[Xcalibur255]

I see Vcaps for the coupling caps.  That will sound clear as a bell in an isolation chamber once burned in. 
 
Did Glenn change the cathode bypass caps to something different?

 

[mikemalter]

 
Quote:

I see Vcaps for the coupling caps.  That will sound clear as a bell in an isolation chamber once burned in. 
 
Did Glenn change the cathode bypass caps to something different?

Which ones are the cathode bypass caps?
 
I've been reading that V-Caps need 400 hours burn-in time.  What do you think?
 
 

 

[jc9394]

Quote:

 

Which ones are the cathode bypass caps?
 
I've been reading that V-Caps need 400 hours burn-in time.  What do you think?
 
 

When I had my WA6 maxxed, I heard no changes after 500 hours.  No sure on WA22 since I got it used.

 

[2359glenn]

 
Quote:

I see Vcaps for the coupling caps.  That will sound clear as a bell in an isolation chamber once burned in. 
 
Did Glenn change the cathode bypass caps to something different?

Yes I removed the bypass caps from the board and used Sprague Atom caps for bypass the two big blue caps those are for the 6AS7s
500uf 100 volt
and the two black caps at the bottom center of the board 250uf 25 volt
 Removing the two bypass caps from the board gave room for the 2 yellow poly caps that I added to bypass the last electrolytic
 capacitors in the power supply that supply power to the 6AS7s.
also changed the 4 6SN7 plate resistors removed the cheep 33000 ohm 5% 1/2 watt resistors with Caddock non inductive
33000 ohm 1% 7 watt resistors
 

 

[BrucYSN]

Quote:

Wow. You can still get BGs? That's great.
 
 

 
I replaced em with BGs , got  help from a friend who's a post doc in EE, he manage to find some supplies through school and the used/broken equipment they got there. 
Frankly as ignorant about EE or amp as I do, I've got no idea what he has done o.O. But I really trust his knowledge lol. 
 
Although what other mod his done with his amp lol 
 
Frankly I didn't notice any difference with mine, since I only had very little time with the stock one.... but I really didn't think the whole mod thing worth my friend's time.....

 

[adamrut]

  Quote:

Last week I started looking to buy my first WA22 (used). But it would require liquidating a couple of pieces first. Then a new member appears in this thread this afternoon (with cash) seeking to buy a WA22 from any of you current members. He's standing where I recently stood 'cause I ain't got no cash. 

  (to the back of the line, Silent one!)
 

Quote:

They do come up from time to time...good luck!
 

[size=10.0pt]Sorry Silent, you are correct.  I'm new here and happily get behind you in line for a used WA22.  [/size]

[size=10.0pt]  I just bought a par a of LCD-2's rev1 from a fellow member and using them with a Little Dot MKIII.  It's a nice modest setup however I would like to go to a balanced setup.  After reading all of the great review and posts regarding the WA22 I figured I would though my hat in the ring.  [/size]
 
[size=10.0pt]MacedonianHero - Thanks for the e[/size]ncouragement but it looks like have some competition

 

 

[mikemalter]

 
I have a little more time and can post some nicer pictures.
 
 
Pre-mod

 
 
Complete mod at a glance

 
 
Bones:




 
Details of the innards (L then R)

 

 

 
Details of replacement wireing on headphone outputs.  Balanced outputs send a balanced signal and are disconnected from the single ended
1/4 inch jack by a switch.  That switch will activate when a 1/4 inch jack is plugged in which will then make all output single ended.  The net
effect of this wiring is that the amp is now fully balanced back to front and the default is a balanced output through the balanced headphone
jacks in the front.  If you have a single ended headphone, you plug it into the 1/4 inch jack and then you get a single ended output.  The
sonic effects of this part of the modification are that highs are less congested.  This was an experiment as it's effects were unknown given
the strength of Woo's design.  The sonic impact to me was minimal, and it seems to me that it would not be worth it to just get this done only, however
if you are getting other things done, then it would we worth it.

 
I don't have a lot to say about the differences in sound at this point as I have read that the V-Caps take 400 hours to breakin and the sound is
all over the map.  However, I would like to give a cooking analogy.  I have this dish I like to make for Sunday lunch, with fried onions, green
and orange peppers, a jalipano, lots of white mushrooms and a single very large crimini mushroom. 
 
Cooking with just some salt and a little pepper and it's a really good dish and hits the spot.  However when I use some of Chef Paul's vegetable
magic seasoning, all of a sudden the contrast of the sweet and salty notes start playing off of each other.  The peppers taste really sweet
and their flavor becomes more pronounced.  So at this early stage, this mod is like my sunday lunch, it was really good before (as everyone knows
how good the WA22 is natively), and the mods just took the excellence of what was there and made it more pronounced, and as a result there
is more dimensionality and depth.
 
As the hours pass, I'll post every so often as changes occurr.  I am hearing flashes of something really nice.

 

[Xcalibur255]

Very nice looking.  It is every bit as clean looking as the stock build.  Also, thanks to Glenn for elaborating a bit on the changes.  I was considering having the Nichicon Muse or Elna Silnic II substituted for the stock cathode bypass caps when it came time to get mine, but your mod takes it to another level over that.  That and I'm definitely getting the stock coupling caps replaced with something else, but what else I haven't decided yet.  It's still a long way off (had to spend the money I was putting aside for it to replace my PC instead) but I enjoy laying the plans out ahead of time.
 
As for the Vcaps........ I can't confirm or deny the 400 hour number, but there is wide consensus that Vcaps need time to open up.  Cheers, and I hope you enjoy your new WA22+  Mike! 

 

[Silent One]

WA22+
 
That's a great way to look at the enhanced '22', Xcalibur255! And 2359glenn, great job!!! mikemalter, you'e in for a beautiful autumn. I agree that the numbers for different caps reaching full bloom are all over the street. However, in my own conservative view, though caps may begin to show some early improvement up through 500 hours, at minimum I'm looking at 1,000 hours. Vcaps, Black Gates and a few others will all need to crash the 1k mark to be at full sonic bloom (my opinion, of course). 
 
After further thought though, I'm basing this on a new amp. But what if an amp is previously broken, perhaps that time could/should be cut? Something to ponder over breakfast...
 
My projection? December, if his play-in schedule accounts for a single 8-10 hour effort each day. Also considering September will be a split month for him as well. If he decides to run split 8 hour shifts each day (2 a day), he will reach nirvana on Friday, 28 October. He'll be celebrating his Woo in full-bloom, I'll be celebrating the first day of Eggnog season!. 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

[size=10.0pt]Sorry Silent, you are correct.  I'm new here and happily get behind you in line for a used WA22.  [/size]

[size=10.0pt]  I just bought a par a of LCD-2's rev1 from a fellow member and using them with a Little Dot MKIII.  It's a nice modest setup however I would like to go to a balanced setup.  After reading all of the great review and posts regarding the WA22 I figured I would though my hat in the ring.  [/size]
 
[size=10.0pt]MacedonianHero - Thanks for the e[/size]ncouragement but it looks like have some competition

 

adamrut ~
 
Welcome to head-fi and the 'Unite' thread in particular!

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Wow, how old is your Sophia? Few thousand hours? I know they darken with use over time but.. I've never seen anything like that.
 

 
 

I had my Sophia Princess about eight months and she started to darken rather quickly, beginning in month three. But her performance was never affected.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

 
I have a little more time and can post some nicer pictures.
 
 
Pre-mod

 
 
Complete mod at a glance

 
 
Bones:




 
Details of the innards (L then R)

 

 

 
Details of replacement wireing on headphone outputs.  Balanced outputs send a balanced signal and are disconnected from the single ended
1/4 inch jack by a switch.  That switch will activate when a 1/4 inch jack is plugged in which will then make all output single ended.  The net
effect of this wiring is that the amp is now fully balanced back to front and the default is a balanced output through the balanced headphone
jacks in the front.  If you have a single ended headphone, you plug it into the 1/4 inch jack and then you get a single ended output.  The
sonic effects of this part of the modification are that highs are less congested.  This was an experiment as it's effects were unknown given
the strength of Woo's design.  The sonic impact to me was minimal, and it seems to me that it would not be worth it to just get this done only, however
if you are getting other things done, then it would we worth it.

 
I don't have a lot to say about the differences in sound at this point as I have read that the V-Caps take 400 hours to breakin and the sound is
all over the map.  However, I would like to give a cooking analogy.  I have this dish I like to make for Sunday lunch, with fried onions, green
and orange peppers, a jalipano, lots of white mushrooms and a single very large crimini mushroom. 
 
Cooking with just some salt and a little pepper and it's a really good dish and hits the spot.  However when I use some of Chef Paul's vegetable
magic seasoning, all of a sudden the contrast of the sweet and salty notes start playing off of each other.  The peppers taste really sweet
and their flavor becomes more pronounced.  So at this early stage, this mod is like my sunday lunch, it was really good before (as everyone knows
how good the WA22 is natively), and the mods just took the excellence of what was there and made it more pronounced, and as a result there
is more dimensionality and depth.
 
As the hours pass, I'll post every so often as changes occurr.  I am hearing flashes of something really nice.

Bones? Brilliant play! You got that Nikon charged up just in time - great shots! Although, I'm just starting to dig the Sunday Brunch analogy... too close to breakfast! 

 

[Clayton SF]

Mike, I think that you've voided the WA22's warranty.

 

[WarriorAnt]

Of course we'll never know but I'd love to hear what Woo would say about the upgraded mod.   

 

[Skylab]

I'm sure Glenn provides a warranty for his work.