[TonyNewman]

   
Sweet... nice layout work. You found the right repair option and congrats on getting your WA5 back into production.

 
Thank you. I really missed it and am glad to have it back and working great.

 

[fhuang]

   
Thank you. I really missed it and am glad to have it back and working great.

 
 
did you upgrade for any better caps? 

 

[fhuang]

  Thanks everyone for the recommendation on WA5. Also many thanks on the tube advice! I am not in U.S. and I can found a used WA5 locally but not the maxxed version. Not sure if I should try the buy/sell forum.
 
I have ordered a pair of Elrog 300B on the way. Picked up one Brimar 5Z4GY locally for my DAC (clarity and balance! what a steal!). Too bad my order of 5 units at langrex has not been delivered after 45 days. Hope they are not lost during the transition.
 
By the way, I am planning to use WA5 to drive lowther/voxativ full range drivers (98DB) and AKG K1000.

 
 
i'm a bit late.  you order/buy it yet? 
 
 
i didn't get a max wa5 because i know always for more and different sound.  so i used that extra money(plus some more) for extra amp, which was gsx.  very happy with the amps.  besides, i would/will(only have the wa5 for 3 years) probably want to use that extra money for better cd player(source), better tubes, better cables or other accessories. 

 

[wyan]

   
 
i'm a bit late.  you order/buy it yet? 
 
 
i didn't get a max wa5 because i know always for more and different sound.  so i used that extra money(plus some more) for extra amp, which was gsx.  very happy with the amps.  besides, i would/will(only have the wa5 for 3 years) probably want to use that extra money for better cd player(source), better tubes, better cables or other accessories. 

 
Not yet. Thanks a lot. I have already bought a Lampizator Big 7 which is really great and it has preamp built in.
 
Right now I am using First Watt J2 to drive Lowther/Voxativ and the sound is clean and musical. I am thinking to try a tube amp. WA5 is on the list since I can also experience headphone and maybe it help tweat my loudspeaker system. The other candidate is Coincident Frankenstein MK II (it won't drive headphone though).
 
I am not sure how big is the difference between a regular WA5 and a maxxed. Maxxed is harder for me to acquire.  

 

[effles]

Well, my Tung Sol 5998 for my Wa3 arrived inexplicably quickly. Listening now, I'll post full impressions in a few hours.
 

 

 

[HiFiGuy528]

  Well, my Tung Sol 5998 for my Wa3 arrived inexplicably quickly. Listening now, I'll post full impressions in a few hours.
 

 

 
Beautiful...  we look forward to your listening impressions after a good burn-in period.

 

[effles]

   
Beautiful...  we look forward to your listening impressions after a good burn-in period.

Cheers! I've got some Telefunken Black Diamond E88CCs on the way, but they'll be a good 2 weeks.
 
Initial impression is a much improved bass response, we'll see what happens after two days or so of burn in.

 

[TonyNewman]

   
 
did you upgrade for any better caps? 

 
Nope - same brand as before (nichicon). The replacements do appear slightly larger than the originals.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Prototype #2 on our upcoming WA8 'TransPortable' DAC/amp.  
 

 

[Fatsosixsixsix]

Considering buying a WA6, but is there a significantly greater risk of it dying if it's been used for a couple hundred hours? I previously bought an iBasso amp which died within the year and that put me right off the amp business for a while

 

[joseph69]

  Considering buying a WA6, but is there a significantly greater risk of it dying if it's been used for a couple hundred hours? I previously bought an iBasso amp which died within the year and that put me right off the amp business for a while

It only begins to break-in at 200hrs. 

 

[Badas]

  Considering buying a WA6, but is there a significantly greater risk of it dying if it's been used for a couple hundred hours? I previously bought an iBasso amp which died within the year and that put me right off the amp business for a while

As long as it has only been used for 200 hours. No real way of knowing. Not much can go wrong with a Woo tho. As Tony has shown recently even when something does go wrong it can be fixed easily as well.

 

[Fatsosixsixsix]

The one I'm looking at is looking more like a usage time of around 400-500 hours, but in all my research I haven't really found a post or thread talking about a WA amp dying from old age yet so it might be alright.
 
I'm not rich so I would prefer to have it live for a long time rather than go through the hassle of having it repaired.

 

[Badas]

  The one I'm looking at is looking more like a usage time of around 400-500 hours, but in all my research I haven't really found a post or thread talking about a WA amp dying from old age yet so it might be alright.
 
I'm not rich so I would prefer to have it live for a long time rather than go through the hassle of having it repaired.

I've had mine for 6 months and would have done double those hours. It still feels like it is just breaking in. You will be fine. They are built to last.

 

[Stereolab42]

  The one I'm looking at is looking more like a usage time of around 400-500 hours, but in all my research I haven't really found a post or thread talking about a WA amp dying from old age yet so it might be alright.
 
I'm not rich so I would prefer to have it live for a long time rather than go through the hassle of having it repaired.

 
If you don't want to worry about ever having to repair anything go get a cheap disposable solid-state amp. Tube amps are more susceptible to damage because tubes themselves can fail at any time in any possible way. But on the upside amps like Woos are relatively simple to repair, as Tony has demonstrated. Even in 50 years there will be audio repairman around who will still be able to fix these types of amps using commonly-available parts.