[TonyNewman]

... I'm back to the brown base Sylvanias.  They're not terribly remarkable in any area, but at least they get out of the way and let the 300B's show through.

 
I much prefer the RCA 6SN7s over the Sylvanias. Clear or grey glass, these are nice sounding tubes that don't cost the earth.

 

[Badas]

Getting great tubes for the WA22 need not be mega bucks, £100 will get you great performance from a set of NOS.

Agreed. My tube set is about US$100. The result is amazing.

I much prefer the RCA 6SN7s over the Sylvanias. Clear or grey glass, these are nice sounding tubes that don't cost the earth.

Sssshhh, don't tell anyone. They are great tubes and clearglass sounds just as great as more expensive greyglass.

I have just recieved the RCA VT 99. Fun times.

 

[reeltime]

   
I much prefer the RCA 6SN7s over the Sylvanias. Clear or grey glass, these are nice sounding tubes that don't cost the earth.

I'll check out a pair.  Thanks!

 

[listen4joy]

can it be true?
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/476650/crack-bottlehead-otl/2670#post_9809867

 

[Krutsch]

Agreed. My tube set is about US$100. The result is amazing.
Sssshhh, don't tell anyone. They are great tubes and clearglass sounds just as great as more expensive greyglass.

I have just recieved the RCA VT 99. Fun times.

OK, I'll bite... what do you have plugged in (before receiving the RCA VT-99s). Just curious...

 

[teamrushpntball]

can it be true?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/476650/crack-bottlehead-otl/2670#post_9809867

That's quite the strong statement to make. Wonder if it has any merit. Been debating a wa2 or crack for my hd700's for the last 2 weeks now.

 

[punit]

  can it be true?
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/476650/crack-bottlehead-otl/2670#post_9809867

Sorry but no way IMO. I have owned both at same time.  The Btlhd Crack is the best value tube amp I have heard till date for the HD 800 & T1. But The WA22 was better in all respects compared to Btlhd Crack.  Well definitely not 3 times better (as compared to the price diff, not even 2 times better I would say. All this is very subjective but I would say Crack gets you 80% of the sound at 30% of the price) but better none the less. Don't know if he was using it balanced ? The Crack has more bass quantity but WA22 has better quality / texture. Also he was using the Sophia Prn rect, which is very tubey & pretty mediocre IMO & not to be used if you are looking for dynamic sound, I sold my S.P very quickly. But I guess therein lies the main challenge of WA22, you have to spend some time , effort & cash in getting good nos tubes to see what it is really capable of. Even the upgrade tubes on Woo site will not get you all the way there.

 

[Krutsch]

 
Sorry but no way IMO. I have owned both at same time.  The Btlhd Crack is the best value tube amp I have heard till date for the HD 800 & T1. But The WA22 was better in all respects compared to Btlhd Crack.  Well definitely not 3 times better (as compared to the price diff, not even 2 times better I would say. All this is very subjective but I would say Crack gets you 80% of the sound at 30% of the price) but better none the less. Don't know if he was using it balanced ? The Crack has more bass quantity but WA22 has better quality / texture. Also he was using the Sophia Prn rect, which is very tubey & pretty mediocre IMO & not to be used if you are looking for dynamic sound, I sold my S.P very quickly. But I guess therein lies the main challenge of WA22, you have to spend some time , effort & cash in getting good nos tubes to see what it is really capable of. Even the upgrade tubes on Woo site will not get you all the way there.

@punit  ... may I ask what other Woo amps you have owned? Selfishly speaking, I am looking to upgrade from the WA3; want to stay with an OTL, so am looking at the WA2 or the WA22 and would be curious to hear your opinion (especially given your exposure to what looks like the complete / rich-matrix set of compatible tubes).
 
Thanks, in advance.

 

[Badas]

OK, I'll bite... what do you have plugged in (before receiving the RCA VT-99s). Just curious...

Rectifier: Brimar 5Z4GY purchased at 10 pounds. Say about US$18. I did buy 6 off them to get that price. I have 14 in total now.
Power tubes: Tung-Sol 6AS7G's. Purchased at US$51 for two matched sets. So US$26 for a set.
Driver tubes: RCA 6SN7's purchased at US$45.

Total for one set of tubes: US$89.00. Sound: Goregeous. At least 30% better than stock tubes.

 

[Krutsch]

Rectifier: Brimar 5Z4GY purchased at 10 pounds. Say about US$18. I did buy 6 off them to get that price. I have 14 in total now.
Power tubes: Tung-Sol 6AS7G's. Purchased at US$51 for two matched sets. So US$26 for a set.
Driver tubes: RCA 6SN7's purchased at US$45.

Total for one set of tubes: US$89.00. Sound: Goregeous. At least 30% better than stock tubes.

That's pretty good... I did a quick search on eBay and while prices were a little higher, it's roughly in-line.
 
I actually already have a set of Tung-Sol 6AS7G (as well as three of the WE 421a) that I bought for the WA3, so I would be covered for power tubes. The drivers and rectifiers you list seem to be inexpensive and plentiful, so that might be a good upgrade path for me (there's still the 2K for the WA22 itself, so there's that).
 
Thanks for the info.

 

[punit]

 
@punit  ... may I ask what other Woo amps you have owned? Selfishly speaking, I am looking to upgrade from the WA3; want to stay with an OTL, so am looking at the WA2 or the WA22 and would be curious to hear your opinion (especially given your exposure to what looks like the complete / rich-matrix set of compatible tubes).
 
Thanks, in advance.

I had the WA6 before the WA22. Haven't heard the Woo OTL's so cannot comment. But seeing that you have Grado's as well, the WA22 will be a more versatile amp. It performs  well with most of the low & high impd HP's that I tried except HE 6. How are the Grado's with WA3 ?

 

[daverich4]

 

Calling all WA22 / HD800 owners.  ​

 
 
I'm looking to this amp as a replacement for the EC 445 I sold.  That combo didn't do it for me as it was to lean / thin.  I heard the WA22 / HD800 combo at the Audio Feast, but just for a few.  What tubes are the best fit or is the the best amp for the HD800 sat this price point.  Don't want to go up to the WA5 price.  Is this a lean / thin combo or will the WA22 add some soul to the music?

I've been using the WA22/HD800 combination for a little over two years now. For my personal tastes, most of the time I use GEC 6AS7G's, Sylvania 6SN7WGTA Brown Base & WE422a. That combination gives me some of the clearest, deepest base I've ever heard through headphones but.....   Lean / thin is the exact term I would to describe the overall sound. To me, there is just a lack of weight to the lower end. If I remember correctly, DubStep Girl came to the same conclusion and sold her WA22 after trying a variety of tubes. (Lucky me, I bought her GEC's when she did). Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed my rig over the last two years and would be happy to do so going forward. However, listening to my HD800's through different amps at the Charlotte regional meet last year made me aware that for my tastes, perhaps the WA22 wasn't the best choice to drive the HD800's. I didn't want to buy a new amp so in my case I solved it by getting a pair of Audeze LCD3 F's. YMMV.

 

[joseph69]

   I am looking to upgrade from the WA3; want to stay with an OTL, so am looking at the WA2 or the WA22

Heres a WA2 if your interested in the OTL.

 

[Behemoth27]

 
@punit  ... may I ask what other Woo amps you have owned? Selfishly speaking, I am looking to upgrade from the WA3; want to stay with an OTL, so am looking at the WA2 or the WA22 and would be curious to hear your opinion (especially given your exposure to what looks like the complete / rich-matrix set of compatible tubes).
 
Thanks, in advance.

Two things to consider are how important are balanced inputs to you. Also, the WA2 can function as a preamp which is very convenient if you plan to build a speaker system around it.

 

[koiloco]

  can it be true?
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/476650/crack-bottlehead-otl/2670#post_9809867

Anyone who thinks that's the case, IMO, is obviously on crack.  

 
Subjectively personal preference then sure.  I have listened to both amps driving HD800 enough to say that it's totally untrue.