Woo 6 and K701 Perfect Match!
Mar 24, 2007 at 12:45 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 29

phaseshift

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Well,
After listening to my new Woo 6 amp for the past few days all I can say is I made the right choice. Man this thing is beautiful! Extremely well built, it has plenty of muscle to drive my K701's to very loud levels at 2 o'clock on the volume knob. I have yet to hear any clipping on heavy bass passages. The matching transformers are a must with the K701's. I did hear what sounded like clipping on a Rippington's cd, but found out it was actually recorded into the track. Never noticed this before, but I'm sure this amp is not clipping at 9-10 o'clock. The gross distortion never seems to change at any volume level. First time I heard an over modulated track in a pro recording, stand out so much! played it through a different cd player hooked to the headphone out of my Vintage Harman Kardon 930 which has a lot of output, same thing. What really impresses me the most , is how quite the amp is. Music seems to flow from a dead black background. The sound matched with a pair of K701's is pure bliss! The bass is tight with great transient response. The Shefield drum and track cd is reproduced with the kind of authority one associates with a fine amp. The mids are smooth neutral, and warm, the highs sparkle with a believable quality yet no hint of being harsh.. So far the Woo is a class act, and Jack is a wonderful, passionate, business man, who pays close attention to the smallest details. I can't say enough about working with Jack. The amp is worth the price just based on the support alone. Their are very few products I have been this satisfied with, in a world where service, and quality are much to often a distant memory. As a business owner myself, I applaud Wooaudio for it's passion in producing a top flight, quality product. You can't go wrong with this amp and the K701's.
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 12:54 PM Post #2 of 29
phaseshift,

Congratulations!

I had a Woo 3, and I must agree with you totally and heartily re: Mr. Wu. Anyone attracted to a tube headphone amp must give the Woo Audio products an audition. He is a delight to deal with.
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 3:42 PM Post #3 of 29
Me got the Woo3 and love it.

Thinking about the Woo5. But it is 3K.......
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 3:45 PM Post #4 of 29
I am hoping some day to purchase one. I have already stored up some very old 6DE7 tubes and I have a big store of great GZ34's. Now I just need the time and a place. Exceptional products and a great price. This type of product makes for a very enjoyable experience.
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 9:24 PM Post #5 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I am hoping some day to purchase one. I have already stored up some very old 6DE7 tubes and I have a big store of great GZ34's. Now I just need the time and a place. Exceptional products and a great price. This type of product makes for a very enjoyable experience.


Where do you buy your tubes?
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 10:12 PM Post #6 of 29
I strongly agree that the K701 prefers the transformer output. On several capacitor-coupled amps, the K701 was clipping at even low volumes, and the dynamics suffered.
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 10:47 PM Post #8 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I strongly agree that the K701 prefers the transformer output. On several capacitor-coupled amps, the K701 was clipping at even low volumes, and the dynamics suffered.


I want to eventually build a custom amp using power tubes and output transformers when I get the chance with 1 full watt of output at 62 ohms. I just have to find out what kind of tube has that kind of power at that impedance, running single-ended. I might have to go PP for that though, I don't know.
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But as for suffering dynamics and clipping are concerned with the K701's and capacitor-coupled amps, I can honestly say that I have none of those problems with my modded amp. Maybe it's because it is modded, but this little cheap amp is very lively and dynamic with my K701's, and I have yet to hear any clipping coming from it.
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 11:28 PM Post #9 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chops /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I want to eventually build a custom amp using power tubes and output transformers when I get the chance with 1 full watt of output at 62 ohms. I just have to find out what kind of tube has that kind of power at that impedance, running single-ended. I might have to go PP for that though, I don't know.
blink.gif


But as for suffering dynamics and clipping are concerned with the K701's and capacitor-coupled amps, I can honestly say that I have none of those problems with my modded amp. Maybe it's because it is modded, but this little cheap amp is very lively and dynamic with my K701's, and I have yet to hear any clipping coming from it.



What amp are you using now?
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 11:41 PM Post #10 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I strongly agree that the K701 prefers the transformer output. On several capacitor-coupled amps, the K701 was clipping at even low volumes, and the dynamics suffered.


I dont know what amps you are talking about. But if you get an OTL amp that has enough power .... you wont have a problem with the 701. I have driven the 701 with a PPX3 SLAM, MPX3 SLAM with 5687 or 6bl7gta output tubes and with the Extreme; all of these are OTL designs and all of them have more than enough power. I have a Space Tech Lab transformer coupled amp, the SE-6AS7G, with dual 6as7 outputs for a full one watt output for comparison. My OTL Extreme sounds subjectively more punchy, dynamic and powerful with the 701 and they use the same output tube. The 32 ohm MS2 sounds MUCH more powerful
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with my MPX3 SLAM SE or Extreme, in comparison to my transformer coupled amp.

So my take is that no particular design is superior. What is important is the execution.
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 11:47 PM Post #11 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chops /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I want to eventually build a custom amp using power tubes and output transformers when I get the chance with 1 full watt of output at 62 ohms. I just have to find out what kind of tube has that kind of power at that impedance, running single-ended. I might have to go PP for that though, I don't know.
blink.gif


But as for suffering dynamics and clipping are concerned with the K701's and capacitor-coupled amps, I can honestly say that I have none of those problems with my modded amp. Maybe it's because it is modded, but this little cheap amp is very lively and dynamic with my K701's, and I have yet to hear any clipping coming from it.



The 6as7g is a good choice. The tube is inexpensive @ around $10 and widely available. With output transformers the 6as7 can get you as much as 1.5 watts per channel from a single tube. But the section matching of these tubes isnt the best so a paralleled 6as7 per side would probably work best. Plus, you could run the tube easy for longer life and lower distortion.
 
Mar 24, 2007 at 11:58 PM Post #13 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The 6as7g is a good choice. The tube is inexpensive @ around $10 and widely available. With output transformers the 6as7 can get you as much as 1.5 watts per channel from a single tube. But the section matching of these tubes isnt the best so a paralleled 6as7 per side would probably work best. Plus, you could run the tube easy for longer life and lower distortion.



I was thinking of either using those OR a single 6550 per channel. What do you think?
 
Mar 25, 2007 at 12:19 AM Post #14 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chops /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I was thinking of either using those OR a single 6550 per channel. What do you think?


The 6550 is a beam power tube. You can run this tube triode connected but I dont know if you will get the sound quality you would using a true triode. If you will be using transformers there are lots of tubes that can give you a full watt .... even the 6bl7gta/6bx7gt. The nos 6550's are very expensive and tough to find and new production 6550's dont have the best sound quality reputation. The 6as7g is very good sounding, cheap and available and there are lots of good designs using this tube.
 
Mar 25, 2007 at 1:13 AM Post #15 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I strongly agree that the K701 prefers the transformer output. On several capacitor-coupled amps, the K701 was clipping at even low volumes, and the dynamics suffered.


cotdt, how about picking up a woo6 and comparing it with your doge for us - take one for the team!
smily_headphones1.gif
 

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