Woo Audio WA-8
May 24, 2017 at 11:31 PM Post #676 of 838
d1JtH8_PHlcltOWeI6n6cFCIDSLxcFq0jjgyFi3TL1VU4TNHSKDdGSmfJ6RqCwm8AE65cdiUS0OW5jDpv5frHKYJIyQ_LKMXuwfuZISa4pBLpKv5oDAI4zsjh38VQNVDlotsfJoDMEN3byDpRImaBF_lEnKdkv9rz9f_Fjfjk35BDge9rnVDsIRe60z7dcO9i78Fv-1oloa_FnPWai_pUAMSSzTgvWbbjs3b_KCnXdccYv3Qdt0fvinlTNM9cJsnonhzS0jTqwXsDwaVzhoTZI1mcTcabtDdigsk3AHC0_CwU6r7A62HRbZ1fvzNbsvho3ks9BCcDNZNhxdCRZZOumwNtyno7lQ9xl-_GHdpq9XHwGEcFA7cUQEsdAlLGbCDku7PxWHmW_wp4toDaNioDRifPSFL6dX7qZqNY45wtYwr-D5i4ajLBRYgCeDIuK43IEE9ZxKdzW2glNoIBKARdGExt1DwPzFsjR7oud839byESLrBV-f6ppXgzeedeR2mWaTxoGETPipJpW0tKxWyJUMYRtdNCMKydMEQ6jLgXB9QnIJeLiif88DdDrdKnVzyUXsucQcqjNpOpNEZ2wkE99H2_4ccZRthPsKY_wYgZ90H7Ja6dstevw=w1016-h1047-no


iLtb2TQqqTWF-C7EOpxTwaozw4rsrR_3N3RU3DkcHoajbHDf1IM2uwNzHyhI_lDz5b_yKg6MMiF399JpeJObkIhqwER_X2KZ3CsuP7OY1xCsihE2oo6uCAacn62UBjkJXTRq_Qxz3xmsaPn2oTAu8fT1GEgyXRl4EV3R57UUhEX2Xm19RlvspVv64FuJLbxJv_fbsaw4iD9CiaZawsNfgBb2G-2r4cVe8JJydkEKER2XaoCGou-ct2Tvg_0pt7_Y5pWQkfiL90F0msouNYtIyPTdiheBXp0ZF_uFJJduhtSZku1a3ZZm6W-Fr5U64-0jpaY2LwZ_kcdnrYSjDXqUjdCg-gAly_F6kxxsTQYZbcpQ9p7_-lIOu6HAhzeYKJg-F8PCQoeNlgwhVpFyYOvVVGHfgn941P9YY0EzPV0vHg3IawCn5T46LqxnUbIDOsUbYiHZfLmNhuowT78g7liGEZmCXo1aFU3tS_uItLEYPd7NKRMKl8cYzg87pU66w3JTFyOvO6grETtNpYvB-Nm8o61i-XrxGi8923_4qtVYawwGaKVjY8rlXU4QN9YpaEuunp9CvxXk4gg1R4Y2WleQbzBKDNp7ISSt0wevw1adXLG7epUzMd0Cew=w1164-h1047-no


t1tIIsw5q8P7Zwr1QF9QDRmZM8C2UiryeYwsFyvU90VGXcWdzvrJ2e6awvCHtM2CaAa5KhWUFnO-Tw0--DLcuB0cNoqwl3RyGHIbHj_Co9XWEPvXKXxv1LakNX6-BnvN5W4m20n1vHy_8QbMerFjHMMvv8m4km3nzkXBH1hWWjnC2gBfz-A6NnwTbP4NJrCz4TXlH8jJPZ3h5ODXXIpjsa4qf8Gu6hOTeB8C5PiTU0W3ZOT3XPJctdfcNpN1_iTGzqJUSfF9rfMKI9vu75TatytlmMl__bMxITbfw9dqxixy8v6A04QLtEviz6CYdqaUSs_mELiCnKULf52-WbhhOV5VCpQv-d8Z44gWDkSXcA5VWWvV0mOX2XTb91paqzcE0JiKhVxe89JL_aeVD2qUs4qkHUo4wUDnhOge8HNF35QCisP3eBKOKMk7Tnlw2dCYdSFHVW5Q8tKpRpDeoaOHXImM4jbAWsdq4VSFjO_63EckiuqKtMMjZfmO-pbEMVyPvkw1XLNE5s6m__Vo1TWy1qf2S9pGJAQDgipTe9b6AY8ABaNfGYLE0PRIqhhQne3zyr2hp995gWiVAr2mxjDZ2LlJGjMnxH7SWzVLh2frMmaDFaZVBHl3iA=w1223-h1047-no


_xz_0AB-GyRPMfGFLPAp7DoSYob_XJ30q1wNpMAITj5zTddV3yvOG2MqFm3FlP0vd9WWHWlrTLM-AUWW5__zsIwbPi24-JzAiGwQmGVbKSowXf745px6oD3fBadptXq52TfqGE7TvOVMhmtksoXFeh8-23M2TYwarxFbjeH60EMdb3s4BHC7kSKGHEsRwV3ThwrnttJZP6iCtdGymsjOGZ318wgyTabwTL0rzfFr4_UtwD5IERULhnlYTflQi2JU1xIkKdiSt330Tu2fCvHknG6eiaFNjXdM5vS7zxgjuY7SKUbw5w5_6fo4AhDN5fQXBv38Vcj6fg9zBGQZSGL81jHpuYwA75KDsnM8HCzj6wJVqNC7lqKvzlZSTg7Q7vrML3muF0q4hY2q1ycPegg98D0eNjBGPHygHNMFG_YUGh6rbXcqCT_oG39rS61cElMAjG6DUvE65FKjouSXVxxocKKOd-SRiA5VaGChzZ5309rEOi19AwlgHzk_2Nw6tm6VeFkXnci3iEVPOCVNtlZchtFMwq0yf9o67vq7DXpC6kyttQ18p3bDkYga67fYRnWTP2cgEqIGQ7qYfcqBAo5njPRyBqzY3tHpuBzr1uDsC6CYrkPHPkwdyA=w1223-h1047-no


J8eHYIirawiDpImwjMa51VEvmf_Qe6p1aicVbThJFy1L3xt-6AmkiDR3TAoJEOTsfRJwG3uXBH5Nrxxq7JdY78uMNiDjDzIIRw95NN55U5dOLSh02uMbK6J7-l2DlnKsFKJfbFIgm6gQgatRFVor2b3YuODp4g3LFwicJMB9qzxbbh4ae573fmXGLxAJgk5ECCYiF-2kqh_2JWmWY8wPAaQ1sjGadYVN9hlLLg3s9go1maMmuYYM-F3cf473NvkY8FUTK6vx7WrwJjbiO1qkcu3wPto5QcSnCDcHN0dHd7-nG8Vf5VEHNDoCH1MI4x_oz1cnddrWXxnpZaM6ADGRpKq2QH0ql6rb0xG9Y_-uCLKKM8IfrJrfF5-NZnOm4T2OgtBm1qprtm2jiNg457bCY-_hjSoUU0kdV8vklkhJxB6NWb0W20YLUQu5_luW0z-ob8z6rJWZPcG8L0aKtlQ-rrR7OZtg3pxvu5ykJC8qJ3CGQ4HOYPX1CtcmvOumVutcA2qndptMcjevXBcnd8XO8bXux34lhAFFZ-BMf8c2Iv-e5ZvSuV9vMCFMBg35C4FLl29Y1my748lOB1jhsabXqaob70qwpjjuPrzwpNTGbHo0b2eSvHGvlw=w1746-h1047-no


iqaPLn7n5Z6TF3-F493swBRWgivPpQdgwdoAuO8iuYtny81WhH_w9d70i4UgmfgtxyqenS35j4tVMyHQiJedQmu1Mu8sRxhJviCl4WyUxUUARghiX5PjR9h9vZdVsB9thAUiXGVcQbjQq2pe2ou7QgRQ2gYxxi_ZlNDZqu9GVJ553_WZGizWLnuG0zNkceTwjX6Y_AQo3l3WTX6n1SNCTddc6CXme1J654vU1n50f5FGF4a1JSiNb00XMCl_LycrCigleugk3qIylB-_NiOITNCrFk8jSCpcrZx4ZnfSLE0cTZ96Yn7FcuekJ9dh-KqGE-4hpsnxrURWzJhBO4tJmlSBFULf27LnDRhmiW7kmd7bZsruht6YAShCyFz2xuGvl-A-o5CsoSfNEu8EJbz-z7vIHA6uZdSgqE0xGeQzhepzGSPp2kQZDV45sk6jRapyPcIw5FbqSI_PNzG-KgJKNlVIkcL8xkVHnlJHpTPWyNbNpg2IHZLvutUZF-poWM0fQa0BEpyCn6VgZbed4aa-KmTC05NUHgRgMepS8gQIMJhMkXq5wilOWYRtX-jprh86qO66P0yYDVAaxO31ZciqRYNNC4hN9J1HZi09eQF0qhTKL6rVqg_eOg=w1638-h1047-no
 
May 24, 2017 at 11:51 PM Post #677 of 838
OK, unbox porn out of the way, let's proceed...

Picked this up at AudioVison SF... got the last new WA8 they had in stock. Great shop with a phenomenal listening setup, I will continue to go out of my way to patronize them. Originally I wasn't going to buy this because I don't travel much, but I'm doing so more, and have always been a Woo fanboy, so what the heck. It helps that I've heard this several times at meets and at AudioVision and have always been impressed. Sounds great, very solid and warm. Not as liquid and fast as my WA5 but a strong standard-bearer for the Woo house sound nonetheless. I'd put it on par with my (sadly underutilized these days) WA6-SE for sure. I'll likely continue to use my Oppo on the airplane given TSA's increased paranoia and the fact that the unit does get very hot, but my main use case will be on AC power at wherever I travel to for the day and evening.

I did have to download the drivers before this was detected by Windows 10, which was a minor surprise... but they do work fine. I find it odd the charge LEDs don't work when the unit is turned off; I can see how that would be inconvenient for somebody who is going to make more use of the battery on the unit than I will. I also think Woo should offer the tube replacement kit sooner rather than later... people who bought this last year could already been pushing the 5000 hour advertised lifetime, I imagine. There is a turn-off/turn-on pop but it's not that bad even on my most sensitive headphones (B&W P7)... maybe with IEMs it will be annoying, but I don't do IEMs. Background is as black as Satan's heart even with the P7s, so that's great. Build quality is fantastic and the volume control is very manly and beefy... anyone experienced with Woo hardware needs nothing more to be said on this subject I'm sure.

A+++ would buy again.
 
May 26, 2017 at 12:45 AM Post #679 of 838
So I'm not sure why anyone would use the 2-tube mode... even on my P7 there is plenty of volume scaling on 3-tube mode. And the turn-on/off pop is awful on 2-tube mode, whereas on 3-tube mode it's very gentle.
 
May 26, 2017 at 8:06 AM Post #680 of 838
So I'm not sure why anyone would use the 2-tube mode... even on my P7 there is plenty of volume scaling on 3-tube mode. And the turn-on/off pop is awful on 2-tube mode, whereas on 3-tube mode it's very gentle.

What I found in 2 tube mode it sounds a lot like my HA-2
 
May 26, 2017 at 8:38 AM Post #681 of 838
What I found in 2 tube mode it sounds a lot like my HA-2
I think 2-tube is a little leaner, and by default cleaner. With my bottom/mid-afternoon heavy Ori, I actually prefer two to three!
 
May 26, 2017 at 9:18 AM Post #682 of 838
I listened again to the WA8 in Munich, and again it sounded sublime :) . I just hopped WooAudio announced there a new version of the WA8 with upgraded battery life (and may be balanced analog-in to suit my soon to get A&K SP1000) :wink:

anyway, congrats WooAudio...
 
May 26, 2017 at 10:04 PM Post #683 of 838
Found a winner in my endless collection of USB adapter cables and my phone was immediately able to stream cheesy techno to the WA8 with no problems.

i-zjDz7x5-XL.jpg
 
May 31, 2017 at 3:46 PM Post #684 of 838
Two observations:

1. You really want to put some rubber feet on the back of the WA8 so you can lay it on its side. Completely removes any worry of possibly tipping it over and breaking something.
2. It's really not cool that the XMOS USB drivers for Windows 10 are unsigned. This means you have to disable Secure Boot in the BIOS and then run a command in Windows 10 to disable driver integrity checking permanently. This significantly decreases the security of Windows. This is not Woo's fault, but the fault of lazy engineers at XMOS who don't want to put in the time/money to get their drivers signed:

http://www.xcore.com/viewtopic.php?t=5114

Maybe more pressure from vendors and consumers will work? What tasks can possibly be "higher priority" than not exposing your customers to malware infections because they want to use your DACs?
 
Last edited:
Jun 1, 2017 at 10:34 PM Post #685 of 838
WA8 is really power hungry. I made myself a 100W 12V battery charger to make it run longer. It only lasts for 3 more hours! The power consumption is 33W=12V*2.75A!! The battery along is 1.45lb, overall setup is 4 lb, barely portable. Now I understand why WooAudio cannot make it run longer. If they put more battery in it, it will last a bit longer but make it heavier --> not good for portability.
 
Jun 2, 2017 at 8:05 AM Post #687 of 838
I'm flying to California soon and my HA-2 cannot be charged and listened to at the same time. I try to select aircraft and seats that have A/C power for my WA-8

I'm trying to decide on my first desktop DAC that pairs well with Woo products without having to start with a DAVE (which is being recommended). I'd like to create a path that will allow appreciation of that purchase when I finally get a DAVE.
 
Jun 12, 2017 at 3:32 AM Post #688 of 838
I can't seem to get my laptop to recognize the WA8. I have installed the provided driver. I am currently using Windows 10. Anyone have a solution?
 
Jul 5, 2017 at 4:00 PM Post #689 of 838
Now that I have received my A&K SP1000, I Wish there was a version of the WA8 WITHOUT DAC and with inside a bigger battery instead... :grin: . And may be with Balanced InPut...
 
Jul 9, 2017 at 6:49 PM Post #690 of 838
I connect my WA-8 directly to my Synology NAS for the first time today. In Audio Station I selected output to USB speakers and I am able to listen to the audio. I can either control from the web browser or from the DS Audio app on my phone. I was actually able to start the music on the browser and switched seamlessly over to the app. SInce the WA-8 doesn't show colors to indicate the stream so I don't know if it is coming in unprocessed or transcoded. I've played some flac 16 bit, 24 bit and DSD.

Tested about a dozen albums and so far Arrival soundtrack won't play its 16-bit 44.1 so I am going to have to go through and see what else doesn't play. Found another one seems random, so far all were ripped using EAC.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top