[3083joe]

 
RCA Grey Glass 6SN&, Takatsuki 300B & 274B

Thanks

 

[bumblebeezack]

Hi everyone! I'm a noob posting in this forum although I've been lurking for quite some time. I am finally a proud owner of a black WA6. This is after auditioning the Beyer A20, Burson Soloist SL, the Schiit Vali, ALO Pan Am and a few others. Just love the tunes coming out of the amp... Although I did like the Burson too but in the end the WA6 won me over. Plus I love the look of tube amps! That Sophia Electric Princess is singing me a siren song and I feel myself weakening!

 

[TonyNewman]

Hi everyone! I'm a noob posting in this forum although I've been lurking for quite some time. I am finally a proud owner of a black WA6. This is after auditioning the Beyer A20, Burson Soloist SL, the Schiit Vali, ALO Pan Am and a few others. Just love the tunes coming out of the amp... Although I did like the Burson too but in the end the WA6 won me over. Plus I love the look of tube amps! That Sophia Electric Princess is singing me a siren song and I feel myself weakening!

 
Welcome to the WA6 club 

- my first tube amp and it is still running strong.
 
Sophia Princess is OK, but there are better rectifiers out there for less $$$.
 
I am currently running Brimar rectifier and NU 6F8Gs. Very nice.
 

 

[Badas]

^

I have heard this exact rig and this tube combination. I can confirm that it sounds amazing.

I kinda scratched my head and thought why did I need my WA22 or did Tony need his WA5 after hearing the WA6. It is that good.

It might be a little under powered to run my LCD-3's but if it could I would have been happy with the WA6.

 

[TonyNewman]

^

I have heard this exact rig and this tube combination. I can confirm that it sounds amazing.

I kinda scratched my head and thought why did I need my WA22 or did Tony need his WA5 after hearing the WA6. It is that good.

It might be a little under powered to run my LCD-3's but if it could I would have been happy with the WA6.

 
It's very nice and pairs great with the HD600s... but the WA5 + modded HD800 combination is on another level entirely.

 

[bumblebeezack]

Welcome to the WA6 club  - my first tube amp and it is still running strong.

Sophia Princess is OK, but there are better rectifiers out there for less $$$.

I am currently running Brimar rectifier and NU 6F8Gs. Very nice.

That looks really badass! Less money with great sound is a definite plus! How would you describe the sound of that setup against the stock tubes in caveman terms so I'd understand?

 

[TonyNewman]

That looks really badass! Less money with great sound is a definite plus! How would you describe the sound of that setup against the stock tubes in caveman terms so I'd understand?

 
Stock tubes are like sticking your pink bits in a wood chipper.
 
Brimar + NU 6F8G is like having naked angels of audio delight deliver the music to your eardrums.

 

[bumblebeezack]

Stock tubes are like sticking your pink bits in a wood chipper.

Brimar + NU 6F8G is like having naked angels of audio delight deliver the music to your eardrums.

Wow, throw in some unicorns and I'll throatily scream "Take my money!"

But seriously, what's the ballpark figure to spend on that kinda setup? And did you have to modify the connections to the drive tubes to run that?

 

[TonyNewman]

Wow, throw in some unicorns and I'll throatily scream "Take my money!"

But seriously, what's the ballpark figure to spend on that kinda setup? And did you have to modify the connections to the drive tubes to run that?

 
It's not that bad. The Brimars are excellent rectifiers and very inexpensive. The best value tube I have ever heard (or heard of). Available from Langrex in the UK (or slightly more expensive on Ebarf). Folks in the know rate them very highly - only the super tubes have them clearly beat (U52 / WE422A / Takatsuki 274B ... etc).
 
NU 6F8Gs are not that pricey - available on Ebarf for around $100/pair NOS. Lovely sweet sounding driver with good extension and detail. Not quite the super tube that the TS RP is, but close, and with a lovely warmth. A sexy tube indeed.
 
I use a 6DE7->6SN7 adapter and then top that with a 6SN7->6F8G adapter. Not pretty, but it works. You can get 6DE7->6F8G adapters that reduce the adapter stack, but if you plan on using 6SN7s at some stage it makes sense to have both.

 

[bumblebeezack]

It's not that bad. The Brimars are excellent rectifiers and very inexpensive. The best value tube I have ever heard (or heard of). Available from Langrex in the UK (or slightly more expensive on Ebarf). Folks in the know rate them very highly - only the super tubes have them clearly beat (U52 / WE422A / Takatsuki 274B ... etc).

NU 6F8Gs are not that pricey - available on Ebarf for around $100/pair NOS. Lovely sweet sounding driver with good extension and detail. Not quite the super tube that the TS RP is, but close, and with a lovely warmth. A sexy tube indeed.

I use a 6DE7->6SN7 adapter and then top that with a 6SN7->6F8G adapter. Not pretty, but it works. You can get 6DE7->6F8G adapters that reduce the adapter stack, but if you plan on using 6SN7s at some stage it makes sense to have both.

Thank you for the info. Appreciate it. I also happened to read your tube shootout a couple of days ago which was interesting to say the least. I agree that stacks of adapters aren't pretty and I currently am still digging the prettiness of the amp. Shallow i know, but well, I'm sure you know what i am talking about.

Just a final question. Which do u think gives the best bang for buck to swap first. Rectifier or drive tubes?

 

[TonyNewman]

Thank you for the info. Appreciate it. I also happened to read your tube shootout a couple of days ago which was interesting to say the least. I agree that stacks of adapters aren't pretty and I currently am still digging the prettiness of the amp. Shallow i know, but well, I'm sure you know what i am talking about.

Just a final question. Which do u think gives the best bang for buck to swap first. Rectifier or drive tubes?

 
Depends on the amp. On the WA5 and WA6 I would suggest the drivers matter more than anything else, but there are plenty of folks out there that feel differently on that.
 
The Brimars are so inexpensive I would start there and grab a few, then perhaps look at drivers. The NUs and TS RPs are the best I have tried (NOS or new production), but once you get into 6SN7 territory there are many, many options out there.

 

[bumblebeezack]

Depends on the amp. On the WA5 and WA6 I would suggest the drivers matter more than anything else, but there are plenty of folks out there that feel differently on that.

The Brimars are so inexpensive I would start there and grab a few, then perhaps look at drivers. The NUs and TS RPs are the best I have tried (NOS or new production), but once you get into 6SN7 territory there are many, many options out there.

Thanks again! Learnt a lot from all these exchanges. I'll search up those tubes you recommended and see where it goes. At the same time l wanna see if I can discern a difference after 150 hrs of burn - in as recommended in Woo Audio's manual. And thank you for indirectly raking up my post count. I wanna upload photos but can't until I meet the forum's criteria.

 

[TonyNewman]

Thanks again! Learnt a lot from all these exchanges. I'll search up those tubes you recommended and see where it goes. At the same time l wanna see if I can discern a difference after 150 hrs of burn - in as recommended in Woo Audio's manual. And thank you for indirectly raking up my post count. I wanna upload photos but can't until I meet the forum's criteria.

 
You're very welcome. The forum is at its best when folks are sharing and helping each other out

 

 

[Silent One]

   
Thanks again! Learnt a lot from all these exchanges. I'll search up those tubes you recommended and see where it goes. At the same time l wanna see if I can discern a difference after 150 hrs of burn - in as recommended in Woo Audio's manual. And thank you for indirectly raking up my post count. I wanna upload photos but can't until I meet the forum's criteria.

 Perhaps 10?

 

[isquirrel]

Thanks again! Learnt a lot from all these exchanges. I'll search up those tubes you recommended and see where it goes. At the same time l wanna see if I can discern a difference after 150 hrs of burn - in as recommended in Woo Audio's manual. And thank you for indirectly raking up my post count. I wanna upload photos but can't until I meet the forum's criteria.

One of the most practical ways we can help you is for you to go for common inexpensive tubes like the Brimars and Sylvannia/RCA 6SN7's as they are a known quantity to most of us. Accordingly  we get to understand your sonic tastes and be of better help to you.