[Nic Rhodes]

   
i am seeing this is true.  very expensive.
 
thats why i might try to find an amp like WA22 that has the same tubes , but uses 6922 instead, i think i'd like that more.
 
5U4gs are expensive, i have a good variety to roll, and theres plenty more good ones out there to try out. i'm gonna try and buy a western electric 422A and a GEC U52 soon.
 
i think i have every 6AS7G thats decent except the WE421A which is on my to-buy list as well.
 
anyways, looks like to have a good stock means spending at least the price of the amp in tubes, if not more. depending on whether you want the best or just decent tubes.

 
Don't rush on the WE421A, but a good GEC U52 is nice. Don't get hung up on the GEC or the U52 bit however, there are some great examples that say neither that are identical

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i think i'm gonna re-buy WA2, or see if glenn can make me a custom OTL with 5U4G, 6922, and 6AS7G/5998

 

[Silent One]

Your satisfaction lies just around the bend. Good to know you never lost focus.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

   
Don't rush on the WE421A, but a good GEC U52 is nice. Don't get hung up on the GEC or the U52 bit however, there are some great examples that say neither that are identical

what about WE422A rectifier? i'm thinking of picking one of those up as well...

 

[Dubstep Girl]

yeah i think the WA22 isn't gonna work out for me. tried GEC 6AS7G / 596 / and both the smoked glass rca and the tung sol 6f8g and even the treasures. its just not working out. substituting the eml, the tung sol 7236, the 5998, or the 6080wb was different, but it just feels like the power tubes and the rectifiers aren't really being taken full advantage of. i don't hear the uber clarity and crispness of the 596, nor the beautiful tone of the GEC, and the bass isn't really what i want. the soundstage is huge but its too much for me on HD 800 and the T1 doesn't sound like itself.
 
i think the 6sn7 sound just isn't for me or the improvements/changes in the WA22 vs the WA2 weren't enough for me. i want to buy WA2 again, but then i won't have an amp for 5U4G tubes, so i'm gonna talk to glenn soon and see what he can do.

 

[ardilla]

I am very curious about the sonic differences between your HotRodded Über-Upgraded WA22 and the normal edition.

Upgrades alter the sound, and maybe it tilts the sound signature in the wrong direction for you.

If you didn't live so far away, I'd send you mine for comparison, )

yeah i think the WA22 isn't gonna work out for me. tried GEC 6AS7G / 596 / and both the smoked glass rca and the tung sol 6f8g and even the treasures. its just not working out. substituting the eml, the tung sol 7236, the 5998, or the 6080wb was different, but it just feels like the power tubes and the rectifiers aren't really being taken full advantage of. i don't hear the uber clarity and crispness of the 596, nor the beautiful tone of the GEC, and the bass isn't really what i want. the soundstage is huge but its too much for me on HD 800 and the T1 doesn't sound like itself.

i think the 6sn7 sound just isn't for me or the improvements/changes in the WA22 vs the WA2 weren't enough for me. i want to buy WA2 again, but then i won't have an amp for 5U4G tubes, so i'm gonna talk to glenn soon and see what he can do.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

I am very curious about the sonic differences between your HotRodded Über-Upgraded WA22 and the normal edition.

Upgrades alter the sound, and maybe it tilts the sound signature in the wrong direction for you.

If you didn't live so far away, I'd send you mine for comparison, )

 
aww thanks, yeah i wonder what the differences are as well.
 
i think the WA22 is good, but if its an upgrade, i wonder how good or bad the stock sounds.

 

[ardilla]

I find the stock WA22 a very good amp, also compared to the wa2, Leben CS300 and various SS amps. But it has it's flavor, like all amps. . I haven't owned the HD800 or T1 in a while, and neither did I ever tube roll the wa2 as extensively as you have done.

Lots of people like the hd800 with wa22, the guy who sold me mine preferred this combo to Stax 007/323. And it sounded really good, although I just had a brief listen.

I use the WA22 with LCD3, HD650, Q701 and the HE500 and Shure 1840 all sound very nice.

But as you have made very clear wa2 and wa22 are quite different and is a mistake to assume that wa22 is an upgrade in every way. Especially with high impedance cans.

Maybe you just got your wa2 tuned to perfection and never will find anything better , )

 

[Dubstep Girl]

I find the stock WA22 a very good amp, also compared to the wa2. I haven't owned the HD800 or T1 in a while, and neither did I ever tube roll the wa2 as extensively as you have done.

Lots of people like the hd800 with wa22, the guy who sold me mine preferred this combo to Stax 007/323. And it sounded really good, although I just had a brief listen.

I use the WA22 with LCD3, HD650, Q701 and the HE500 and Shure 1840 all sound very nice.


Maybe you just got your wa2 tuned to perfection and never will find anything better , )

 
maybe so, but it still had some issues.
 
mostly cause of the amperex bugle boys or amperex holland a frames, those are still mid/entry lvl amperex. the bugle boys where a little on the lush side at times, the a frames a little too much on treble at times, but close to perfect, if i finished maxing out my tubes, with Amperex PQ whites or the rare and expensive Amperex 6922 pinched waist d-getter, might be even better. also i never got to tube roll any siemens tubes.
 
the rectifiers on WA2 i think i had right, but i wanted to try and find some genalex U709, rare version of the EZ80/EZ81. then it'd be perfect!
 
i think the WA22 can get better with different tubes, perhaps with the western electric or GEC rectifiers, but i don't think the bass will be to my liking, it definitely focuses more on the midrange, detail, and has a sort of warmth to it, while being dynamic and full. i think its tubier than WA2. rather than silky smooth and laid back yet musical and punchy, the WA22 has more of a magic tube like midrange, spacious, airy, warm, lush, and full. but it seems a little colored to me at times, a little too much. and there is more treble on WA22 than WA2, but its also warmer at times. and the bass is softer like some tube amps. 
 
maybe the 6sn7 sound isn't for me

 

[GrindingThud]

Edit, just noticed the Mytek in your sig.....nevermind.

@DG have you tried it with a balanced source? It may not change the midrange but could add some extra punch.

 

[ardilla]

   
maybe so, but it still had some issues.
 
mostly cause of the amperex bugle boys or amperex holland a frames, those are still mid/entry lvl amperex. the bugle boys where a little on the lush side at times, the a frames a little too much on treble at times, but close to perfect, if i finished maxing out my tubes, with Amperex PQ whites or the rare and expensive Amperex 6922 pinched waist d-getter, might be even better. also i never got to tube roll any siemens tubes.
 
the rectifiers on WA2 i think i had right, but i wanted to try and find some genalex U709, rare version of the EZ80/EZ81. then it'd be perfect!
 
i think the WA22 can get better with different tubes, perhaps with the western electric or GEC rectifiers, but i don't think the bass will be to my liking, it definitely focuses more on the midrange, detail, and has a sort of warmth to it, while being dynamic and full. i think its tubier than WA2. rather than silky smooth and laid back yet musical and punchy, the WA22 has more of a magic tube like midrange, spacious, airy, warm, lush, and full. but it seems a little colored to me at times, a little too much. and there is more treble on WA22 than WA2, but its also warmer at times. and the bass is softer like some tube amps. 
 
maybe the 6sn7 sound isn't for me

 
I agree with most of you impressions, but never thought of the bass as soft, rather the opposite. I feel the WA22 has a tight bass, but  with some rectifiers it gets a bit light in quantity (eg the EML5U4G). With the rectifiers like CV275, Brimar 5U4G, Mullad GZ33 I find the bass very nice. 

 

[ardilla]

@DG have you tried it with a balanced source? It may not change the midrange but could add some extra punch.

 
Balanced is a necessity to get the full value out of the WA22, since it only gives half the ouput power with unbalanced inputs (no conversion done inside the amp). 

 

[ardilla]

  .....
maybe the 6sn7 sound isn't for me

 
Maybe you don't like ouput transformers? WA2 beeing OTL might make it easier for the power and drive tubes to "come through". When you don't need the power and lowered output impedance of transformer coupled amps, why add output transformers, right?

 

[Dubstep Girl]

   
Maybe you don't like ouput transformers? WA2 beeing OTL might make it easier for the power and drive tubes to "come through". When you don't need the power and lowered output impedance of transformer coupled amps, why add output transformers, right?

 
hmmm i guess you're right.
 
maybe i just like the OTL sound, just wish WA2 would work well with low impedance as well.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

   
I agree with most of you impressions, but never thought of the bass as soft, rather the opposite. I feel the WA22 has a tight bass, but  with some rectifiers it gets a bit light in quantity (eg the EML5U4G). With the rectifiers like CV275, Brimar 5U4G, Mullad GZ33 I find the bass very nice. 

some of those are also too lush for me, they get too tubey or slow, or the bass becomes a little bloaty despite the good bass quantity.
 
seems only the best of the best tubes come close to perfection. maybe the GEC would have that.