So I’ve had my WA22 for about a week now and here are some of my thoughts on how it sounds and compares to the WA2 (thanks to Shane...Sophonax for letting me hold onto his WA2 for a few days after he bought it from me).
My initial comparison will focus on both amps being run in un-balanced mode as at the time of the comparisons, my W4S DAC-2 hadn’t arrived.
Setup:
Marantz CD Player --> SPDIF (Audioquest VDM-3) --> Cary XCiter DAC --> RCA Nordost Red Dawn RCA --> Woo Amp
Tubes:
WA2: NOS Tung-Sol 5998 Power tubes, Mullard CV2492 Driver tubes, Telefunken EZ80 Rectifier tubes.
WA22: NOS Tung-Sol 7236 Power tubes, EH-Gold 6SN7 Driver tubes and Winged “C” SED Black Plate 5U4G Rectifier tube
Headphones:
LCD-2, HD800, and T1
Albums:
Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd (SACD/CD 30th anniversary version)
Jazz at the Pawnshop
The Very Best of the Grateful Dead
Kind of Blue (Legendary Edition)...I mean Legacy Edition...thanks Vince.
What I heard:
LCD-2s:
Treble:
I found the treble very slightly more present with the WA22, but for practicality's sake, let’s call them about the same.
Mids:
More forward and organic mids on the WA22. Some might find this a bit too much, but I really enjoyed the presentation. Vocals were very true to life and incredibly clear. In contrast, the WA2 had a more balanced mid section that blended in more with the bass and treble. Both were outstanding. I slightly however preferred the WA22.
Bass:
Simply put, the WA22 had punchier and more controlled bass. The WA2 was no slouch, but the WA22 offered a better and more realistic presentation.
Sound staging & Dynamics:
The LCD-2s are not known for HD800 expansive sound staging, but both Woo Amps were up to the task with an edge to the WA22 for a wider and deeper presentation. Dynamics too were more apparent with the bigger brother. The WA2 seemed more “polite” in the presentation, but I guess orthos respond to more power and the 1.5-2 Watts of the WA22 made the difference.
Tonality:
Both are tube amps, no doubt, but neither is overly lush to my ears (like the MAD Ear+HD was), but again, neither was like the SS sounding WA6 either. I’m a tube guy and both are up my alley with regards to musical preferences. I would say that the WA22 was a slightly tighter amp with better dynamics, while it’s OTL sibling was more polite in its presentation.
HD800s:
Very similar results to the LCD-2s. I guess both headphones are very revealing of what’s upstream and both the Audeze and Sennheiser headphones were in agreement. But the differences were more in favour with the HD800s. I really loved the rich mids of the WA22 and the HD800. Both are phenomenal amps with the HD800s, but I’d give a slight preference to the WA22 here for the same reasons mentioned before: improved mids, dynamics, sound staging. Another note, the bass on the HD800s was nicely improved with regards to both more “punch” and control.
In terms of treble, mids, bass, treble, tonality, etc...all my findings from the LCD-2s hold true.
T1s:
Likely the closest in terms of performance (as I heard it anyway). The WA2 and T1 is a phenomenal combination and at 600 ohms an OTL amp is just what the doctor ordered. But the WA22 certainly held its own (with output impedance set to “High”). The only differences I heard were a “tighter” and clearer presentation from the WA22 and more forward/organic mids. Sound staging was very slightly better with the WA22...very slightly IMO.
Like the LCD-2s and HD800s, the rest of the story holds true here in terms of tonality, treble, etc.....
Then came my W4S DAC-2 after I had shipped off the WA2....and the game changed. :basshead:
I consider the Cary XCiter DAC a very revealing, but musical DAC that is one of the very best I’ve heard, but it’s one issue for me...no balanced outputs. Running both DACs with un-balanced outputs yielded very comparable results. But once I fed the WA22 a balanced signal...as Emeril puts it....it "kicked it up a notch".
I’ve had my W4S DAC-2 for a few days now (not even fully burnt in) but the differences with balanced vs. un-balanced inputs to my WA22 were surprising. The dynamics improved substantially. Things tightened up by a reasonable margin, clarity improved, punch and attack as well. Sound staging opened from big to wow. If you own the WA22, you owe it to yourself to MAKE SURE YOUR SOURCE IS BALANCED...TRUST ME.
In Conclusion:
Both the WA2 and WA22 are incredible amps, no doubt to my ears. Woo Audio really should be commended for not just their sonic prowess, but their incredible construction. Talk about SOLID and “audio-art”. Breathtaking.
Now, the WA22 is almost twice the cost of the WA2, but the differences are far from twice the performance. The laws of diminished returns have definitely kicked in at this level. Do I prefer the WA22? Yes I do...especially in balanced mode. But the improvements are not vast.
The WA2 is a great amp that works incredibly well with high impedance dynamic headphones like the T1s and HD800s and surprisingly well with the LCD-2s. My Ed. 8s (not previously mentioned) also worked very well. It is a “tubey” sounding amp, more laid back compared to the WA22 that I wholeheartedly recommend. But with my WA22 in house, I've since sold my Meier Concerto (my "go to" Ed. 8LE amp as the WA22 has now taken that roll).
The WA22 (especially in balanced mode) has improved the great qualities of the WA2...not huge, but noticeable (least so with the T1s IMO though). It offers a more dynamic presentation with more forward mids and overall refinement. But it does come at 1.7X the cost.
In the end, you can’t really go wrong with either amp....well, unless you’re intending to drive the HE-6s.
My initial comparison will focus on both amps being run in un-balanced mode as at the time of the comparisons, my W4S DAC-2 hadn’t arrived.
Setup:
Marantz CD Player --> SPDIF (Audioquest VDM-3) --> Cary XCiter DAC --> RCA Nordost Red Dawn RCA --> Woo Amp
Tubes:
WA2: NOS Tung-Sol 5998 Power tubes, Mullard CV2492 Driver tubes, Telefunken EZ80 Rectifier tubes.
WA22: NOS Tung-Sol 7236 Power tubes, EH-Gold 6SN7 Driver tubes and Winged “C” SED Black Plate 5U4G Rectifier tube
Headphones:
LCD-2, HD800, and T1
Albums:
Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd (SACD/CD 30th anniversary version)
Jazz at the Pawnshop
The Very Best of the Grateful Dead
Kind of Blue (Legendary Edition)...I mean Legacy Edition...thanks Vince.
What I heard:
LCD-2s:
Treble:
I found the treble very slightly more present with the WA22, but for practicality's sake, let’s call them about the same.
Mids:
More forward and organic mids on the WA22. Some might find this a bit too much, but I really enjoyed the presentation. Vocals were very true to life and incredibly clear. In contrast, the WA2 had a more balanced mid section that blended in more with the bass and treble. Both were outstanding. I slightly however preferred the WA22.
Bass:
Simply put, the WA22 had punchier and more controlled bass. The WA2 was no slouch, but the WA22 offered a better and more realistic presentation.
Sound staging & Dynamics:
The LCD-2s are not known for HD800 expansive sound staging, but both Woo Amps were up to the task with an edge to the WA22 for a wider and deeper presentation. Dynamics too were more apparent with the bigger brother. The WA2 seemed more “polite” in the presentation, but I guess orthos respond to more power and the 1.5-2 Watts of the WA22 made the difference.
Tonality:
Both are tube amps, no doubt, but neither is overly lush to my ears (like the MAD Ear+HD was), but again, neither was like the SS sounding WA6 either. I’m a tube guy and both are up my alley with regards to musical preferences. I would say that the WA22 was a slightly tighter amp with better dynamics, while it’s OTL sibling was more polite in its presentation.
HD800s:
Very similar results to the LCD-2s. I guess both headphones are very revealing of what’s upstream and both the Audeze and Sennheiser headphones were in agreement. But the differences were more in favour with the HD800s. I really loved the rich mids of the WA22 and the HD800. Both are phenomenal amps with the HD800s, but I’d give a slight preference to the WA22 here for the same reasons mentioned before: improved mids, dynamics, sound staging. Another note, the bass on the HD800s was nicely improved with regards to both more “punch” and control.
In terms of treble, mids, bass, treble, tonality, etc...all my findings from the LCD-2s hold true.
T1s:
Likely the closest in terms of performance (as I heard it anyway). The WA2 and T1 is a phenomenal combination and at 600 ohms an OTL amp is just what the doctor ordered. But the WA22 certainly held its own (with output impedance set to “High”). The only differences I heard were a “tighter” and clearer presentation from the WA22 and more forward/organic mids. Sound staging was very slightly better with the WA22...very slightly IMO.
Like the LCD-2s and HD800s, the rest of the story holds true here in terms of tonality, treble, etc.....
Then came my W4S DAC-2 after I had shipped off the WA2....and the game changed. :basshead:
I consider the Cary XCiter DAC a very revealing, but musical DAC that is one of the very best I’ve heard, but it’s one issue for me...no balanced outputs. Running both DACs with un-balanced outputs yielded very comparable results. But once I fed the WA22 a balanced signal...as Emeril puts it....it "kicked it up a notch".
I’ve had my W4S DAC-2 for a few days now (not even fully burnt in) but the differences with balanced vs. un-balanced inputs to my WA22 were surprising. The dynamics improved substantially. Things tightened up by a reasonable margin, clarity improved, punch and attack as well. Sound staging opened from big to wow. If you own the WA22, you owe it to yourself to MAKE SURE YOUR SOURCE IS BALANCED...TRUST ME.
In Conclusion:
Both the WA2 and WA22 are incredible amps, no doubt to my ears. Woo Audio really should be commended for not just their sonic prowess, but their incredible construction. Talk about SOLID and “audio-art”. Breathtaking.
Now, the WA22 is almost twice the cost of the WA2, but the differences are far from twice the performance. The laws of diminished returns have definitely kicked in at this level. Do I prefer the WA22? Yes I do...especially in balanced mode. But the improvements are not vast.
The WA2 is a great amp that works incredibly well with high impedance dynamic headphones like the T1s and HD800s and surprisingly well with the LCD-2s. My Ed. 8s (not previously mentioned) also worked very well. It is a “tubey” sounding amp, more laid back compared to the WA22 that I wholeheartedly recommend. But with my WA22 in house, I've since sold my Meier Concerto (my "go to" Ed. 8LE amp as the WA22 has now taken that roll).
The WA22 (especially in balanced mode) has improved the great qualities of the WA2...not huge, but noticeable (least so with the T1s IMO though). It offers a more dynamic presentation with more forward mids and overall refinement. But it does come at 1.7X the cost.
In the end, you can’t really go wrong with either amp....well, unless you’re intending to drive the HE-6s.
