[tupac0306]

Order my WA 6 SE last night

..
 
At the moment I listen to music from my laptop. I got 2 DACs. Nuforce HDP and Apogee duet 2.Will they be able to pair with my WA 6 SE well? Or I need to upgrade my dac?

 

[Golfnutz]

 
Quote:

Per the seller's listing they were tested on a Hickock 752A.  The listing was unusually detailed and the seller had a strong history of selling tubes so I had no reason to be wary (I hope).  Part of me is scared to ever invest in a tester now for fear of finding out some of my tube collection is not what I thought I was buying. 
 
It doesn't seem out of the question, though, assuming the 752A measures to 20,000 or more.  I was reading at alltubetesters.com that the Hickock 539C can read all the way to 60,000um for example.  Perhaps it is all in the conversions for the specific tube in question?

True, my tester goes to 60,000 as well - but that's on the low setting.  The maximum Hi setting is 15,000, which is what the 5998 calls for. He must be using one of the low settings then, and I'm not sure if it's just a one-to-one equivalent or your suppose to divide by either 2 (30,000) or 4 (60,000) to get the actual number. I wish I had a 5998 tube to test with, then I could let you know for certain. 

 

[emremusic]

Shipsupt and I were discussing the same thing. 
 
Right now I'm enjoying my current setup with the Apogee and 6SE, unfortunately I haven't heard any higher quality dacs, so I'm not the most experienced person on this. I bought Apogee because it's so much more than a dac. 
 
It is very odd about the Apogee 2 not making a big splash. The first one was a Very big deal in the musician community. Nobody seems to be talking about it now. 
 
I may do something very radical, and save my money and wait!! Instead of upgrading to a new dac right now, I will wait for the new dacs from Woo, and Schiit and see how they compare to Matrix, Little dot and other -$1000 dacs on the scene right now. 
 
Quote:

Order my WA 6 SE last night

..
 
At the moment I listen to music from my laptop. I got 2 DACs. Nuforce HDP and Apogee duet 2.Will they be able to pair with my WA 6 SE well? Or I need to upgrade my dac?

 

 

[tupac0306]

Emremusic, Have you got any idea how to connect my duet 2 to WA 6 SE? Since duet 2 upgraded to balanced output from the duet 1. So what kind of cables do I need? unbalanced mono ones? Or stereo ones?

 
Quote:

Shipsupt and I were discussing the same thing. 
 
Right now I'm enjoying my current setup with the Apogee and 6SE, unfortunately I haven't heard any higher quality dacs, so I'm not the most experienced person on this. I bought Apogee because it's so much more than a dac. 
 
It is very odd about the Apogee 2 not making a big splash. The first one was a Very big deal in the musician community. Nobody seems to be talking about it now. 
 
I may do something very radical, and save my money and wait!! Instead of upgrading to a new dac right now, I will wait for the new dacs from Woo, and Schiit and see how they compare to Matrix, Little dot and other -$1000 dacs on the scene right now. 


 

 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Order my WA 6 SE last night

..
 
At the moment I listen to music from my laptop. I got 2 DACs. Nuforce HDP and Apogee duet 2.Will they be able to pair with my WA 6 SE well? Or I need to upgrade my dac?

Both DACS should serve you. Some of us here would like to know more about the Apogee Duet 2 as well (WA6SE owners, too!). Although your waiting for your amp, what's your impression so for with the Duet 2? Did you have or hear the Duet 1? Lastly, does the manual provide the specs that Apogee refuses to publish or comment about - S/N Ratio; Dynamic range; THD and so on... do tell!

 

[Icenine2]

O,
 
Sweet!!!!  And what a deal too especially with BlackGates!  Do you prefer the T-1 or the LC?  Or both?
Quote:

Arrived home this afternoon and found some presents on the doorstep... a copy of the 2010 MFSL CD release of "The Yes Album," and a beautiful WA2 with parts upgrades! I could barely contain my excitement. Right now, I'm running WE 421As, Amperex Holland White Label 6DJ8s and Telefunken EZ80s. It's early in the game, of course, but already there's a lot about the WA2 that I prefer over the WA6SE. Stay tuned...
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Icenine2]

Sky,
 
The Fleetwood Mac Rumours on 45 RPM remastered by Stevy Hoffman is absolute killer!  I guarantee you've never heard it like this.  I'd heard this 1,000's of times especially w/"Classic Rock" beating to death.  After I started listening I never stopped until the whole album played.
 
Quote:

Moat of the music I get digitally I get by buying CD's, and of course SACD or DVD-A on the rare occasion it's available. But playback is mostly via lossless files from various iDevices.

OTOH, I also buy a lot of Vinyl still

 

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

O,
Sweet!!!!  And what a deal too especially with BlackGates!  Do you prefer the T-1 or the LC?  Or both?

I thought that Black Gates were no longer available. That's great you snagged 'em for your WA2.
 
Under normal use (a few hours a day) how long do you think caps last before you have to replace them? We've all talked about the life of tubes but I also hear that caps have a lifespan as well.
 

 

[Icenine2]

I've had my EML 5U4G replacement under one day and what a difference.  I had been running my stocker Shu (looked for replacements in Tung Sol etc w/no luck while I was waiting)
 
BTW-Silver Woo's are dust magnets as well.  You just don't see it!  I use one of those Swiffer Dusters.
 
Interesting comment by Tyll Herstens concerning measurements of the newer LC's to be better over at the LC thread  http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/453116/audeze-lcd-2-orthos/12045#post_7495115
 
Olias.  Your post had me put on the MFSL Yes.  Sounds great!!

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

Quote:

O,
 
Sweet!!!!  And what a deal too especially with BlackGates!  Do you prefer the T-1 or the LC?  Or both?

 

 
Thanks, Icenine2. As a compulsive A/B'er, I'd have loved to have compared the BG and non-BG versions, but I'm not complaining too much.

 
Right now, I'd still have to say that I prefer the Beyers just slightly. The LCD-2s sound great as well, though. My first impression is that I'll reach for the Beyers when I want to listen with my head, and for the LCD-2s when I want to listen with my soul. Sounds kind of Oprah-like, I guess, but...
 
 

 

[nututubes]

 
Quote:

I'm listening tonight to your recommended tube profile and it's really nice.  I've got the TS 5998/ECC32/GZ37 in and although I only have about 10 hours on the GZ37 and not that much more on the 5998's, there is a lot of power and dynamic energy to the music tonight.  How long did it take the 5998 and GZ37 to break in?
 

 
 

To be honest Mike, and hopefully not controversial, IMHO, all the tubes I have sound the same to me as they did the first time out of the box. If there is such a "break in" phenomena, I can't tell the difference. Further, if there is a difference, it must be minute.
I feel the same way about interconnects, headphone cables, headphones, amps, preamps etc. If they sound good on day one, it's a keeper. Any changes that occur later on would be hard to detect unless you can actually remember what it sounded like earlier.
 
This is why I find it difficult to roll tubes. By the time I shut down the amp, let it cool, replace tubes, turn it back on, let it warm up....I can't make a judgment like this. If I had a switch and could A/B test the tubes, it might be different.

 
Consider also that @ 62 yrs., I might just be hard of hearing.

 

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

Quote:

I thought that Black Gates were no longer available. That's great you snagged 'em for your WA2.
 
Under normal use (a few hours a day) how long do you think caps last before you have to replace them? We've all talked about the life of tubes but I also hear that caps have a lifespan as well.
 

I picked this amp up over at Audiogon. Someone had actually posted the link here, and after the WA2 not selling for a week, I couldn't take it anymore and rescued it from limbo. Jack has removed the BG upgrade from his page, but even though it's not officially available I suspect he's got a few more caps lying around if anyone asks...
 
I have relatively limited experience with the BGs, so I can't really comment on longevity. I believe my Mapletree Super II used the Blackgates, but I only had it for about six months and experienced no failures during that time. Anyone?
 

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

Quote:

 
Olias.  Your post had me put on the MFSL Yes.  Sounds great!!

I'm pretty impressed with the MFSL "Yes Album" as well. I have the original (non-remaster) CD from back in the 80s and a relatively early vinyl pressing. The MoFi version is an improvement over both, and though it's not a night and day difference I'm sure I'll reach for the MFSL from now on.

 

[Icenine2]

I agree.  Now if they could only get a great Close to the Edge (throw in Brain Salad too-I think I own every version of that one except SACD)
 
BTW-I posted the link from Audiogon.
 
Heres a Black WA22 for sale $1600/no tube upgrade http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/555140/fs-woo-audio-wooaudio-wa22
 

 
Quote:

I'm pretty impressed with the MFSL "Yes Album" as well. I have the original (non-remaster) CD from back in the 80s and a relatively early vinyl pressing. The MoFi version is an improvement over both, and though it's not a night and day difference I'm sure I'll reach for the MFSL from now on.

 

 

[Golfnutz]

Quote:

I've had my EML 5U4G replacement under one day and what a difference.  I had been running my stocker Shu (looked for replacements in Tung Sol etc w/no luck while I was waiting)
 
BTW-Silver Woo's are dust magnets as well.  You just don't see it!  I use one of those Swiffer Dusters.
 
Interesting comment by Tyll Herstens concerning measurements of the newer LC's to be better over at the LC thread  http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/453116/audeze-lcd-2-orthos/12045#post_7495115
 
Olias.  Your post had me put on the MFSL Yes.  Sounds great!!

Mullard GZ37 is an excellent replacement at less then half the price.