[CaptainFantastic]

Please let us know how you like the Sylvania 7308 JAN. I haven't tried that one myself.

I ended up going with E88CC TESLA Gold-Pins / NOS. Made in Czechoslovakia in the 1970s. The website says that these are "the closest E88CC to the legendary Telefunken frame-grid E88CC tube", but the price for a matched pair was around 80€.

I warmed up the WA3 and let the music run for a few hours, now have been listening for a couple of hours. Obviously one can't A/B with tubes, but playing some tracks I know very well I would say that there is an obvious sound difference. These sound smoother than the Telefunken branded E88CC’s made by JJ Audio I had on before. The sounds seem more blended together, maybe this is what people mean when they say something sounds more "tubey". I really like the emotion it creates but definitely this is moving away from transparency. The New Telefunken had some sparkle, these are much mellower.

But don't interpret much from what I say. I am too new to tubes.

Question: What are good practices with the WA3? Correct me on the below:

1) Turn the amp on, volume at 0, let it warm up 5 minutes minimum.
2) Start playing music not at a very loud volume for the first 10-15 minutes.
3) Don't leave it on without music/sounds playing. (Is this right? I read that the tubes suffer if they are warm and not under load)
4) If one wants to switch to other tubes, turn it off, wait 30 minutes for a full cooldown, then change tubes and go back to #1.

 

[reeltime]

-50% price.. but +50% weight! Is the Hedd comfortable for long sessions?

At that price the HEDD may be worth simply trying-- though I think a few of these places offer auditioning periods-- and allow you to return headphones so long as you don't abuse them.

I just picked up the 64 Audio Tia Fourte. The WA5 is too much for them, even on all low-power settings! They sound really nice on my portable rig, though. I picked them up for $2000 and they were like new. Amazing stuff we have to choose from today.

 

[Odin412]

Question: What are good practices with the WA3? Correct me on the below:

1) Turn the amp on, volume at 0, let it warm up 5 minutes minimum.
2) Start playing music not at a very loud volume for the first 10-15 minutes.
3) Don't leave it on without music/sounds playing. (Is this right? I read that the tubes suffer if they are warm and not under load)
4) If one wants to switch to other tubes, turn it off, wait 30 minutes for a full cooldown, then change tubes and go back to #1.

Congrats on your new tubes! Tube rolling is fun and it's interesting to hear the (sometimes very subtle, other times less subtle) changes that the various tubes make. Here are my suggestions to your questions:

1 and 2) I turn it on and usually start listening right away - meaning as soon as the tubes produce sound. The amp sounds audibly better after the tubes have warmed up, which takes maybe 10-15 minutes.
3) I think it's OK to leave the amp on for a while. I wouldn't leave it on all the time since tubes have a limited lifetime. I've read somewhere that since the WA3 is a transformer-less amp you shouldn't leave it playing music with the volume knob at a non-minimum setting when there is no headphone connected. Also it's best to turn the volume knob to minimum before plugging or unplugging headphones since the TRS plus shorts the output of the amp when it's being inserted or removed.
4) Absolutely! Tubes get hot and you want to make sure they have cooled down before removing them. I usually wear a white cotton glove so I don't leave fingerprints when handling tubes, but that's just my preference. (Or maybe OCD? Either way it's what I do.)

 

[JLoud]

I find the headband on the HEDDphone just ok. I do tend to reposition it occasionally during long sessions. Overall for a heavy headphone it is fairly comfortable.

 

[CAJames]

...4) If one wants to switch to other tubes, turn it off, wait 30 minutes for a full cooldown, then change tubes and go back to #1.

Only thing I would add is if you want to be extra careful unplug the amp if you change tubes. I don't wait 30 minutes, usually more like 5, but I always unplug.

And congrats on Teslas. I'm psyching myself up to by a pair of E83CC (12AX7) for my phono stage, a near copy of the famous TFK ECC803S. They cost more than 80 euros.

 

[blackwolf1006]

whats your thoughts on the WA8 driving the utopia?

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Only thing I would add is if you want to be extra careful unplug the amp if you change tubes. I don't wait 30 minutes, usually more like 5, but I always unplug.

And congrats on Teslas. I'm psyching myself up to by a pair of E83CC (12AX7) for my phono stage, a near copy of the famous TFK ECC803S. They cost more than 80 euros.

Thank you and Odin for the input on my questions.

Do you ever clean the pin connectors on your tubes after swapping them out and knowing they will be stored for a period of time? Or maybe the other way around, give them a wipe before swapping them in? If so, is CAIG DeoxIT GOLD the only product recommended for gold pins or are there alternatives? I am struggling to find it in the EU.

 

[CAJames]

I like DeoxIT for steel pins (I buy a lot of used tubes) but for gold pins I wouldn't use any product, just wipe with a soft cloth. The whole point of gold is that it doesn't corrode, leave it along and let it do the work for you. JMO of course.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

I like DeoxIT for steel pins (I buy a lot of used tubes) but for gold pins I wouldn't use any product, just wipe with a soft cloth. The whole point of gold is that it doesn't corrode, leave it along and let it do the work for you. JMO of course.

Thanks. But then which DeoxIT do you use for the steel pins, still DeoxIT Gold or which one is it for steel?

 

[CAJames]

Thanks. But then which DeoxIT do you use for the steel pins, still DeoxIT Gold or which one is it for steel?

I use DeokIT D100.

 

[Krutsch]

The new Woo arrived, yesterday!

Starting off with the provided tubes to acclimate to the sound. Will soon roll-in a pair of Western Electric 421a, Telefunken E188CC drivers, and Telefunken EZ80 rectifiers.

Initial impressions: well, it's louder than my WA3, which is now at my office (Minnesota is re-opening for business). My WA3 is dead quiet at any volume, while the WA2 has a little background hum at high volume (maybe the provided tubes; we'll see when I roll if that goes away).

The WA2 has better definition/clarity, I think. Listening to remastered Julie London and it's just butter smooth with the HD-650s, which really crush the HD-660S when powered by Woo (I've been listening to my 660S a lot recently with the WA3).

This is going to end-game for a while... kid is heading off to college and that plastic sheeting in the background is home remodeling. Frankly, I can't believe my spouse let me get away with a new head amp.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

The new Woo arrived, yesterday!

Starting off with the provided tubes to acclimate to the sound. Will soon roll-in a pair of Western Electric 421a, Telefunken E188CC drivers, and Telefunken EZ80 rectifiers.

Initial impressions: well, it's louder than my WA3, which is now at my office (Minnesota is re-opening for business). My WA3 is dead quiet at any volume, while the WA2 has a little background hum at high volume (maybe the provided tubes; we'll see when I roll if that goes away).

The WA2 has better definition/clarity, I think. Listening to remastered Julie London and it's just butter smooth with the HD-650s, which really crush the HD-660S when powered by Woo (I've been listening to my 660S a lot recently with the WA3).

This is going to end-game for a while... kid is heading off to college and that plastic sheeting in the background is home remodeling. Frankly, I can't believe my spouse let me get away with a new head amp.

Looks great! How did you choose the silver over the black? Is the black just painted over aluminum and therefore prone to paint chipping later on?

I am really looking forward to hearing your detailed impressions versus the WA3 when using the same tubes as you had on the WA3.

 

[reeltime]

Is the black just painted over aluminum and therefore prone to paint chipping later on?

No it's anodized aluminum. The finish will never wear off. Jack builds this stuff to last!

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Quick question: I've been running the WA3 with the Tung Sol 5998. I swapped it out for a much cheaper NOS - 6080 Telefunken GE, just to see the difference. Aside from the sound difference, I noticed that my amp got hot, meaning the metal part, the entire aluminium surface, whereas with the 5998, the tubes are hot but the amp stays metal cool to the touch. Is this because the 6080 Telefunken GE has a metal base (although it's not so wide that it touches the amp metal, from what I can tell)? Is it a malfunctioning tube or some tubes do this and the 5998 is just special?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

1) Turn the amp on, volume at 0, let it warm up 5 minutes minimum.
2) Start playing music not at a very loud volume for the first 10-15 minutes.
3) Don't leave it on without music/sounds playing. (Is this right? I read that the tubes suffer if they are warm and not under load)
4) If one wants to switch to other tubes, turn it off, wait 30 minutes for a full cooldown, then change tubes and go back to #1.

In general:

1. Set volume to 0 and turn on amp with no headphones plugged in
2. Wait a bit and then plug headphones in and adjust volume
3. When done listening turn volume all the way down
4. Unplug headphones
5. Turn off amp