Woo Audio Amp Owner Unite

[Bonesy Jonesy]

  I personally would go with a maxxed out WA5 for tube amplifier. It will drive everything out there on dynamic and electromagnetic headphones.
For SS the GS-X is a nice amplifier but with money no object I would go with the McIntosh MHA100 and for the SR-009  I would go with the RSA A-10 Thunderbolt. I have listen to the WES, BHSE and the A-10 and to my taste the A-10 is a better match plus if you have a speaker system it also work great as a pre-amp. 
 
The A-10 is in my wish list for next year.

Thank you musicman59 for your very informative reply.   Very much appreciated. 
 
The Mc MHA100 is a pre-amp and headphone amp with a built in DAC.    Im happy with my Chord QBD76 DAC both on how it sounds (especially with my Blu CD Transporter) and its looks so I want to stick with it.  
 
I don't need a pre-amp in the UK as I will only be using headphones.  So the MHA100 won't get fully utilised and for close to £5,000 its a high price to pay just for a SS headphone amp ! 
 
The RSA-A-10 for me is just too industries and ugly and also has a pre-amp I won't be using. 

 

[TonyNewman]

If it was my money I would be going for BHSE+SR009 for electrostatic, and I would give serious thought about dumping the GSX and going for the tube Viva Egoista. It is expensive, but will drive any planar or dynamic headphone in existance - and the 845 tube sound is delightful.
 
I get very cautious about headfi gear that claims to double up as big rig gear - my experience with the WA5 as a speaker amp was an education for me. It was good, but a dedicated SET speaker amp (300B or 845 based) kills it.

 

[Angelbelow]

Any recommendations for 300bs for the WA5?
 
Looking for something well balanced but on the bright side. No harshness but nice treble extension and airy presentation.
 
Got some RCA 5U4Gs and Sylvania 6SN7s already.
 
Pairing with HE500/LCD2s for now, eventually looking at the HE6s and the HD800s.

 

[Fririce0003]

Any recommendations for 300bs for the WA5?

Looking for something well balanced but on the bright side. No harshness but nice treble extension and airy presentation.

Got some RCA 5U4Gs and Sylvania 6SN7s already.

Pairing with HE500/LCD2s for now, eventually looking at the HE6s and the HD800s.

May be worth asking Isquirrel, I've lent him my tube collection while I'm away and awaiting my new amp. Got some KR300b balloons, royal princess 300b's, Psvane we274b replicas, full music 274b/+/n, sophia mesh 274b and I believe he's trying some mullard metal bases as we speak.
Also in a month we'll have some takatsuki 300b and 274's.
I'd offer my opinion since I used them with my WA5 before the trade in, but it's been a couple weeks since I last heard it and months since I last rolled it. So my memory may be misleading, I like to go back to gear for a quick listen to confirm my original thoughts before posting.
I'll be able to help in 4 weeks though

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

  If it was my money I would be going for BHSE+SR009 for electrostatic, and I would give serious thought about dumping the GSX and going for the tube Viva Egoista. It is expensive, but will drive any planar or dynamic headphone in existance - and the 845 tube sound is delightful.
 
I get very cautious about headfi gear that claims to double up as big rig gear - my experience with the WA5 as a speaker amp was an education for me. It was good, but a dedicated SET speaker amp (300B or 845 based) kills it.

Hi TonyNewman,
Thank you for your reply.  Much appreciated. 
 
Yes the Viva Egoista is very expensive and to be honest to me it looks ugly.   Looks play a big part for me as well as the sound…. like cars it's got to look great as well as perform great…same goes for me with HiFi equipment ! 
 
Yes I agree that a dedicated speaker amp will trounce a headphone amp that has speaker terminals when driving speakers.   But maybe driving the Woo WEE it's not so important !   

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Hi All,
Is there anybody in the UK that has a WA5 or WES or GES that I could try with my WEE (with the WA5) and my Stax 009's and Chord Electronics QBD76 DAC. 
 
I can come to you or you can come to me.  My UK base is south Birmingham not far from the NEC & Birmingham Airport.  

 

[dmac03]

jc, are you selling your spare gec 6as7g's on ebay? I am unloading my wa22 and tubes. When I checked out competitor postings I saw one that has to be you.

 

[grokit]

 
Yes I agree that a dedicated speaker amp will trounce a headphone amp that has speaker terminals when driving speakers.   But maybe driving the Woo WEE it's not so important !   

 
I have driven the 009 with a WEE, and in comparison to the Liquid Lightning the WEE didn't even compete in the same league. So don't waste your time, the WEE drives the 009s adequately but not well. When I made this comparison I was using my (modified) WA22 as the pre for both. If your sources have both balanced and single-ended outputs, you could drive both the single-ended WA5 and the balanced WES for a kickass all-Woo lineup.
 
The other option I would recommend is using the WA5 as a pre for a solid-state electrostatic amp, because personally I don't like to use a tube pre in front of a tube main amp -- I would rather mix it up. Tube rolling can not only get expensive, but the results can be confusing and even counterproductive when you are trying to mesh two tube-driven components together. For this second configuration I would recommend the liquid lightning very highly, I'm sure the thunderbolt would perform very well in this setup as well but I haven't had the pleasure.
 
For speakers you could add some Klipschorns if you have the money and need to fill a big space with sound, they are uber-efficient and should match up well with the WA5 speaker taps. Either way a dream system!

 

[magiccabbage]

   
 
For speakers you could add some Klipschorns if you have the money and need to fill a big space with sound, they are uber-efficient and should match up well with the WA5 speaker taps. Either way a dream system!

I would love that for sure
 

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

  I would love that for sure
 

Oooo reel to reel….Awesome +++A 

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

   
I have driven the 009 with a WEE, and in comparison to the Liquid Lightning the WEE didn't even compete in the same league. So don't waste your time, the WEE drives the 009s adequately but not well. When I made this comparison I was using my (modified) WA22 as the pre for both. If your sources have both balanced and single-ended outputs, you could drive both the single-ended WA5 and the balanced WES for a kickass all-Woo lineup.
 
The other option I would recommend is using the WA5 as a pre for a solid-state electrostatic amp, because personally I don't like to use a tube pre in front of a tube main amp -- I would rather mix it up. Tube rolling can not only get expensive, but the results can be confusing and even counterproductive when you are trying to mesh two tube-driven components together. For this second configuration I would recommend the liquid lightning very highly, I'm sure the thunderbolt would perform very well in this setup as well but I haven't had the pleasure.
 
For speakers you could add some Klipschorns if you have the money and need to fill a big space with sound, they are uber-efficient and should match up well with the WA5 speaker taps. Either way a dream system!

Thank you grokit for your post.  Much appreciated. 
 
Im listening to my WEE now and it sounds very nice across all genres I listen to.  
 
Yes I can imagine a WA5 and a WES would be a great set-up…best of all worlds that can run any HP very well on the planet !  
 
My QBD76 DAC has both balanced XLR's and single RCA's that can run simultaneously so I could have both the WA5 and WES running together.  
 
I have been doing this today running my WEE with my 009's connected to my Cyan Click single input (can also run balanced which is far better than single) and my WA22 balanced with my HD650's at the same time.   

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

  I would love that for sure
 

For resonable sensitive speakers I would prefer my Focal Electra 1038 Be's  !    They sound awesome for all genres across all frequency ranges
 

 

[magiccabbage]

  For resonable sensitive speakers I would prefer my Focal Electra 1038 Be's  !    They sound awesome for all genres across all frequency ranges
 

Ohh - I will have to give them a look. What is the sensitivity? 

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

  Ohh - I will have to give them a look. What is the sensitivity? 

 
 

Tech Specs

- Type: 3-way vented floor standing speaker
- Drivers: Three 7" (18cm) "W" woofers 6 1/2" (16.5cm) "W" midrange 11/4" (27mm) pure Beryllium IAL inverted dome tweeter
- Frequency response (+/-3dB): 33Hz - 40kHz
- Low frequency point (-6dB): 26Hz
- Sensitivity (2.83V/1m): 93dB
- Nominal impedance: 4Ω
- Minimum impedance: 3.3Ω
- Crossover frequency: 230Hz / 2200Hz
- Recommended amplifier power: 40 - 400W
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 49 3/16x11 15/16x15 3/4" (1 250x303x400mm)
- Net weight: 112.2lb (51kg)

 

[magiccabbage]

   
 

Tech Specs

- Sensitivity (2.83V/1m): 93dB
- Nominal impedance: 4Ω
 

I wonder would they be ok with WA5 - I think the 5 wants to see 8 ohms.