[Nicolas Yance]

New WA5 was built much faster than I thought. Covid destroyed me this week so I haven't gotten around to pulling my big tube collection back down from the attic yet, so I'm just running on the stocks for now. It sounds identical to my old 1st-gen in all regards, which is exactly what I wanted and expected, since it's substantially the same design. The convenience of the additional gain controls and the ability to use the XLR for all headphones is the big jump over the 1st-gen for me.

How's the TC + WA5 pairing?

 

[lumdicks]

WA22 with Mullard GZ34 Metal Base, Marconi B65 and GEC6080. The all metal combo is having neutral tonality, great soundstage, dark background and amazing dynamics and resolution.

 

[Stereolab42]

Nice! Did you beat the price increas?

Yes, that's why I ordered in late December, as soon as I heard about the increase.

How's the TC + WA5 pairing?

Always fantastic. Abyss+WA5 has been a classic pairing ever since the Abyss has been released.

 

[Bonddam]

Just put my final payment on my silver WA234 and is going into qc. I was lucky only waited month and half because the silver chassi was in stock. Mine will have input two without volume control so I can use a preamp and cut it down to one volume control. I wish I could have use of my collection of 6sn7 tubes since I bought expensive set of Ken Rad military with black and chrome bottles 6sn7gt vt231. Now I want a WA5 LE with mundorf caps to use them call me crazy.

 

[ucmgr]

Do you have any 6sn7gt's you want to sell since you can't use them?

 

[Barnstormer13]

Stock rectified (Sofia backorders, USAF 596 coming from eBay (adapter coming from Woo, because, um, Woo?).

Power tubes upgraded to 13EM7's from Woo (Westinghouse). I'll start reading the tube rolling threads for others to play with.

First impressions: Very well packed, no complaints. Arrived 2 days ahead of estimated delivery date from FedEx. I am a bit disappointed they were delayed so long for the silver unit, but basic black is fine.

Very well crafted, these units feel very substantial. The umbilical cord is much shorter than I imagined, but that makes cable management easier.

Listening through my Focal Clear MG's (55Ω) with cheap silver/copper Lutz cable (high impedance jack). Using my Douk P1 as a DAC from my PC USB (because my SMSL VMV D1SE is somewhere in China, apparently). EQ is off.

Boston - "More Than A Feeling" is clean, precise, and very "70's Rock" thick. Nice. Cymbals are a touch suppressed. "Hitch a Ride" is strong, close, but slightly hollow. Turning the EQ on and off illustrates what I don't like about these headphones (they're very clinical).

Usher - "Yeah!" has plenty of bass, but again, it's a bit thick and not quite defined. Highs don't "sparkle". This is a very "tubey" amp/tube combo, that's for sure.

John Williams and the London Philharmonic Orchestra - "Star Wars - Main Theme" sounds big and wide as it should, a better recording would serve this better, I think. The harp and triangle are a bit buried. "The Throne Room" is impactful. The brass really sings here. "The Imperial March" sounds better - the orchestra is placed correctly.

General take - very, very warm and thick, this is a lot more of what I was looking for. I'll try the Sennheiser HD8XX's tomorrow night for comparison. In the meantime, any suggestions?

Also, there's a very slight buzz, which I attribute to my cheap power cord, cheap DAC, and lack of burn-in. I assume that'll go away?

My experience with the OG Clear is that it wasn’t a good match to the 6SE. The bass was too big and loose (which I think is part of the reason the treble feels a little light to you). The Focal / Drop ELEX was much better, probably thanks to being higher impedance.

 

[jonathan c]

My experience with the Clear OG is that the WA6SE is a great match - rectifier is Mullard CV593, drivers are RCA 13DE7, cable is Norne Audio Vykari, earpads are Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin. The FR spectrum is in the right proportion with bloom, control, force, and heft. Dynamics abound! Use the low impedance socket (right side).

 

[ColSaulTigh]

My experience with the Clear OG is that the WA6SE is a great match - rectifier is Mullard CV593, drivers are RCA 13DE7, cable is Norne Audio Vykari, earpads are Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin. The FR spectrum is in the right proportion with bloom, control, force, and heft. Dynamics abound! Use the low impedance socket (right side).

I may invest in a better cable for the Clear Mg - I bought a no-name "upgraded" silver/copper combo from Amazon. Vast improvement over stock, but my god are they bright and biting. Even with my USAF 596, which is thick and toasty, they're still almost shrill unless I hit them with a heavy EQ setting.

 

[Bonddam]

Came today easy setup. Input 2 bypass the amps volume controls so I can use my own pre amp. Not too difficult to even out the two amps by their volume even though they aren't attenuators.

Big improvement over WA5. I don't get how no gain is needed like the other amps.

 

[galveston22]

I noticed Woo jacked up their prices lately

 

[ThanatosVI]

I noticed Woo jacked up their prices lately

Everyone has.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

I noticed Woo jacked up their prices lately

That was announced on their website at the end of last year. It's the main reason I ordered my WA6-SE Gen 2 on New Year's Eve....

 

[joseph69]

Came today easy setup. Input 2 bypass the amps volume controls so I can use my own pre amp. Not too difficult to even out the two amps by their volume even though they aren't attenuators.

Big improvement over WA5. I don't get how no gain is needed like the other amps.

Big congratulations!
They look awesome in silver. Enjoy!

 

[Bonddam]

I noticed Woo jacked up their prices lately

A lot of companies have with inflation on the rise

 

[Bonddam]

Anyone know purpose of cathode vs plate?