[BirdManOfCT]

  So I ordered a WA2 during the recent promotion, and I got it last Friday. Listened to it that night and Saturday afternoon, it was great. I went out of town for work Saturday night and didn't get home until late last night, so after I got home today I was excited to get some listening time in. To my surprise, it looks like one of the tubes has failed. Less than 7 hours of listening! I've already sent an email to WA about it, hopefully they can help me out. I guess in the meantime I might as well start considering some new tubes -- any suggestions?
 
By coincidence, one of the sticks of RAM (DDR4!) in my desktop failed right before I went on the trip too. Things are just piling up!
 
 
[As soon as I finished posting here, I got a reply from Jack. Says they will send me a replacement tomorrow. Literally less than 10 minutes after sending the email to them, and it's already 11pm on that side of the country!]
 

 
A picture of my main setup while I'm at it. 

That's great service!

 

[kokushu]

So I was installing the tung sol 6f8g with a Chinese bought adapter.  When I get it start I get this whirling sound in my left headphone.  It doesn't make that sound when I turn the amp volume on the way down.  But when I start to have music through it no matter how much I turn down it would make that sound.  Any of idea of what is the cause?

 

[Angelbelow]

   
I have put another 50+ hours onto the SERPs (for a total in the 100-150 range), and they appear to have stabilised - I can't detect any further changes.
 
What a great tube. I was initially thinking I might have made a poor investment compared to the Psvane 300B replica. Not anymore - the SERPs have matured into something very special indeed.
 
Compared to the Psvane WE300B replica the SERPs are:

1. A touch darker
2. More extended, particularly in the bass
3. Slightly more detailed

 
The Psvane is still more engaging in the vocals, but only just. This has been the biggest change I have noticed during the burn in - the SERP mid range now has that magic that can draw you into the music with the vocals that it was missing before.
 
Overall, these tubes are very, very similar. Both are superb sounding and I would be happy with either set in my WA5. Put a gun to my head and force me to choose just one set and it would be the SERPs. They do several things better than the replicas, and in the critical area of vocals they come so very close to the engaging musicality of the WE300B replicas that I could easily make the choice.
 
A much harder question to answer would be "does the SERP justify the $300 price difference?" (roughly $1200 vs $900 per pair). Given how close these tubes are in performance - possibly not - but at this level it is all about that last 5%. If we weren't mildly obsessive audiophile nutters we wouldn't own a WA5 in the first place

 
If your budget can make it to the SERPs I would go for it, if not then the Psvane WE300B replicas are going to give you almost the same level of performance, plus a slightly superior mid range experience. Either are going to make for a happy audiophile.
 
I would not recommend purchasing one set if you already own the other - these tubes overlap so much that it might not be a good use of your funds.

 
Awesome review. Definitely helpful as I haven't decided on a 300b upgrade just yet. Going to give the stock tubes a good run before upgrading the 300bs. I already have a few, albeit, cheaper tube upgrades for the rectifier (RCA) and the driver (Sylvanias) so looking forward to trying them out as well.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

  So I ordered a WA2 during the recent promotion, and I got it last Friday. Listened to it that night and Saturday afternoon, it was great. I went out of town for work Saturday night and didn't get home until late last night, so after I got home today I was excited to get some listening time in. To my surprise, it looks like one of the tubes has failed. Less than 7 hours of listening! I've already sent an email to WA about it, hopefully they can help me out. I guess in the meantime I might as well start considering some new tubes -- any suggestions?
 
By coincidence, one of the sticks of RAM (DDR4!) in my desktop failed right before I went on the trip too. Things are just piling up!
 
 
[As soon as I finished posting here, I got a reply from Jack. Says they will send me a replacement tomorrow. Literally less than 10 minutes after sending the email to them, and it's already 11pm on that side of the country!]
 

 
A picture of my main setup while I'm at it. 

 
 A replacement "matched pair" is on its way to you.  Please feel free to reach out anytime if you have additional questions or concerns.  We're here to help.  

 

[musicman59]

  So I was installing the tung sol 6f8g with a Chinese bought adapter.  When I get it start I get this whirling sound in my left headphone.  It doesn't make that sound when I turn the amp volume on the way down.  But when I start to have music through it no matter how much I turn down it would make that sound.  Any of idea of what is the cause?

I had a noise problem with a pair of adapters that were using a non-shield wire to the cap. After the wires were replaced with better ones the noise went away. Sometimes those wires can capture noise from the tubes or transformers so they need to be shielded well. I found out about the with the wires because trying to troubleshoot the issue I covered them with aluminum foil and the noise went away so after that the cables were replaces with thinker and shielded ones.

 

[Stereolab42]

  So I was installing the tung sol 6f8g with a Chinese bought adapter.  When I get it start I get this whirling sound in my left headphone.  It doesn't make that sound when I turn the amp volume on the way down.  But when I start to have music through it no matter how much I turn down it would make that sound.  Any of idea of what is the cause?

 
Did you get the adapters I recommended on the 6SN7 thread? You need all-plastic adapters, the ones with a metal base gather interference. These work:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tube-adaptor-6F8G-to-6SN7-Socket-NEW-/171555247064
 
I'm sure Glenn makes these also, and would have gone to him next.

 

[musicman59]

   
Did you get the adapters I recommended on the 6SN7 thread? You need all-plastic adapters, the ones with a metal base gather interference. These work:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tube-adaptor-6F8G-to-6SN7-Socket-NEW-/171555247064
 
I'm sure Glenn makes these also, and would have gone to him next.

+1  on Gelnn adapters. They are great. 

 

[Badas]

 A replacement "matched pair" is on its way to you.  Please feel free to reach out anytime if you have additional questions or concerns.  We're here to help.  

Nice to know. Great support.

Listening to my WA22 right now. What a dream sound.

Mullard GZ32, RCA 6AS7G's and RCA 6SN7GT Greyglass.

I use the WA22 everyday and I don't think this amp could have been designed any better.

 

[BirdManOfCT]

  +1  on Gelnn adapters. They are great. 

Off topic, I like your Memorex poster avatar. I always liked Maxell better, but that poster was great!

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

   
 A replacement "matched pair" is on its way to you.  Please feel free to reach out anytime if you have additional questions or concerns.  We're here to help.  

A1 ++    Awesome service from a great and caring company.  Nice one Woo Audio.   

 

[MIKELAP]

 

  +1  on Gelnn adapters. They are great. 

Off topic, I like your Memorex poster avatar. I always liked Maxell better, but that poster was great!

i had the speakers in that add JBL L100

 

[TonyNewman]

   
Awesome review. Definitely helpful as I haven't decided on a 300b upgrade just yet. Going to give the stock tubes a good run before upgrading the 300bs. I already have a few, albeit, cheaper tube upgrades for the rectifier (RCA) and the driver (Sylvanias) so looking forward to trying them out as well.

 
There is something that I didn't mention in my comparison of the SERPs vs Psvane replicas, as it is a total non-issue for me, but I have read comments/reviews from other folks who have found it to be a problem. Tonal balance / tonal emphasis in the SERPs.
 
The replicas have a tonal emphasis exactly where you would expect a WE300B replica to have one - smack in the vocal range. This is part of what makes them slightly better for vocal centric tracks IMHO - the other part is the extra level of velvety smoothness they give to the vocals (female vocals in particular).
 
The SERPs seem to have a tonal emphasis slightly above the vocal range - somewhere in the high upper mids / lower treble (8-10kHz?). This is probably not ideal, but I find it a non-issue because:

• I rarely notice it unless I go for searching for it, and
• It does not interfere with my enjoyment of the music.

 
These are very subtle effects to my ears, and I really hesitate to mention it at all, as it might give the impression of being a serious flaw in the SERPs. I don't think it is.
 
If I am listening critically for the purpose of comparing / reviewing tubes, then I will notice the SERPs having a tonal emphasis that is a little off to my ears, but if I am listening for enjoyment of the music, then I rarely notice it (if at all).
 
If you think that the above issue might be a problem for you, then I would recommend the Psvane WE300B replicas instead (or try the EML 300B mesh ... etc). The SERPs do so many things right that it might be a mistake to pass on them for this reason, but everyone's tastes and preferences are different. YMMV.

 

[Audioclyde]

I really like my SERPs in my Manley preamp, but I'm a female vocal/midrange freak, so your description of the Psvane Replicas still has me very tempted ; on the other hand I may just save up for a pair of Takatsuki's!

Thanks again for your impressions; I've found very little info from users of the Replicas.

Best,

Randy

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Hi All,
FYI;
Compared my WEE & 009's electrostatic set up (connected to my Chord Cyan Click Integrated amp - 110W version balanced connected to my QBD76 DAC which was connected to my Mac Book Pro running 44kHz ripped CD files via Audivana) again Friday gone with a HeadFi.org members BHSE & Esoteric CD Player.  
 
The BHSE set up had a better sound i.e. warmer not so bright sound, better sound stage and slightly deeper clearer bass but not by a huge margin.  
 
Compared to the cost outlay of my WEE set up (second hand items total cost less than £3k approx. $5k) a lot less than compared to the BHSE set up (over $15k) the sound quality difference wasn't a huge margin to warrant the extra outlay.   And also my system had quite cheap interconnects and power supply leads compared to the power conditioner and high end cables which run into a few $1000's !  
 
So the WEE can hold it's head high when connected to good pre-amps and amps. If you already have a good speaker hifi system then for the cost of the WEE its a bargain !    And when it's connected to a hi-end hifi speaker system it should be even better.   
 
When Im back home in Spain for Xmas and New Year vacation I will be connecting my WEE and 009's to my full Chord Choral speaker system.  And im sure the sound will be even better and up there with expensive electrostatic amps !  
 
I would like to try the GES and WES though and the WA5 and WA234 linked to the WEE !  
 
At the moment Im enjoying my WA22 & upgraded tubes with my dynamic headphones and my WEE with my 009's !  

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

  Hi All,
FYI;
Compared my WEE & 009's electrostatic set up (connected to my Chord Cyan Click Integrated amp - 110W version balanced connected to my QBD76 DAC which was connected to my Mac Book Pro running 44kHz ripped CD files via Audivana) again Friday gone with a HeadFi.org members BHSE & Esoteric CD Player.  
 
The BHSE set up had a better sound i.e. warmer not so bright sound, better sound stage and slightly deeper clearer bass but not by a huge margin.  
 
Compared to the cost outlay of my WEE set up (second hand items total cost less than £3k approx. $5k) a lot less than compared to the BHSE set up (over $15k) the sound quality difference wasn't a huge margin to warrant the extra outlay.   And also my system had quite cheap interconnects and power supply leads compared to the power conditioner and high end cables which run into a few $1000's !  
 
So the WEE can hold it's head high when connected to good pre-amps and amps. If you already have a good speaker hifi system then for the cost of the WEE its a bargain !    And when it's connected to a hi-end hifi speaker system it should be even better.   
 
When Im back home in Spain for Xmas and New Year vacation I will be connecting my WEE and 009's to my full Chord Choral speaker system.  And im sure the sound will be even better and up there with expensive electrostatic amps !  
 
I would like to try the GES and WES though and the WA5 and WA234 linked to the WEE !  
 
At the moment Im enjoying my WA22 & upgraded tubes with my dynamic headphones and my WEE with my 009's !  

Ooo forgot to mention;
 
When you factor in the very long lead times for the BHSE and the possibility it won't be built anymore and parts can't be replaced compared to a WOO product with great communication, very acceptable build times for a hand built product it's a no brainer buying WOO products on these merits !