[MacedonianHero]

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5998's do not hum at all in my WA2.

Agreed. My first pair of 5998s did hum in my WA2, but they were dud tubes. I have since sourced other 5998s from another retailer without issue. They are spectacular with both the HD800s and T1s! But I still find myself preferring my LCD-2s with the 7236s more "SS" sound.

 

[Skylab]

 
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Wow! You own TV7-D/U. Cool!
 
You're absolutely right about tubes testing BAD. I have a matching pair of used Mullard EL34 that tests VERY BAD and they sound really wonderful when used in my power amp. They've been going strong for a long time and they still test VERY BAD when I do check on them. LIFE TEST is also BAD. Go figure. I only throw them out when they have a short--OF COURSE!
 
 

I assume you also throw them out if they fail the emissions test, yes?  I will keep tubes that test low for transconductance, but not test positive for leaks or shorts.
 

 

[SDMAN]

I'm starting to gather tubes in anticipation of my new WA22's arrival. I have found NOS JAN TUNG-SOL 5998 black plate's (1963 date codes) and NOS 6AS7G black plate NEC's (from the 1970's)  as well. I've seen the Tung-sol 5998's mentioned here, but havent seen anything on the 6AS7G NEC's. Anybody familiar with it? Any estimates on what a reasonable cost should be for these?

 

[bergnerm]

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Resurrection? I bet engineers and contractors had no idea... None! And may have assumed that whatever new technology came along, tubes would get replaced (kicked to the curb!) and no one would care to look back. Your photographs are ooozing with joy - welcome to the club. The very first track I played on my WA6SE was from a Jazz Bassist who hails from Mexico City - "Holidays" by Abraham Laboriel. 
 

I'll bet you're right! I think of one of my mentors, circa 1980, who was a tube expert and considered himself a has-been at the time... I wonder if he's still around
 
What was it about your first track that led you to christen your WA6SE with it?
 
Also, I'll bet the original engineers never conceived that the signal feeding their tube could have originated from a digital source sampled at 96 kHz with 24-bit resolution, and converted to analog

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

I assume you also throw them out if they fail the emissions test, yes?  I will keep tubes that test low for transconductance, but not test positive for leaks or shorts.

The only tube I owned that tested positive for a short was a JAN G.E. 5751 which actually cracked in my fingers after it shorted in my tube tester. It had just pasted its 90-day warranty by 2 days. I have never come across a tube that tested positive for grid leaks but wasn't sure whether I had to throw one out or not if it did test positive--so now I know that I must throw out tubes with grid leaks. My tube tester only tests for Shorts, Emissions, and Grid Leakage--I don't see a dial for transconductance. I don't want my Woo amp to be an expensive tube tester!
 

 

[bergnerm]

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Great photos--I have had my new WA2 for about 10 days now, and I'm loving mine as well.  Also using it with HD800s.  I also have the Sylvania 7236 power tubes.  This setup has me listening to my HD800s more than ever.  
 
I previously had a WA6SE, which didn't play to the HD800s strengths like the WA2 does.  I think this pairing is an excellent one.
 
On a slightly related note, I have a chance to get a pair of Tung Sol 5998s; I know these are slightly higher gain tubes, and I'm wondering if anyone using these in a WA2 or WA22 finds that they hum at all, or if there is any other downside to the higher gain.  My first priority for tubes is that they are totally quiet.
 
 

Thanks, Mike. You clearly have more hours on yours, but after 8 on mine, I agree with those who describe the WA 2 as an amp to relax back with cognac or port and enjoy the thick warm presentation. I'm quite the neophyte, so I can't compare the HD800 WA2 experience with others... it's clearly different than using the NuForce Icon HDP headphone amp (although I am still using it's preamp and DAC)--but it is an impressive combo that very much lends itself to hours of listening.
 
It's great going thru my collection (a hybrid mixture now of flac, mp3, m4a files, of course evolving more towards flac now) and getting a real sense of which recordings are very good and which are mediocre. Some of the recordings I thought would be fantastic on a respectable setup turn out to be so-so (my early Led Zeppelin recordings, for example--the music, of course, is fantastic, but the technical aspects surrounding the recording... What... by Led Zeppelin II, they should have had some blow-your-socks off stuff). In contrast, I though some of the grande collections I've purchased on the cheap would be collections of mediocre recordings clumsily thrown together to appeal to the novice. My Baroque Masterpieces, purchased on the cheap, has some absolutely surprisingly good recordings on it. I'm finding this to be true for some of my other recordings as well.
 
It's fun hunting through the collection to discover some true gems--and having a new, wonderful, mellow amp is going a long ways towards increasing my enjoyment.
 
 
 

 

[Skylab]

 
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The only tube I owned that tested positive for a short was a JAN G.E. 5751 which actually cracked in my fingers after it shorted in my tube tester. It had just pasted its 90-day warranty by 2 days. I have never come across a tube that tested positive for grid leaks but wasn't sure whether I had to throw one out or not if it did test positive--so now I know that I must throw out tubes with grid leaks. My tube tester only tests for Shorts, Emissions, and Grid Leakage--I don't see a dial for transconductance. I don't want my Woo amp to be an expensive tube tester!
 

Yes, leaks and shorts mean you should toss IMO.  My B&K 650 tests for transconductance, but I will keep tubes that test marginally for that.

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

The only tube I owned that tested positive for a short was a JAN G.E. 5751 which actually cracked in my fingers after it shorted in my tube tester. It had just pasted its 90-day warranty by 2 days. I have never come across a tube that tested positive for grid leaks but wasn't sure whether I had to throw one out or not if it did test positive--so now I know that I must throw out tubes with grid leaks. My tube tester only tests for Shorts, Emissions, and Grid Leakage--I don't see a dial for transconductance. I don't want my Woo amp to be an expensive tube tester!
 

An Emissions Test is as good as any. If your tester has been checked/calibrated then it doesn't matter if it reads emissions or transconductance.
Shorts and leakages must be avoided. There is no tester that can test a tube 100%. Even tube makers never had testers that could test their tubes 100%. The tube scores are invented by tube sellers. Sometimes tube scores mean very little. Sorry dannie for hijacking your thread.
 
 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

I'll bet you're right! I think of one of my mentors, circa 1980, who was a tube expert and considered himself a has-been at the time... I wonder if he's still around
 
What was it about your first track that led you to christen your WA6SE with it?
 
Also, I'll bet the original engineers never conceived that the signal feeding their tube could have originated from a digital source sampled at 96 kHz with 24-bit resolution, and converted to analog

Every generation has its turn. Sometimes the words differ, but the same two basic questions are asked followed by a remark. A couple of generations from now, they'll look back with wonder -  "They did what? But why?! If only they realized that the (fill in blank here)..." Yes, they WILL be amused.
 
Though delivery of my 6SE took eight weeks (ordered 2 May, rec'd 9 July), it's not like I needed the extra time to think about what would be my christening track. I knew as soon as logging in to Paypal. I was initially told my amp would arrive in four weeks. I wasn't impatient but did make one inquiry at week five. I ran up against three issues: Woo Audio had strong sales (backlog); a matter of parts; had to shutdown production to attend Consumer Electronic Show out of town.
 
Back to World Class Bassist Abraham Laboriel, Sr. "Holidays" happened to be one of my favorite tracks and also one that I know inside-out. When a player or system is off or something not quite right, if a track has piano in it, you'll become aware rather quickly! His style, song selection (material to record) and the eloquent way he tunes and expresses his bass is a wonderful thing to hear.
 
"Dear Friends" (1993) is a great CD. I had the pleasure to see him live at Club La Ve Lee (Studio City) with Afro-Columbian Saxophonist Justo Almario in '95 - the boys brought the heat! How hot? Drinks on the rocks couldn't stay iced; candle wicks floating in liquid wax; Between drinks, women kept looking at their lipstick holders in frustration - yeah, that hot!
 
Prior to '93, I heard his music as he recorded and toured with others but never his own material. Then one day in '93 I was hangin' out on Sunset Strip inside Virgin Mega Store (West Hollywood) and noticed his CD cover and took a shot - still a favorite! And just down the street, the legendary Tower Records (Sunset Blvd) - found a lot of great music there all the time as well. Especially imports! 
 
One thing that use to draw me to Virgin Mega store was they carried a wide selection of African music. Their distributor was Stern's Music - NY/London. Before Virgin Mega Store, and the commercial Internet, I'd get monthly catalogs mailed to me from Stern's. Then turn around and call the New York store with my order. Or call/fax London long distance with orders. And then pay a premium for 2-3 day Air!
 
Oh but, anyway... thanks all for allowing me to reminisce. Music is always a great medium for memories.
 

 

[Xcalibur255]

All this talk of tube testers has got me thinking again that I need to get one myself sooner or later.  My knowledge of them is basically zero so shopping for one is a bit intimidating under those circumstances.  The few times I've poked around the net for suggestions has yielded surprisingly little talk on the subject.

 

[grokit]

I think that I have finally figured something definitive out as far as what tubes go together best on my WA22. To my ears, the Sophia 274B Princess rectifier goes well with the TS 5998 power tubes, but not so well with the Sylvania 7236 power tubes. Conversely, the EML 5U4G rectifier sounds better with the 7236 power tubes, as opposed to the 5998s. This is with the TSRP oval mica driver tubes installed, listening through the LCD-2 and HD600; I suppose the results could be different with the HD800. 

Is it just me, or does this make sense to anybody else?

 

[dariusf]

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Just thought I would display my newly acquired WA-5, great sounding amp. I will write a more a detail article once I have been to able burn some tubes in and found the ideal sweet sound.

 
Wow this looks great and I love the idea of the plexiglass covers to keep the dust out.

 

[dariusf]

Does anyone have any extra 12AX7 tube sets (4 matched) they would be willing to sell? I got my GES with a set of Sylvania and would love to tube roll this rig.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

I think that I have finally figured something definitive out as far as what tubes go together best on my WA22. To my ears, the Sophia 274B Princess rectifier goes well with the TS 5998 power tubes, but not so well with the Sylvania 7236 power tubes. Conversely, the EML 5U4G rectifier sounds better with the 7236 power tubes, as opposed to the 5998s. This is with the TSRP oval mica driver tubes installed, listening through the LCD-2 and HD600; I suppose the results could be different with the HD800. 

Is it just me, or does this make sense to anybody else?

While I have never tried the EML, your post makes perfect sense to me, for the following reason: Sophia = bright + 5998 = not, result = GOOD.  7236 = bright + EML = not, result = GOOD.  An oversimplification, but you get the idea...

 

[mikemalter]

 
Quote:

I think that I have finally figured something definitive out as far as what tubes go together best on my WA22. To my ears, the Sophia 274B Princess rectifier goes well with the TS 5998 power tubes, but not so well with the Sylvania 7236 power tubes. Conversely, the EML 5U4G rectifier sounds better with the 7236 power tubes, as opposed to the 5998s. This is with the TSRP oval mica driver tubes installed, listening through the LCD-2 and HD600; I suppose the results could be different with the HD800. 

Is it just me, or does this make sense to anybody else?

This makes sense to me.  In my rig anything to keep it from getting too bright.  I settled on the following combination: EML, TSRP (round and oval micas) and GEC 6AS7G.  In a pinch I can use TS 6AS7G's.  If I put a Sophia into the mix it's too bright, or if I put in any 6080 (except the RCA) it's too bright.  If I want to increase the screech factor by orders of magnitude previously unknown to mankind, throw in a pair of Sylvania 7236's.  I am listening through an HD800.  At some point I'm going to try an LCD-2.
 
Quote:

While I have never tried the EML, your post makes perfect sense to me, for the following reason: Sophia = bright + 5998 = not, result = GOOD.  7236 = bright + EML = not, result = GOOD.  An oversimplification, but you get the idea...

Makes perfect sense to me.