[Sko0byDoo]

I purchased my TA300B's via PriceJapan; delivered to Oklahoma, USA, with no problems whatsoever. As they inform you up front, it can take them up to a week or so to get the tubes and ship. My experience was very good.

Randy

 
Thanks...price through PriceJapan looks very good.  Will look into order a set soon.  

 

[Stax-i-nox]

I don't usually wax rhapsodic this much for stereo equipment, but when I hear something that  sounds this good for not a LOT of money, I feel it's warranted, and I hope more people will get to know these great speakers. 
 
For anyone who is looking to buy a pair of speakers to pair with the WA5, or any amp for that matter, these have to be heard to be believed. I am simply in AWE with what I am hearing, and they are not even broken in, nor are the Elrog's. Have had them out of the box for only a few days.  I have not heard this kind of beautiful, natural, music coming from speakers before.  It's like one is there in person. Effortless, natural, real, clarity, are some of the adjectives that come to mind  to describe the sound of these speakers. Soundstage is phenomenal, goes way behind the speakers, and behind me as well. NO ear fatigue after hours of listening! Fantastic mid-range, bass impact is remarkable for a 2 way....40-27,000khz, 94db sensitivity...the WA5 volume never goes beyond 11 o'clock in a good sized liv room, with a sloped 20ft ceiling, to get more than adequate sound!  To top it off, in my liv room, they are not yet in the idea position they should be in, and they sound this good. 
 
I have been a performing professional classical musician all my life, still working, ...... and am familiar with what music sounds like live...these speakers get that sound in spades, among other attributes. They should be ten times or more than what he is charging for them. 
 
They are not huge, but have a sound that is huge. You would think you were listening to much bigger speakers. I thought I might need a sub....not unless I want to listen to some church organ etc, would I need one with these. 
 
I sound like I am a salesman for these speakers....I am not, and have no vested interest in the company.
 
Except for the WA5, with the Elrog's, and some new speaker wire, my equipment is old school..and am getting incredible sound....here is what I am using:
 
1. Sony XA7es CD player (digital out into the D2A)
2. Aragon D2A DAC  (a one-of-a-kind prototype)
3. Woo Audio WA5  (Elrog 300's) 
4. new Anticable Level 3 speaker wire. (very good sound btw) www.anticables.com 
5. Jena Labs 2 strand interconnect ( from the D2A to the WA5)
6. TaraLabs digital interconnect  (used/early version)  (from XA7es digital out to the D2A) 
 
I have not tried SS state...yet...I'm so taken with the WA5,  but coming next week from an upgrade, is a Threshold S200 amp, and from Australia, the "Lightspeed Passive Attenuator" to pair with the S200. I also have a couple of other ss amps packed away that I want to try.
 
Jack, if you are reading this, you should give Alex a call and try his speaker with your amps.   40 day trial period.. and Alex, the designer, is very nice to deal with......but I don't think anyone would want to return these.  I liken this speaker to a very fine musical instrument. 
 
The model speaker I have is the "Grand Teton SE", with the matching stands. www.wavetouchaudio.com  The build quality is great as well, rock solid enclosures with the laminated Russian Birch, nice looking too.  The design of this speaker is very different from the norm.   I am telling everyone I know about them...the word needs to spread how good these are!@!

 

[musicman59]

Guys,
I need to fund another purchase so I will be selling a pair of EAT 300B with about 50 hours on them and I am also thinking on selling a pair of WE421A rectifiers (not sure about these ones yet). I will post in the For Sale forum over the weekend.

 

[WooAudio]

Hello Stax-i-nox,
 
Thank you so much for sharing your impression here with the community. It is truly a pleasure to know the WA5 is still working on its top game.
 
For the records, Stax-i-nox took ownership of his WA5 since June 2007. He lent us his beloved AKG K1000 headphones so we could refine the K1K output for his headphones. The K1K output is now known to drive Hifiman HE5/6 and Abyss AB-1266 headphones at potential. Thanks again for your supports!
 
Cheers,
Jack

 

[Stax-i-nox]

Hi Jack,
 
You're welcome!  I have had zero issues with it...still working perfectly!
 
I am having the same reaction to these speakers as I did with your WA5 back in 2007.   To have this level of clarity, effortless sound, depth, width and behind the head soundstage, which seems to be all around my head, (uncanny) depending on the recording and the venue,  not to mention the beauty and realness of  the music that is coming from these speakers, is absolutely amazing!!
 
 Let me also say, even at this early stage of both the Elrog's and the speakers , ANY change upstream one can hear the effect.  As an example, I inserted a high end power cord that I bought years ago,  and I immediately heard a difference in the sound, that's how sensitive these speakers are.  Of course your WA5 and the Elrog tubes are contributing to this whole experience. I put my JJ Tesla 300's back in, momentarily, just to hear the difference...they went back in the box very quickly.  
 
94db sensitivity...great match for the WA5. 
 
I remember after I sent you my K1000 to test with my WA5, on return of the K1, you asked if you could buy them...LOL....not -a-chance was my answer....
 
Evidently, I am not the only one that is ecstatic about these speakers.  Here is a review of the model below the SE. 
 
http://www.stereotimes.com/post/wavetouch-audio-grand-teton-loudspeaker
 
In reading the above review...... "Truth be told, with the Wavetouch technology, the Grand Tetons have all clarity and fine detail of an extremely good set of headphones while developing a most expansive soundstage every bit as wide, deep, layered and immersive as any other speakers I’ve heard to date… quite a neat feat, I’d say!"
 
This is exactly my reaction as well!
 
Once I get my living room in order, will post a pic of the WA5 and the Grand Teton SE's.  

 

[Khragon]

Got new Schiit coming, can't wait for yggy, so I purchased the gungnir. Hope it's a good one.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

A couple of beautiful night shots shared with us by a WA22 and WA6-SE customer.
 

 

 

[NoxNoctum]

WA-5 owners: Is upgrading the tubes pretty much a necessity to get the most out of it? I could probably swing the price of just the amp, but it looks like I'd be looking to drop another 2 grand for good tubes, in which case I figure I'd better off just waiting till I can do it all. Thoughts?

 

[earthpeople]

Not a WA5 owner but if you buy the amp now, you can still enjoy it while you wait to get new tubes. It might make you appreciate the upgrade tubes more, since you would have more experience with the stock tubes as a point of reference for comparison. 

 

[Khragon]

Yeah upgrading from the stock tubes is pretty much a necessity to enjoy the wa5 or any woo amp for that matter. However you don't need to spend a lot on to get 80% there. Mullard rectifier us around $150/a pair, same for 6sn7 upgrades, a used Sophia mesh 300b will probably another $200 or so. So with an extra $500-$600 you can enjoy the amp for a long time until the upgrade syndrome hit.

 

[joegiz]

I recently purchased a Woo WA2 and have been enjoying it with stock tubes.   Depending on what you are using now the WA5 stock will be a night and day comparison.  Upgrading tubes down the road should only make it better.
 
I didn't wait for coin to purchase upgraded tubes when I bought my WA2...I suggest pulling the trigger now if you can.

 

[Porteroso]

Speaking of the wa5 tubes, I remember someone saying the wa234 stock is better than the wa5 maxed. Is that really true for a wa5 with takatsuki/eltog, truly maxed? Just curious.

 

[TonyNewman]

Speaking of the wa5 tubes, I remember someone saying the wa234 stock is better than the wa5 maxed. Is that really true for a wa5 with takatsuki/eltog, truly maxed? Just curious.

 
Given how terrible the stock tubes are, I'm kinda curious about this too. The WA5 scales enormously with better glass.

 

[Krutsch]

  WA-5 owners: Is upgrading the tubes pretty much a necessity to get the most out of it? I could probably swing the price of just the amp, but it looks like I'd be looking to drop another 2 grand for good tubes, in which case I figure I'd better off just waiting till I can do it all. Thoughts?

 
 

  Not a WA5 owner but if you buy the amp now, you can still enjoy it while you wait to get new tubes. It might make you appreciate the upgrade tubes more, since you would have more experience with the stock tubes as a point of reference for comparison. 

Also not a WA5 owner, but could not agree more with @earthpeople 's comment, especially if you are new to tubes. It stretches out some relief of the upgrade itch - each new tube set I buy makes me feel like I am getting a new amp, to some degree.
 
BTW, off-topic, I was reading the old WA3 upgrade thread from @jamato8 and was intrigued by his comments on various tubes (all of which I now own). He's right about the differences between the Western Electric 421a (which I love) and the Tung-Sol 7236 - the latter lacks the WE's tone and warmth, but has impressive speed/slam and is great for metal. Paired the TS 7236 w/ a set of Reflector Corp, Saratov 6H23p-EB and the new Steven Wilson BD is really crisp.
 
Reading these Necro threads is free education for me... and I really need to finish my chart.

 

[IndieGradoFan]

Picked up a pair of Psvane CV181-TII from Grant Fidelity. They supposedly need up to 300 hours to burn-in but I'm loving them right out of the box. I've only put about 35 hours on them so far so I'm interested to see if/how they change with more hours. Obligatory pictures: