Woo Audio 2

[M0T0XGUY]

There's relatively little information on this amp, but it looks interesting enough for me to ask about it. Anyone own this amp, or have heard it enough to give some general impressions. Oh, and while we're on the subject of amps, any alternatives for under a grand that outperform the Woo Audio 2?

 

[jp11801]

I heard this amp at the National meet and it is a winner. It rocked with PS-1s amd makes a great preamp as well. If you read the stereophile review of the meet Wes Philips really liked it as well.

 

[tyrion]

jp11801 got me to listen to this amp and I thought it was excellent with my 600s and Equinox cable. At $950, I think it's a steal. I can't believe this was Woo's second release and this is the first time I heard it. The only reason I didn't buy it was because I ordered the WA5 instead.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Wow, it definitely seems like I need to try this amp as soon as possible. Did either of you happen to compare it with some other amps in its price range, specifically the Single Power Extreme Standard?

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M0T0XGUY /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, it definitely seems like I need to try this amp as soon as possible. Did either of you happen to compare it with some other amps in its price range, specifically the Single Power Extreme Standard?

I didn't compare the two. I've heard the Extreme and it's a good amp. I fell in love with the Woo when I heard it. Only you can decide which you prefer.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion /img/forum/go_quote.gif I didn't compare the two. I've heard the Extreme and it's a good amp. I fell in love with the Woo when I heard it. Only you can decide which you prefer.

Ahh... decisions, decisions.

 

[Gradofan2]

I'm sure the WA2 is great with high impedence phones, like Senns - but, it may not drive low impedence phones well, like Grados. Jack, recommended the WA4, or WA6 (TC) for driving both high and low impedence phones really well - though, he said because the WA2 provided more power / current it would drive low impedence phones better than the WA3 (both OTL), but not as well as his TC amps.

By the way... "Drarthurwells" has tried the Woo 2 - you might check with him.

 

[vo328]

I did hear the Woo2 vs the Extreme (std. config) and felt the Extreme was slightly less warm in sound. I enjoyed the sound of the Woo2 at the meet, as it has a fun sound signature, and it's a gorgeous unit aesthetically. The SP Extreme just seemed more flexible to me, in terms with how it sounds with a variety of cans.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vo328 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I did hear the Woo2 vs the Extreme (std. config) and felt the Extreme was slightly less warm in sound. I enjoyed the sound of the Woo2 at the meet, as it has a fun sound signature, and it's a gorgeous unit aesthetically. The SP Extreme just seemed more flexible to me, in terms with how it sounds with a variety of cans.

So, at the end of the day, would you keep your Extreme, or trade it for a WA2? Both sound like great choices, but just to throw another player in here, any comparisons with the MPX3? I read somewhere that Extreme was superior in most aspects, but it would be good to get some more evidence of that.

 

[calaf]

at the meet I listened to the WA2 driving AKG K701 (which are sort of low impedance), K340 and HD650 for a good 20-30 mins and I found it to be brilliant with all of them. Very dynamic without ever being aggressive. It was much closer to the WA5 than to the WA3/WA6.

 

[vo328]

At the end of the day, I'd keep my Extreme. There was something about the intimacy of the Extreme's sound that I just didn't get out of the WA2. However, you really cannot go wrong either way.

 

[jamato8]

The 2 uses one 6X4 rectifier for each side. There are many 6X4's that can be tried but the Tungsol square getter 6X4WA from the late 1950's is about the best and does sound different. I would compare them to the metal base GZ34 in sound, they are that good. They do the rectification right and are very important to the sound. There are also some dual plate 6X4's, which are hard to find but very nice sounding and so it goes.

 

[Alta_tom]

Just received my Woo WA2 today, will be tube rolling for the weekend, and comparing the amp against my EC/SS, with both AT A900 and Grado RS-2. Will use Bendix 6080WB and TungSol 5998. Details to follow.

 

[fkclo]

Looking forward to some update on the WA2. Can't wait.....

F. Lo

 

[johnsonad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fkclo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Looking forward to some update on the WA2. Can't wait..... F. Lo

x2!