TonyNewman
Headphoneus Supremus
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- May 28, 2014
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the ears and yourself ok?
Absolutely - thanks for asking. I didn't have the headphones on my head at the time
the ears and yourself ok?
I have blown 2 capacitors in my WA5. Curious if anyone else has had a similar experience.
You can see the two little devils in the picture below.
Wow... glad to hear you didn't have cans on at the time and that your ears are OK. I assume this is going back to Woo for repair.
Please post-back and let us know what may have been root cause; I am very curious to hear what blew two caps at the same time.
I am chasing some local options to repair the amp. The good thing about Woo amps is that they are very simple electronically, so I am hoping that replacing the caps isn't going to be a big drama. Might even think about getting all the caps upgraded if that is an option.
It's moments like this that make me want to go solid state. None of this sort of carry on from my Taurus Mk2 or Simaudio 430HA
I have to imagine using top-shelf caps would make a noticeable difference, but I would expect the WA5 to be so equipped out-of-the box, as opposed to the low-end WA3.
I do consulting work for a H/W design company (on the S/W side) and I've been seriously considering taking my WA3 in and asking one of the EEs to super-size me with some upgraded caps, et al. I've read through some of the WA3 upgrade thread (from a few years ago); why not buy some parts and see what happens? Good luck with your upgrade; I have to imagine using top-shelf caps would make a noticeable difference, but I would expect the WA5 to be so equipped out-of-the box, as opposed to the low-end WA3.
For SS, my back-up is an NAD D 1050 which, as my girlfriend points out, is not as satisfying.
... As for the repair, I wonder if it feasible for Woo to send you just that PCB as replacement? look like it soldered in place though, so may not be as easy as it sounds.
Yeah, but does it glow?
Solid state can be a warm and engaging sound. Perhaps not quite as enthralling as a good tube amp, but perhaps a lot closer than many folks think.
...
For me, I like my NAD w/ Grado for some music. But plugging in the HD-650s is sort-of sad sounding, after being spoiled by my Rega + WA3 rig.
I would take this as an opportunity to learn how to solder... get a good kit and some busted parts and practice for a few days... then get some replacement caps, and go nuts on the WA5. It's not like you're trying to micro-solder traces, these are giant caps on an old-school circuit board.