[magiccabbage]

I have an original WA5 for sale if anyone is interested. PM me. cheers

 

[Porteroso]

  Tried tung sol rp 6sn7 for first time in wa5le: they are transparent with touch of warmth and clear treble extension. Tried them with the copper caps. Very nice tubes - I can see why they demand such a high price. The tung sol 6f8g I have are very similar but seem to have a little more warmth and holographic bloom but was using with tube rectifiers. Anyway, both are excellent tubes.

Yes, they are. From recollection, the 6SN7 and 6F8G are essentially identical tubes. If you do listen to both with the same rectification, and spot any differences, it would be good to know about it.
 
The copper caps are just great for the money, the more I listen. Hard to recommend the Brimar anymore.

 

[Badas]

  Yes, they are. From recollection, the 6SN7 and 6F8G are essentially identical tubes. If you do listen to both with the same rectification, and spot any differences, it would be good to know about it.
 
The copper caps are just great for the money, the more I listen. Hard to recommend the Brimar anymore.

I've heard TS RP 6SN7, 6SL7 and 6C8G. I didn't pick up on any sound differences. Just 6L and 6C produced a higher gain.
 
Hard to recommend TAK274B either.

Still I like having two in the collection.

 

[jhljhl]

 
I've heard TS RP 6SN7, 6SL7 and 6C8G. I didn't pick up on any sound differences. Just 6L and 6C produced a higher gain.
 
Hard to recommend TAK274B either.

Still I like having two in the collection.

I preferred the ts 6f8g over the 6sl7 because the latter sounded smoother but did not have the air and extension of the former with both using tube rectifiers.
 
Also, tried telefunken 12ax7 using 6sn7 adapters they sound very good with the hd650 but seemed like not enough gain or something like detailed but "thin" for the hd800- sounded good but not as good as with the warmer hd650. As is known wa5le is midrange rich but the tele's seem to clean it up which allows the details to show up but reduces the midrange bloom.

 

[Badas]

 
I preferred the ts 6f8g over the 6sl7 because the latter sounded smoother but did not have the air and extension of the former with both using tube rectifiers.
 
Also, tried telefunken 12ax7 using 6sn7 adapters they sound very good with the hd650 but seemed like not enough gain or something like detailed but "thin" for the hd800- sounded good but not as good as with the warmer hd650.

Interesting stuff.

 

[jhljhl]

 
Interesting stuff.

Yeah also ECC80 are good drivers too.

 

[pervysage]

WA22 will remain in our products portfolio unchanged. WA22- $1999 for base model, $2499 with PRE output.

Just wondering. What would be some common uses of the pre output for people who go with that option? And what benefits do you get from using it?

 

[Badas]

Just wondering. What would be some common uses of the pre output for people who go with that option? And what benefits do you get from using it?

It's really only useful if you want to colour the sound to another amplifier. To get the tube sound signature to another amp.
It gets used a lot for speakers.
 
DAC > Tube amp (then colours the sound) > more powerful solid state amp > speakers. In this setup you get the basic tube sound signature however some holographics will be lost.

 

[pervysage]

It's really only useful if you want to colour the sound to another amplifier. To get the tube sound signature to another amp.
It gets used a lot for speakers.

DAC > Tube amp (then colours the sound) > more powerful solid state amp > speakers. In this setup you get the basic tube sound signature however some holographics will be lost.

Cool, thanks for the explanation. That does sound pretty useful if wanting to inject some tube sound into a speaker setup.

I am guessing the volume control on the WA22 would be used in conjuction with a power amp or can you use a integrated amplifier and have the WA22 send full signal it?

 

[Badas]

Cool, thanks for the explanation. That does sound pretty useful if wanting to inject some tube sound into a speaker setup.

I am guessing the volume control on the WA22 would be used in conjuction with a power amp or can you use a integrated amplifier and have the WA22 send full signal it?

 
I don't know about that one. There is a few members here that have that added option on the WA22. Try PMing Contrails.

 

[thecrow]

Looking for a balanced DAC for my WA22 with Sennheiser Hd800s. I usually listen to classical music.

Requirements: 1. Around $1000 dollar. 2. MUST be able to work fine with a CD transport/player! 

For example: I know Schiit Gumby is a good choice, but it is not compatible with most CD transports/players (it would make extensively clicking sounds and even erase the first couple of seconds of each song in a CD).

Thank you guys a lot!!!

Member "project86" has done a lot of dac reviews that might be helpful

 

[pervysage]

What's up with the WA22-SE? I was hoping to see some impressions from RMAF but there have been zero. Did the prototype even end up being shown at the show?

 

[phase0]

What's up with the WA22-SE? I was hoping to see some impressions from RMAF but there have been zero. Did the prototype even end up being shown at the show?

 
It was there in the JPS Labs room, next to a WA5. I listened for a while. I thought 'this is okay', and then I listened to the WA5 and I enjoyed it more (both with the Abyss). I didn't take any notes so IDK that I can really get any more specific. My conclusion was that I would skip it and get a WA5. I chatted w/ Mike briefly and his response basically 'it's a prototype'. I think for the suggested asking price it needs more work and should be on the same level as the WA5. Both systems were connected to the Abyss. It didn't sound bad and nothing offended me about it. I just thought the WA5 system was better. I listened to the WA234 for about 30 seconds and that quick glimpse I couldn't really tell any diff from the WA5. As far as taste preferences I thought the WA22-SE was too dark. I have a silver preference as it's easier to see the knob settings. Probably not a big deal especially for the people that want the black theme but I would have liked to have more visible settings with contrast to the black.

 

[musicman59]

   
It was there in the JPS Labs room, next to a WA5. I listened for a while. I thought 'this is okay', and then I listened to the WA5 and I enjoyed it more (both with the Abyss). I didn't take any notes so IDK that I can really get any more specific. My conclusion was that I would skip it and get a WA5. I chatted w/ Mike briefly and his response basically 'it's a prototype'. I think for the suggested asking price it needs more work and should be on the same level as the WA5. Both systems were connected to the Abyss. It didn't sound bad and nothing offended me about it. I just thought the WA5 system was better. I listened to the WA234 for about 30 seconds and that quick glimpse I couldn't really tell any diff from the WA5. As far as taste preferences I thought the WA22-SE was too dark. I have a silver preference as it's easier to see the knob settings. Probably not a big deal especially for the people that want the black theme but I would have liked to have more visible settings with contrast to the black.

I did the same thing and agree with you. IMO the WA5 (LE) sounded better at least with the Abyss.

 

[pervysage]

It was there in the JPS Labs room, next to a WA5. I listened for a while. I thought 'this is okay', and then I listened to the WA5 and I enjoyed it more (both with the Abyss). I didn't take any notes so IDK that I can really get any more specific. My conclusion was that I would skip it and get a WA5. I chatted w/ Mike briefly and his response basically 'it's a prototype'. I think for the suggested asking price it needs more work and should be on the same level as the WA5. Both systems were connected to the Abyss. It didn't sound bad and nothing offended me about it. I just thought the WA5 system was better. I listened to the WA234 for about 30 seconds and that quick glimpse I couldn't really tell any diff from the WA5. As far as taste preferences I thought the WA22-SE was too dark. I have a silver preference as it's easier to see the knob settings. Probably not a big deal especially for the people that want the black theme but I would have liked to have more visible settings with contrast to the black.

I did the same thing and agree with you. IMO the WA5 (LE) sounded better at least with the Abyss.

Cool. Thanks for the impressions guys.

That's too bad, maybe it still needs some more work in prototype form before it's ready.