[jc9394]

That is really nice of you skylab...

 

[Clayton SF]

"Free 6EW7 for me!"
 
Skylab--you're too cool.

 

[Surreal.]

"Free 6EW7 for me!"
 
Just bought a Woo Audio 6 from a Head-Fi'er and would love to begin my tube rolling journey with a pair of tubes from Skylab! It really is generous of you. 

 

 

[mikemalter]

Great pictures.
 
What tubes did Danny recommend?
 
Thanks.

 
Quote:

Let me start with special THANK YOU to Woo Audio for design a kick ass amp and repair it with after market parts and also our fearless leader Danny for modding the amp.  I'm not ready for impression yet as I only have about half an hour listen with it but using the tubes Danny recommended and I have only one word "WOW".
 
Here are the pics for you all wooaholic...
 
This is what sitting on my porch for almost 8 hours (Sorry WA22)

 
Inside the box

 
Normal exterior of WA22

 

Mod by our fearless leader (Dannie01)

 
 
Caps rearrange by Jack Wu

 

 

 

 
Finally, catching the perfect wave...

 

[mikemalter]

"Free 6EW7 for me!"

 

[Skylab]

Ok, that's 3! Offer closed.

 

[flaming_june]

Free 6EW7 for me!
 
My mouth is watering for that W22.  Very nice looking.
 
Skylab I'd love to purchase some of those tubes from you. 
 
 
 
 
awwww too late!

 

[lentiman]

Hey all!  Is it still possible to get a WA6 maxed with Blackgate, etc?  I'm freakishly new and am trying to decide between a nearly new WA6 + PDPS + Sophia Princess vs. Burson HA-160 vs. trying to get a new WA6 maxed out.  Woo doesn't list it on the WA6 page, so I also don't know the cost.  Any input would be appreciated.  This would be for a set of DT 990's and K702's.

 

[K_19]

So I went to pick up my EML 5U4G today and have been listening to it ever since I came home from work around 5pm today.
 
First impressions... damn, they use a really classy box and foam just for a simple tube.  Then again, considering how much these are worth I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less.  The tube is an absolute beauty, and lights up really pretty in the dark (it's too bad though that I have the volume knob facing towards me, which means that I don't really have an angle to view it from where I'm sitting, unlike the Sophia which sat at the 45 degrees thus was visible from this angle).
 
Sound impressions are actually mixed, as far as my WA6SE/HD800 combo goes.  Trying the 5U4G class again have made me realize one thing; more soundstage typically means more diffused mids and bass at lower volume levels, which is not that great for HD800 in particular no matter how good the tube itself is.  The GZ34 Mullard may have a small soundstage, but it does help in making the mids more intimate, warm, and also helps majorly in focusing the bass.  EML, which has monstrous soundstage, IMO pulled the HD800 soundstage so wide to the point that it sounded way too disjointed with some music genres.  Keep in mind that I use my HD800 as all-genre headphone (yeah, I know most would disagree with this practice, but I honestly think it's possible with right synergy)... GZ34 IMO really makes this a working reality but EML took away from that.  For music such as classical and acoustic EML sounded much better, but it diffused other genres such as rock/pop/dance/rap genres too much.  I could raise the volume in order to bring stronger lower mid/bass focus (and as a matter of fact, by doing so it made these areas superb, better than the GZ34's), but this made me fall once again into what I'd like to call a "HD800 volume/highs trap": raising the volume also raised the upper mids/highs up to the point that where it was overly hot and piercing for my ears.  This is easily the biggest headache with the HD800 IMO and so far the GZ34 has been the only tube that has been able to sound coherent on my HD800/6SE combo, doing so by compressing the soundstage and being forward in low mids/bass.    
 
There's a lot to like about EML's sound on its own; it's easily the best 5U4G that I've ever tried... it sounds tremendously open and wide, with well extended and crisp treble, immaculate detail, and good extended and warm bass (It's definitely more warm than the Sophia 274B).  I think it would honestly sound great with most other headphones but I don't think they match all that well with HD800 for my purposes, at least after a night's listening.  And knowing its core characteristics I doubt burn-in will do much to improve this, at least not to the degree I'd need this to change for my particular HD800 use.  I'd also like to mention that only driver tubes that I can use (mine's a prototype unit and is limited in which tubes it can use) are 6DE7/6EW7... maybe it'd sound better with something like 6FD7 etc.
 
I'm in a bind on what to do with it; I AM on the waiting list for LCD-2 and reading about its sound signature makes me think that EML 5U4G will be PERFECT for it... but if I sell this now, I can probably fetch most of my money back... and I do have a separate SS amp available for LCD-2 if I can't use my WA6SE (The very capable Gilmore Lite)... hmm.
 
Well, either way, it was a worthwhile try. 

Truly an excellent tube overall, just didn't work out in my rig.  Just how this hobby goes!    

 

[flaming_june]

Is the EML 5U4G a solid plate?  I ordered EML 274b mesh last week hope it comes soon.  Its a bit confusing when people talk about mesh and solid, then there's the 5U4G. 

 
Quote:

Hey all!  Is it still possible to get a WA6 maxed with Blackgate, etc?  I'm freakishly new and am trying to decide between a nearly new WA6 + PDPS + Sophia Princess vs. Burson HA-160 vs. trying to get a new WA6 maxed out.  Woo doesn't list it on the WA6 page, so I also don't know the cost.  Any input would be appreciated.  This would be for a set of DT 990's and K702's.

All new WA6 has PDPS stock now since.. January I think

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Is the EML 5U4G a solid plate?  I ordered EML 274b mesh last week hope it comes soon.  Its a bit confusing when people talk about mesh and solid, then there's the 5U4G. 

 

All new WA6 has PDPS stock now since.. January I think

 
Mine's mesh, and I believe that's what most people here go for.  I do believe there are EML 5U4G solid plates as well though.
 

 

[jc9394]

 
Quote:

Great pictures.
 
What tubes did Danny recommend?
 
Thanks.

 

 

EML 5U4G, Brimar CV 1988 and GEC 6080

 
Quote:

Hey all!  Is it still possible to get a WA6 maxed with Blackgate, etc?  I'm freakishly new and am trying to decide between a nearly new WA6 + PDPS + Sophia Princess vs. Burson HA-160 vs. trying to get a new WA6 maxed out.  Woo doesn't list it on the WA6 page, so I also don't know the cost.  Any input would be appreciated.  This would be for a set of DT 990's and K702's.

No, Jack discontinue to offer BG for WA6.  There are two reason for it if I remember correctly.  1. BG is very hard to get and his stock run out. 2. Pushing the WA6 price to WA6SE.  I did ordered mines with BG and it is the last few he still offer for it.  I mainly listen to acoustic, live, and jazz, so I do love the BG does to the mid.

 
Quote:

 
Sound impressions are actually mixed, as far as my WA6SE/HD800 combo goes.  Trying the 5U4G class again have made me realize one thing; more soundstage typically means more diffused mids and bass at lower volume levels, which is not that great for HD800 in particular no matter how good the tube itself is.  The GZ34 Mullard may have a small soundstage, but it does help in making the mids more intimate, warm, and also helps majorly in focusing the bass.  EML, which has monstrous soundstage, IMO pulled the HD800 soundstage so wide to the point that it sounded way too disjointed with some music genres.  Keep in mind that I use my HD800 as all-genre headphone (yeah, I know most would disagree with this practice, but I honestly think it's possible with right synergy)... GZ34 IMO really makes this a working reality but EML took away from that.  For music such as classical and acoustic EML sounded much better, but it diffused other genres such as rock/pop/dance/rap genres too much.  I could raise the volume in order to bring stronger lower mid/bass focus (and as a matter of fact, by doing so it made these areas superb, better than the GZ34's), but this made me fall once again into what I'd like to call a "HD800 volume/highs trap": raising the volume also raised the upper mids/highs up to the point that where it was overly hot and piercing for my ears.  This is easily the biggest headache with the HD800 IMO and so far the GZ34 has been the only tube that has been able to sound coherent on my HD800/6SE combo, doing so by compressing the soundstage and being forward in low mids/bass.    
 
There's a lot to like about EML's sound on its own; it's easily the best 5U4G that I've ever tried... it sounds tremendously open and wide, with well extended and crisp treble, immaculate detail, and good extended and warm bass (It's definitely more warm than the Sophia 274B).  I think it would honestly sound great with most other headphones but I don't think they match all that well with HD800 for my purposes, at least after a night's listening.  And knowing its core characteristics I doubt burn-in will do much to improve this, at least not to the degree I'd need this to change for my particular HD800 use.  I'd also like to mention that only driver tubes that I can use (mine's a prototype unit and is limited in which tubes it can use) are 6DE7/6EW7... maybe it'd sound better with something like 6FD7 etc.
 

X2, the GZ34 are hard to beat.  The 6FD7 does makes a difference with EML 5U4G and it is much more dynamic and better bass extension than 6EW7.  Not sure you can use the 6SN7 adapter but using Treasure with EML 5U4G helps with the mid but the soundstage is still monstrous. 

 

[iRRegular]

Hello guys it's me again, so as I'm desperately waiting for my WA6 SE to arrive, I decided to buy new interconnects and power cord for it. I had no problems with choosing cables, but when it comes to power cord, I have no idea what to buy. I saw that people spend a huge amounts of $ on such things, but I have no clue about the impact it has on the performance of the amp, so this question might seem ridiculous to many, but I never used power cord that would cost more than a few bucks, so I'm a bit confused. I would greatly appreciate few recommendations for choosing one, I don't want to spend a fortune on it, but would like to get something atleast decent. Which power cords do you use to power up your amps?
 
Thanks, iRRegular

 

[K_19]

I do plan on testing the EML out further tonight, and gonna try to experiment with the setup as much as I can (swapping different sources, inputs, different cables, etc).  Also planning to try it out with the W1000X which I didn't get around to yesterday.  I don't expect a drastic change in how they sound but maybe I'll come across something I like better, who knows.
 
The Mullard GZ34 is indeed excellent; although it's not a cheapo either, IMO it presents much better bang for the buck than Sophia or EML.

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Hello guys it's me again, so as I'm desperately waiting for my WA6 SE to arrive, I decided to buy new interconnects and power cord for it. I had no problems with choosing cables, but when it comes to power cord, I have no idea what to buy. I saw that people spend a huge amounts of $ on such things, but I have no clue about the impact it has on the performance of the amp, so this question might seem ridiculous to many, but I never used power cord that would cost more than a few bucks, so I'm a bit confused. I would greatly appreciate few recommendations for choosing one, I don't want to spend a fortune on it, but would like to get something atleast decent. Which power cords do you use to power up your amps?
 
Thanks, iRRegular

 
I use stock power cords myself and more than happy with it.  Power cord discussions are probably better suited to the cables forum, since the discussions concerning them tend to derail threads that are anywhere else.