woo amp, with the additional power supply, the extra inputs, speaker binding posts, etc, the price would probably be the same. Or at least somthing closer to the ball park.

 

[Spareribs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif wle you right on the base price of the extreme I've seen many extremes priced at 2k plus with black gates and other extras. The huge gap between the two, is the Woo is an intergrated amp as well as a single ended headphone amp and has a dedicated k1000 section. So you can drive your speaker and headphones as well. You simply can not do this with the extreme.

I may have to disagree perhaps. I think there is one head-fier here who has an Extreme with speaker binding posts and a k1000 jack just like the Woo 5. The difference between his Extreme and the Woo 5 that his Extreme has no seperate power supply unit, whereas the stock version Woo 5 does.

 

[PFKMan23]

Given that you're looking at the woo from an all in one standpoint, how are you basing your comparison? As an all in one solution? If you're judging from the standpoint of Blackgates and such, then of course. But you don't need to have blackgates and all the super botique options. I would imagine while adding binding posts and such, could get complicated and pricey, you don't have to go all out. I would imagine adding a K1000 jack shouldn't be too pricey.

Moreover, what kind of parts does the Woo use? Does it use a large amount of Blackgates and such as well?

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stax-i-nox /img/forum/go_quote.gif In a few weeks, I should be getting the first Woo5....looking forward to it. I will be trying it with the AKG BAP 1000 through my Sony Xa7es. My first listening impressions with this BAP 1000 are very positive so far. The BAP1000 has a somewhat thin sound to it. I have it in balanced mode, coming from a Sony XA7ES directly to the BAP. AKG says that the best sound should go through an amp, which is where the Woo5 comes in. Will post here after I have them both connected and have listened to them. So far, the BAP seems to make the K1000 sound even more speaker like, with more depth etc to what the K1000 already does so well. It's like the performers are out in front of me. When I press the bypass switch on the BAP, the soundfield seems to collapse and the K1000 reverts back to what seems like "inside the head" sound...interesting difference.

I am looking forward to hearing your impressions. Mine should be here some time in June. It really sounded great with the K1000 at the National but it was not in optimal conditions being that Woo Audio was in the big room. I can't wait to use the WA5 to drive my Omega SuperHemps.

 

[foo_me]

You're definitely in for a treat with the Woo5.
I used to own an upgraded extreme tailored for the k1000 and now own the Zanden SET amp.

Recently, thanks to Voltron who has been borrowing it for a future k1000 mini meet, I was able to listen to it and it definitely held it's own with the zanden. I'm definitely calling owner's bias

in that I still prefer my zanden but don't think the difference is that big.

Didn't really get to do a direct 1 to 1 comparison due to the conditions and didn't have that much time to listen to it, but it did sound tremendous and potentially a great value given that it can give zanden-like performance at a much reduced cost, plus the xtra benefit of being able to drive regular headphones as well.

While not inexpensive, it does offer performance that is IMO at another level versus the extreme that I used to own.

 

[Stax-i-nox]

Good to hear foo_me. Everything I have read about SET amps suggest a synergy with the K1000. I don't know if anyone else has this rare BAP 1000, but what it does with the soundstage etc is really amazing. When I click on the bypass on the BAP, and go back to normal headphone listening, I don't like it as much....it seems "flat" for lack of a better word. I have not hooked it up yet to my eAR 1 digital amp to see how it sounds, but will do so soon.

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Given that you're looking at the woo from an all in one standpoint, how are you basing your comparison? As an all in one solution? If you're judging from the standpoint of Blackgates and such, then of course. But you don't need to have blackgates and all the super botique options. I would imagine while adding binding posts and such, could get complicated and pricey, you don't have to go all out. I would imagine adding a K1000 jack shouldn't be too pricey. Moreover, what kind of parts does the Woo use? Does it use a large amount of Blackgates and such as well?

My comparision is based on two basic points if the extreme could perform the functions of the woo5 what would it cost and sonics. The first is objective the second subjective.
If the extreme is configured to perform similar functions what would it cost. Well the last FS forum extreme that I saw with speakers taps the seller quoted $2400 as their purchase price. I also have an extreme owner in my neck of the woods who did the black gate caps and plitron and that amp was 2K (it also has been in Denver more than the owners home

) . So I find if you were going to configure them similarly the gap narrows. Its alot how cars were sold in the past a low base price but by the time you got out of the back offices up charges and extras can more than double the price. I do not know the parts configuration for the Woo 5 as I have never owned one and we don't have one in Florida yet, one is on the way to a local (not me).
Sonically I like the extreme, its difficult for amp to sound good with a variety of headphones and the extreme performs well with a breadth of cans. It is not as good for the k1000 as most dedicated amps. It's an amp I recommend for people that have 3+ headphones and also want to be able to listen to their k1000s as well and are not all out with a dedicated k1000 amp. I would not recommend it for people that are seeking a k1000 solution. At the national I had the chance to hear alot of k1000 amps and the 300b amps were up with the best. The extreme while good was not with the upper tier in the performance category. I spent some time at the Woo table at the open of Sunday and I was impressed and thought it performed at a level between the Moth and the Zanden. Both of those amps I place above the extreme sonically.
You are right that if you could restrain your purchase to the base model extreme with nothing added but a 4 pin xlr it would not add significantly to the price, although adding black gate caps seems to add $400 to the price.

They are both solid amps for me if your criteria is best in class sonics with the added features of a great pre/power amp then the Woo is a no brainer.
If you need a jack of all trades headphone amp that performs well with the k1000 but not in the upper tier of k1000 performance than the extreme would be my call. The extreme sounds great with k1000s until you hear a great 300b amp or something like the first watt.
Oh and to be fair the extreme is going to come with decent NOS tubes while the Woo comes with lesser tubes that you may want to upgrade in the future the review below was done primarily with the lesser tubes and seems to be a rave.

here's a link to the Tone magazine review of the Woo
http://www.wooaudio.com/reviews/WA5-...-ToneAudio.pdf

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spareribs /img/forum/go_quote.gif I may have to disagree perhaps. I think there is one head-fier here who has an Extreme with speaker binding posts and a k1000 jack just like the Woo 5. The difference between his Extreme and the Woo 5 that his Extreme has no seperate power supply unit, whereas the stock version Woo 5 does.

yes you are correct at that point the extreme was $2400 bringing it close to the woo pricing which to me makes it a no brainer to go woo. The woo has 4 user selectable sections 4pins k1000, low imp headphones, high imp headphones and speakers. Woo has configured the amp to perform these functions from the original design.

At the end of the day to each their own, to the OP you may want to listed to a few of these to get an idea of the flavor you prefer.

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by foo_me /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're definitely in for a treat with the Woo5. I used to own an upgraded extreme tailored for the k1000 and now own the Zanden SET amp. Recently, thanks to Voltron who has been borrowing it for a future k1000 mini meet, I was able to listen to it and it definitely held it's own with the zanden. I'm definitely calling owner's bias in that I still prefer my zanden but don't think the difference is that big. Didn't really get to do a direct 1 to 1 comparison due to the conditions and didn't have that much time to listen to it, but it did sound tremendous and potentially a great value given that it can give zanden-like performance at a much reduced cost, plus the xtra benefit of being able to drive regular headphones as well. While not inexpensive, it does offer performance that is IMO at another level versus the extreme that I used to own.

This is great to hear. Having had a chance to speak with you at the National, an endorsement of the WA5 coming from you carries a lot of weight with me. Especially considering how great your Zanden sounds from having spent a great deal of time with it in the K1000 room.

It's unfortunate that we didn't have an Extreme in any configuration for the K1000 at the National Meet. It would have given a lot of people a chance to compare it sonically to the other K1000 amps in the room.

Hey Voltron, have the meet already, I want to hear what my amp is going to sound like when it arrives, hopefully near the end of June.

I know there are a lot of headfiers down here that would love to have at the meet on June 9. No pressure though, we know you are a busy guy.

 

[Spareribs]

Wow, some interesting info here. I may seriously look into getting the Woo 5 as my next amp upgrade. It's now a candidate.

 

[blessingx]

Don't have much to add, and my sole previous serious listening with K1000s were at two mini-meets, but did hear the Al's WA5 with the K1000, HD600, CD3000, 2500 and K701 and it's a monster. Since difficulty of driving a variety of phones to this SQ level was mentioned earlier in this thread, I'll just say not a single phone plugged into the WA5 faltered in any significantly compromised way. The hi/low switch definitely helped here, but this isn't an X phone, but not Y phone amp. Unfortunately, it's out of my budget, but that listening experience did make me buy another Woo amp the following week unheard. Figured whoever created the WA5 would work a little magic even with lesser lights.