Woo Audio Amp Owner Unite

[sillysally]

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^ I have to say that the Alps RK50 pot looks its weight in gold. It is an elegant piece. I actually asked Jack to install it in my WA2 and he said that he couldn't use that pot because it is too big to fit in the WA2 chassis.
 
I remember reading about how you obtained those Western Electric 300Bs. Do you still keep in contact with those guys?

Yes the Alps RK50 is a big pot, Jack had to mill the bottom plate on my WA5LE amp to get it to fit, so part of the Alps is actually lower than the bottom plate.
After reading about one of this threads members complaining about his stock pot getting very hot and almost locking up I thought that in a Amp like the WA5LE this pot would service me well. Anyway Jack had a few from a power buy still left in his inventory and gave me a good price on the Alps and labor.
 
No I am sorry to say I don't, but all anyone would have to do is stop in there great museum down in Alabama, or good to there web site. http://alabamahistoricalradiosociety.org/
 
 


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What was the tube problem exactly, and did Jack end up changing the design in the current production?
 
Somewhat worried about getting an amp with such expensive tubes after reading what happened to dannie01.  In the summer it's not uncommon for the power to go out and come back on when everyone's using their AC and the power grid can't handle it.  Am I supposed to be racing for the power switch when this happens and turn off the amp so it doesn't blow?  And then wait for the tubes to cool down again before turning it back on? 
 


 

Yes Jack did change the V-Caps and a few other components about a month before I got my WA5LE, and he also added at that time a pair of user adjustable alternators to the amp (nice addition). However Jack did change the parts upgrade about 5 months ago as I said in my last post.
I am very very careful with my WA5LE because of the very rare WE300B's I have in it, and to use any other 300B's just doesn't cut it for me.
In my case yes I would race over to my WA5LE and turn it off and leave it off until it cooled to room temp.
Please don't misunderstand what I am saying, the WA5/LE is a great amp and probably is not a big profit amp for Jack because of the time it takes him to build them and to a lesser degree the components that gos into the WA5/LE. Anyway I think that is one of the reasons why Jack is coming out with his new Amp that I guess will be similar to the WA5/LE except for one thing the price!!
Here is a picture with the Treasure in my WA5LE that Jack sold me. Note how close the drive tubes are to the power tubes, imo not good at all.

 
 

 

[dannie01]

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Danny,
You should try this Brimar. I have them for my WA5-LE and really like them.
http://www.upscaleaudio.com/products/Brimar-5R4GY.html
 
Also this Mullard GZ33
http://www.upscaleaudio.com/products/Mullard-GZ33-%7B47%7D-CV5745.html
 
 

Wow, they look very nice, thanks Jose.
 


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[size=12pt]My answer is no. I made a mistake dropping the A at first. The 5R4 tube is not the same as a 5AR4 tube. The 5R4 is like a 5U4 but designed to operate at higher voltages like 600V for transmitter tubes but that is not what you want. The 5AR4 has greater current capacity with less voltage sag which makes it a better choice in an amp. Also the 5AR4 is slower to warm up and gives the power tubes more time to warm up before all the high voltage is applied.  THe GZ33 might be a good substitute for a 5AR4 [/size]
 

 
Thanks for the information again, John.

 

[dannie01]

Some up-date pic of the WA5LE with Fivre 5Z3 with sapters, the tubes are now with only about 20 minutes, need more burn-in to open up but initial impression is very nice sounding.
 

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

Some up-date pic of the WA5LE with Fivre 5Z3 with sapters, the tubes are now with only about 20 minutes, need more burn-in to open up but initial impression is very nice sounding.

Nice pictures. Thanks. Is that shop where you bought the tubes near you? You picked those up fast.

 

[dannie01]

Quote:

Nice pictures. Thanks. Is that shop where you bought the tubes near you? You picked those up fast.

I bought them on a local forum and the seller took it to the subway station near my office today, you know, HK is a small city.

 

 

[Clayton SF]

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I bought them on a local forum and the seller took it to the subway station near my office today, you know, HK is a small city.

Wow! HK is great. Tubes to Go! We Deliver!
 
 

 

[Xcalibur255]

Just an interesting tidbit I thought I'd drop here.  Whilst looking longingly at the WA22 product page at wooaudio.com I noticed the tube upgrade options changed.  The Treasures are no longer listed and in their place are greyglass RCA VT-231 NOS.  Listed at the same $280 the Treasures were at..... I'll let everybody form their own opinions on that part.  I was considering selling mine since I seem to really prefer the sylvania sound, but maybe they'll have better synergy in the WA22.
 
I'm guessing there is a production shortage on the Treasures right now.  On a side note I've been wondering if Jack was going to offer their Psvane 6SN7-T as an option too or that is tied exclusively to grant fidelity.

 

[xinque]

Was wondering if anyone had an opinion on whether the WA5 parts upgrade is worth it.  Think I remember reading in a thread somewhere that the improvement would be less so than tube rolling, or outright switching to a headphone with a different signature.  Only have a T1 right now, and wondering if I'd be better off skimping the upgrade and buying an LCD2 instead.  Anyone have an opinion?
 
Which brings me to my next question, for driving LCD2s would it make any difference plugging the headphone into the K1K port on a WA5 as opposed to the 1/4" on the WA5-LE?

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

Just an interesting tidbit I thought I'd drop here.  Whilst looking longingly at the WA22 product page at wooaudio.com I noticed the tube upgrade options changed.  The Treasures are no longer listed and in their place are greyglass RCA VT-231 NOS.  Listed at the same $280 the Treasures were at..... I'll let everybody form their own opinions on that part.  I was considering selling mine since I seem to really prefer the sylvania sound, but maybe they'll have better synergy in the WA22.
 
I'm guessing there is a production shortage on the Treasures right now.  On a side note I've been wondering if Jack was going to offer their Psvane 6SN7-T as an option too or that is tied exclusively to grant fidelity.

I saw that too. My guess is that Jack saw how cheap the Treasures are going for from other vendors, around $130 for a matched pair or $180 in the gift box so he decided to move on to something else to preserve his margin. I am not knocking him for doing so at all, as his primary business is amps after all and selling tubes is more of a courtesy. There does seem to be plenty of them around.
 
 
Quote:

Was wondering if anyone had an opinion on whether the WA5 parts upgrade is worth it.  Think I remember reading in a thread somewhere that the improvement would be less so than tube rolling, or outright switching to a headphone with a different signature.  Only have a T1 right now, and wondering if I'd be better off skimping the upgrade and buying an LCD2 instead.  Anyone have an opinion?
 
Which brings me to my next question, for driving LCD2s would it make any difference plugging the headphone into the K1K port on a WA5 as opposed to the 1/4" on the WA5-LE?

Nice dilemma! If it was me I would get the parts upgrade, it's the only one left that involves the Blackgate caps which aren't even made any more. You can always get the LCD-2 later but this is your one shot at the parts upgrade.
 
 

 
I don't have any actual experience with the WA5 but I do have experience with the headphones and I would say that the K1000 port makes the most sense for the lower efficiency HiFiMAN headphones and the K1000 (duh!), while the LCD-2 doesn't even demand as much power as the HD800 IME.

 

[spagetka]

I had a chance to listen to LCD2 on my WA5 and found out that LCD2 sounds like HD650 with bigger drivers. A lot of comments here recommend HE6.
 
If you like the T1, instead of buying another headphones, you should spend the money on tubes/dampers/... 

 
Quote:

Was wondering if anyone had an opinion on whether the WA5 parts upgrade is worth it.  Think I remember reading in a thread somewhere that the improvement would be less so than tube rolling, or outright switching to a headphone with a different signature.  Only have a T1 right now, and wondering if I'd be better off skimping the upgrade and buying an LCD2 instead.  Anyone have an opinion?
 
Which brings me to my next question, for driving LCD2s would it make any difference plugging the headphone into the K1K port on a WA5 as opposed to the 1/4" on the WA5-LE?

 

 

[musicman59]

Quote:

Was wondering if anyone had an opinion on whether the WA5 parts upgrade is worth it.  Think I remember reading in a thread somewhere that the improvement would be less so than tube rolling, or outright switching to a headphone with a different signature.  Only have a T1 right now, and wondering if I'd be better off skimping the upgrade and buying an LCD2 instead.  Anyone have an opinion?
 
Which brings me to my next question, for driving LCD2s would it make any difference plugging the headphone into the K1K port on a WA5 as opposed to the 1/4" on the WA5-LE?

 
 Yes, there is a difference in output power between the K1K output and either of the 1/4" jacks in either the WA5 or the WA5-LE. The K1K output has more power so it is more suitable for the HE-6 and LCD-2. The LCD-3 are more efficient than the HE-6 and can run find out of teh 1/4" but in my experience they sound even better with more power. I tried them driectly to the speaker tabs of my Threshold T1 and they sounded as a totally different headphones opening up even more.
 
You can alwyas upgrade tubes or buy different headphones but when you order a new amplifier there is just one shot to get th eparts upgrade. I personally did not only the parts upgrade but also sent Jack Neotech OCC copper wire to use in my amp instead of his standard wire. My amp has all the upgrades with the exception of the RK50 pot and I am very happy with it.

 

[dannie01]

Tube experts, I need your advise on these Mullard GZ34 below, it's a double o getter fat/ black base, are they good for the WA5LE?. Compare with Mullard GZ34 brown base,Mullard GZ33/CV5745 (with pic below) and 5AR4, which one will sound better with WA5LE, thanks a lot for your input.
 
Actually, I'm dilemma in these two.

 

[dannie01]

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by musicman59 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
  I tried them driectly to the speaker tabs of my Threshold T1 and they sounded as a totally different headphones opening up even more.
 
 

Jose, I read somewhere in this thread claimed that due to the output impedance is different, it is too danger to connect the LCD-2 or a HE-6 with a normal amp's speaker output. In what way you connect the headphone with your phones to the Threshold?
 
 

 

[Skylab]

Grey-glass RCA VT-231 are nice tubes, but even NOS $280/pair is very high IMO.

 

[jc9394]

Danny, I may be wrong but here is what my impression on GZ34/7

GZ37>metal base GZ34>fat black base GZ34>black base GZ34>brown base GZ34.

I just won a pair of GZ37 from fleabay, I will let you know if my impression changes between metal base GZ34 and GZ37.