[joseph69]

   
The HD650 with the WA6 was a magic combination with upgraded tubes.  Almost an end game setup, really.  I think of the massive amount of money I've dumped into the HD800 / WA5LE pursuing another slight improvement, it's kinda ridiculous.  But that's what we do. 

I also agree that the RS1i (in my case) and the WA6 can be an end gamer.
[size=x-small]​I have to agree that this could very well be an end gamer, but like you said[/size]…[size=x-small]that what we do![/size]

 

[reeltime]

   
I really, really like my WA6 - my first tube amp and I adore the thing, but to my ears the difference between it and the WA5 is not "slight". YMMV.
 
The WA5 (but not the WA5LE) can do something else that is important to me over the WA6 - drive my HE6 headphones very, very well. There are precious few headphone amps that can do that.

I hear ya.  And I confess I'm guilty of upgrade-itis.  I just dropped another $1100 on new 300B tubes.  But when I think back, the sound out of just the WA6 with a metal base GZ34-- it was a setup with formidable sound.  Is my HD800 and WA5LE better?  Heck yes.  But how MUCH better?  That's what I'm driving at.  
 
The WA6 and HD650 is a great combination.

 

[bbophead]

 

 

 
I really, really like my WA6 - my first tube amp and I adore the thing, but to my ears the difference between it and the WA5 is not "slight". YMMV.
 
 

Sure hope not given the price diff.

 

[TonyNewman]

 
...But how MUCH better?  That's what I'm driving at.  

 
Yep - we are audiophile nutters chasing that "last 5%" - which is a moving target as bigger and better (and usually more expensive) gear gets released

 
For me the WA5 and Taurus really are my endgame amps for tubes and solid state. I can drool over the WA234 and GSX-Mk2 etc, but I am very happy with what I have. Only significant upgrade in my mind is the Elrog tubes (300Bs for WA5 and 845s for the big rig) - but it will be quite awhile before I can lay out that sort of cash.
 
I would rate the difference between the WA6 and WA5, with equivalent quality tubes, as 'significant'. That's very subjective and a little bit meaningless, of course. None of that takes away from the WA6 - excellent little amp.

 

[reeltime]

   
Yep - we are audiophile nutters chasing that "last 5%" - which is a moving target as bigger and better (and usually more expensive) gear gets released

 
For me the WA5 and Taurus really are my endgame amps for tubes and solid state. I can drool over the WA234 and GSX-Mk2 etc, but I am very happy with what I have. Only significant upgrade in my mind is the Elrog tubes (300Bs for WA5 and 845s for the big rig) - but it will be quite awhile before I can lay out that sort of cash.
 
I would rate the difference between the WA6 and WA5, with equivalent quality tubes, as 'significant'. That's very subjective and a little bit meaningless, of course. None of that takes away from the WA6 - excellent little amp.

 
Yeah I just bit the bullet on the Elrog.  Couldn't resist.  I didn't have the need for the upgrades on the WA5.  My desktop speakers are balanced.
 
I still want the GSX MkII2 at some point.  Blown away when paired with the HD800.  But I love the tube sound.  Probably more when the Elrog (which my Mac keeps autocorrecting to "Elroy"!) arrives.  I don't own a solid state headphone amp any longer.  I got rid of my Burson a few years back.  

 

[TonyNewman]

   
Yeah I just bit the bullet on the Elrog.  Couldn't resist.  I didn't have the need for the upgrades on the WA5.  My desktop speakers are balanced.
 
I still want the GSX MkII2 at some point.  Blown away when paired with the HD800.  But I love the tube sound.  Probably more when the Elrog (which my Mac keeps autocorrecting to "Elroy"!) arrives.  I don't own a solid state headphone amp any longer.  I got rid of my Burson a few years back.  

 
Congrats on the Elrogs - I hear nothing but stunningly good reports on them.
 
Have you modded the HD800s? After modding I found they sounded fantastic from the Taurus, better than from the WA5.

 

[sictransit]

I bought the Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies, but I think it was a big mistake.  I can't plug either end of the DC umbilical power cord into their respective sockets.  I don't know if a pin got slightly bent or something, or how in the world I'd fix that, but both sides are impossible to plug in.  Is there a comparable piece of hardware that doesn't use such a user-unfriendly connector?

 

[yonexer]

Hi,
 
Just received my WA5-LE before the new year!
 
However, I hear a quite noticeable background noise from the high impedance port on both sides.  The noise does not go away even without a source input.  I think it is more like white noise, rather than hum.  The noise is not trivial even at zero volume, and it gets larger as I turn up the volume.

The low impedance is much better.  Still a bit noise.  The noise from the low impedance at the highest volume is lower than that from the high impedance at the zero volume.
 
Here is what I tried:
 
I swapped all tubes, left to right, and right to left.  Did not help.

I also tried to tune the noise tuner under the amp arm.  Some hum showed up however, while the white noise persisted.

I tried the amp at various places inside my home, all the same.

Tried different headphone, hd800 and hd600, both are the same as well.
 
I swapped several power cable, including a fake power cord without ground.  Did not help.
 
Following this post, http://www.head-fi.org/t/435096/question-about-hum-noise-on-woo-wa5#post_5856884, I removed the input tubes (6SN7), and heard about 10 seconds.  Initially, there is a hum.  After 4 seconds, it become quite.
 

I have so far burned it in for around 8 hours.  The issue is not getting any better.  Does anyone here experience something similar?  Is there anything I can do to nail down the issue?
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[Justin_Time]

   
Yep - we are audiophile nutters chasing that "last 5%" - which is a moving target as bigger and better (and usually more expensive) gear gets released

 
For me the WA5 and Taurus really are my endgame amps for tubes and solid state. I can drool over the WA234 and GSX-Mk2 etc, but I am very happy with what I have. Only significant upgrade in my mind is the Elrog tubes (300Bs for WA5 and 845s for the big rig) - but it will be quite awhile before I can lay out that sort of cash.
 
I would rate the difference between the WA6 and WA5, with equivalent quality tubes, as 'significant'. That's very subjective and a little bit meaningless, of course. None of that takes away from the WA6 - excellent little amp.

I just took the plunge for a matched pair of Elrog 300B myself:  my WA5 and HE-6 are clammering for them.
 
Now is the time to enjoy our headphones and associated gears and that thrilling pursuit of the "last 5%." If history of High-End Audio is any clue, this may be the beginning of the end for "affordable" high-end gears and we may never see these days again. I still cling to the hope that this will not come to pass.
 
But $2,500 IEM, $5,000 headphones and $10,000 amps are already making their appearance on the scene. If this follows the unfortunate path of High-End Audio in the 90s, most of us in this forum will not be able to afford the best headphone gears in 10 years.  I hope that the Internet has changed the market sufficiently that good, dedicated small companies can continue to thrive and produce outstanding products that we can afford and enjoy for a long time to come.
 
The hard lesson not yet learned is that improvement at all cost, too far beyond the point of diminishing return, is not only bad engineering, but also bad business.
 
So, back at the ranch:  $1,000 for a pair of tubes, why the heck not! The best tubes may cost $10,000 in a few years, so let's get them now while we still can  

 

[isquirrel]

  Hey would you be able to take a pic of the Elrog 300b and EML Mesh 300b side by side so I can get an idea of the size difference? 
 
Thanks 
 
 Paddy

There you go, sorry it took a while, now I am burning in the EML's 4 hours at time.....
 

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

 
Agree.  If I had high impedance cans, I would select the WA3 rather than the 6, although the 6 is more versatile regarding impedances.

++ A  Yes and with the WA6 SE's versatility can drive Audeze LCD2's & 3's very well where the WA3 cannot.   For good performance vs value for money the WA3 is a great amp very closely followed by the the WA6.  

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

  Just finished checking out with wa7+wa7tp+upgraded tubes. Mike said he should be able to get it out by Monday, and I live right outside NYC so I'll have it before I know it.
So soon, in fact, that it might get here before my HD650s, which I did not anticipate in the least bit.
Music has always been my passion, and I hope my first journey into the world of hi-fi is an enjoyable one.

 
Welcome madmax405 to the world of headphone hifi.   Hope it gives you many hours of pleasure. 
 
Just be careful as this hobby can be highly addictive and can hit your wallet hard as you journey through the path to try and find audio nirvana. ! 

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

 
There you go, sorry it took a while, now I am burning in the EML's 4 hours at time.....
 

Very nice indeed.    
Im just amazed at the engineering that goes into these gems !    
My wife has diamonds I have tubes and headphones  

 

[Krutsch]

  Good to hear. I am deciding what to get next for my WA6, and it's between the HE-400i, and the HD650, and yours is the second comment I've seen that says the 650 is just mindblowing with the WA6. Might have to just get it soon, can't have unsubstantiated rumours floating around in my head now, can I?

Have to chime in here... I've heard the WA6 with my HD-650s and I have to second the @Bonesy Jonesy comment on the WA3, which is why I went that direction with my rig.
 
If you settle on the HD-650s, seriously consider the WA3 (and upgraded tubes, of course

 ).

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

  Good to hear. I am deciding what to get next for my WA6, and it's between the HE-400i, and the HD650, and yours is the second comment I've seen that says the 650 is just mindblowing with the WA6. Might have to just get it soon, can't have unsubstantiated rumours floating around in my head now, can I?

 
I have the HD600 headphones when one of the drivers blew.    So I replaced them with two HD650 drivers which were a lot cheaper than the HD600's.     The HD600 drivers were very nice but I preferred the warmer sound of the HD650's for pop and rock and the 600's for classical & jazz.   Now I have replaced the blown HD600 driver so have the best of both worlds for all genres.