[mikemalter]

Quote:

The hum could be caused by a DC voltage on your AC power, if that is the case, something like the PS Audio Humbuster could help. There are probably less expensive ways of solving the same problem though...

I was thinking the same exact thing myself.
 

 

[mikemalter]

Quote:

Improvement in sound, not really.  But vibration was noticeably reduced, even eliminated.  In my experience, often what is perceived as equipment hum is caused by very small vibrations, especially with tube gear.
 
The amp is also much cooler to the touch after running for a few hours.The brass footers afford 1.5 inches of clearance, and possibly they are pulling some heat from the amp's chassis.  The equipment rack is also a Mapleshade unit, with very thick, heavy slabs of oak for shelves.  This helps with vibration, as well.  Here's a photo of the entire setup:
 

The amp is probably cooler to the touch because of the larger surface area of the attached metal.  Nice.
 

 

[takezo]

Quote:

The hum could be caused by a DC voltage on your AC power, if that is the case, something like the PS Audio Humbuster could help. There are probably less expensive ways of solving the same problem though...

the hum is most probably the result of leaking AC ripple in the DC supply within the front section and/or the power supply section. best way to confirm is to use a multimeter and look
for AC voltage, most likely in the mV range, on pin 1 and pin 6 of the wa6SE amp section.
if confirmed, one can increase the capacitance for better ripple filtering and/or lower the
voltage being applied.

 

[grokit]

Can you move the iLok dongle from machine to machine so you could use a single license on multiple computers?
 
Quote:

Pure Music can be used on multiple computers, but I have spent hours today going back and forth between PM 1.7 and Amarra Mini 2.1.1 (I have a 14 day unlimited trial with my iLok). While I think the price of Amarra is borderline criminal, I am definitely convinced it sounds better, especially when you use the playlist mode and not drive it from iTunes. PM seems airier and more spacious at first, but there is something wrong with the timbre of instruments - the harmonic texture is off. Amarra is clearly better on my rig if you get past the HiFi wow factor and listen to the dimensionality of individual instruments and the harmonic structure of them. PM ends up sounding "digital" to me compared to Amarra. And while my system is pretty good, it is far from being state of the art in resolution.
 
The ultimate test was when I quit concentrating on minute changes and listened to a song while I was working on something else at the other computer. With PM I all of a sudden was drawn back to the sound as being artificial and a little fatiguing. With Amarra, I forgot about the equipment for a few minutes and just enjoyed the music - when I snapped back to attention and listened to the sound (as opposed to the music), I was struck by how natural it still sounded. 
 
Sorry about your wallet, but Amarra is the superior player IMHO. I'm tempted to use the tubes versus transistors analogy - while there are good SS amps and not so good tune amps, the difference here is similar to the stereotypical tubes vs SS sound.
 
Quote:

Is Pure Music single license or can I install it on all of my Macs? Is there an iTunes/Windows version? I run 5 different iTunes platforms...
 
edit: Never mind, I just found that the license will run on 8 machines but I don't think it "does Windows". Looks nice though, I think I will get it as I have been considering Amarra Lite which needs a frickkin' dongle and is only for one computer. It will run on all three Macs though, even the one running OS10.5.

 

 

 

[mikemalter]

Quote:

Quote:

The hum could be caused by a DC voltage on your AC power, if that is the case, something like the PS Audio Humbuster could help. There are probably less expensive ways of solving the same problem though...

the hum is most probably the result of leaking AC ripple in the DC supply within the front section and/or the power supply section. best way to confirm is to use a multimeter and look
for AC voltage, most likely in the mV range, on pin 1 and pin 6 of the wa6SE amp section.
if confirmed, one can increase the capacitance for better ripple filtering and/or lower the
voltage being applied.

Mostly the Woo headphone amplifiers hum because... wait for it.. they don't know the words! 

 

 

 

[Skylab]

Funny thing it, I have owned a lot of tube amps, and one of the things I like most about the Woo amps I own is that neither one hums AT ALL.  Many of my other tube amps did have some hum audible at least with certain headphones.  Not so my WA2 or WA6.  Totally silent with any headphone I have tried.

 

[65dos]

Tell us about wa6, I thought to buy.

 

[mikemalter]

Quote:

Funny thing it, I have owned a lot of tube amps, and one of the things I like most about the Woo amps I own is that neither one hums AT ALL.  Many of my other tube amps did have some hum audible at least with certain headphones.  Not so my WA2 or WA6.  Totally silent with any headphone I have tried.

Me too.  I am a sucker for Audio Research's VT 100 series and my current preamp is tubed, and there always is a little hum audible.
 

 

[grokit]

The only noise I get out of my WA22 is the occasional tube microphonics. And that is only with no music playing, and only if I touch the amp or the stand/platform it is on.

 

[khollister]

yup - any computer you want, just one at a time.
 
Quote:

Can you move the iLok dongle from machine to machine so you could use a single license on multiple computers?
 
 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Improvement in sound, not really.  But vibration was noticeably reduced, even eliminated.  In my experience, often what is perceived as equipment hum is caused by very small vibrations, especially with tube gear.
 
The amp is also much cooler to the touch after running for a few hours.The brass footers afford 1.5 inches of clearance, and possibly they are pulling some heat from the amp's chassis.  The equipment rack is also a Mapleshade unit, with very thick, heavy slabs of oak for shelves.  This helps with vibration, as well.  Here's a photo of the entire setup:
 
 

 
I too, shop at Mapleshade and recognized your accessories right away. Had been contemplating purchase of footers the past month. I like the 30 Day return on goods policy.Bought and returned the M2Tech hi-face re-clocking adapter; kept the black isoblocks and is paired with a 2" maple platform from another source. Brass footers will complete this assembly for my WA6SE. 
 
To hedge against the above project, I ordered a set of Via Blue Tri-Absorbers this morning. Looking forward to see which solution I like better. We all hope you get your hum resolved soon. I had a hum in my Woo the first month and despite my preference for silence in the listening room, I wanted to scream! 

 
Turned out to be the coax in to the HDTV box. Rerouted cable through surge protector for grounding and now relieved to say my amp is dead silent. Also, I'm running a pair 6SN7 tubes in my WA6SE and my amp stays cool even after 8 hours of play. With stock 6EW7 tubes my Woo would get hot and stay hot! Hopefully, the footers will do its vibration control but added airflow not required.

 

[Red Jacket Mike]

Quote:

Quote:

Improvement in sound, not really.  But vibration was noticeably reduced, even eliminated.  In my experience, often what is perceived as equipment hum is caused by very small vibrations, especially with tube gear.
 
The amp is also much cooler to the touch after running for a few hours.The brass footers afford 1.5 inches of clearance, and possibly they are pulling some heat from the amp's chassis.  The equipment rack is also a Mapleshade unit, with very thick, heavy slabs of oak for shelves.  This helps with vibration, as well.  Here's a photo of the entire setup:
 
 

 
I too, shop at Mapleshade and recognized your accessories right away. Had been contemplating purchase of footers the past month. I like the 30 Day return on goods policy.Bought and returned the M2Tech hi-face re-clocking adapter; kept the black isoblocks and is paired with a 2" maple platform from another source. Brass footers will complete this assembly for my WA6SE. 
 
To hedge against the above project, I ordered a set of Via Blue Tri-Absorbers this morning. Looking forward to see which solution I like better. We all hope you get your hum resolved soon. I had a hum in my Woo the first month and despite my preference for silence in the listening room, I wanted to scream! 

 
Turned out to be the coax in to the HDTV box. Rerouted cable through surge protector for grounding and now relieved to say my amp is dead silent. Also, I'm running a pair 6SN7 tubes in my WA6SE and my amp stays cool even after 8 hours of play. With stock 6EW7 tubes my Woo would get hot and stay hot! Hopefully, the footers will do its vibration control but added airflow not required.

Thanks for the info and suggestions; actually, I'm listening right now, and I can't hear the hum at all.  I'll have to try and figure out what's different electrically in my house tonight.  Maybe the hum is just occasionally inside my head . . .

 

[Skylab]

Thanks for the info and suggestions; actually, I'm listening right now, and I can't hear the hum at all.  I'll have to try and figure out what's different electrically in my house tonight.  Maybe the hum is just occasionally inside my head . . .

 


Dimmers are notorious for adding buzz or hum on the AC lines. Try turning any dimmers you may have all the way off.

 

[Xcalibur255]

A call out to WA22 owners...... if anybody would be kind enough to help.   I started to get curious about why there is no Black Gate parts upgrade package for the WA22 when there exists one for both the WA6SE and the WA5.  If anybody has been inside their amp could you possibly let me know what parts are in use for the capacitors and resistors?  If they are Rubycons like the stock WA6 then I'd definitely have to talk to Jack about doing a bit of customizing to swap a few out for Mundorfs or Sonicaps when the time comes to order mine.  If Jack is using something good already like the Auricaps that are inside the WES then it would make sense that there is no upgrade option.

 

[avsBuddy]

Guys, my WA2 hams when connected to the main A/V system as a pre at any volume, but is fine when listening through headphones. When I lift the ground by using a two prong power cable, hum disappears. Is this a typical grounding issue? Is there any harm in running WA2 without ground?
 
I actually want to comment on how quite WA2 are though the headphones, the noise floor on this amp is amazing.
 
On a negative side, I have a small cosmetic defect (scratch) on my WA2. Has anyone else got any blemishes on their new Woo amps or am I the only lucky one. It's small enough that I feel silly that I'm bothered by it, but by the same talking it bugs me.