[abvolt]

  I totally agree                                                                                                                                                                       

 
These bags of sand surely  would stop any vibrations plus helpful in case of flooding hehe..enjoy 

 

[Badas]

Maybe the Vibb Eaters Mini stops vibrations from the transformer? I had vibration problems with my WA22 when I first got it, but it's been fine since I upgraded the power cord and added a power filter. A tech I know mentioned that I could open up the top and fill the compartment with something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-LBS-Glass-Bead-MIL-3-A-20-30-grit-Coarse-Media-Reborn-Doll-Abrasive-/121836693679

I've been thinking about your power cord comment since reading it a while back. I've never been a power cord type of guy. I have a lot of Home Theater equipment and stock cables have worked fine. Crikey I have a US$35K projector and I'm using the stock cable.

However I am strong believer of power conditioning. You can hear the results on speakers very clearly. More dynamic like they have more power supply.

I also get occasional humming from the WA22. Very random. Never any logic to it. So I may bite. What the hell. I might as well upgrade one cable out of my whole system. Especially after your comment and findings.

My very good local HT shop has a range of very good after market cables. So I will get what they recommend. I have power protection and conditioning covered as my WA22 is plugged into the Belkn pure AV on the bottom of this rack. When I use my HP gear none of the HT power amps are supplied power (it is button controllable) so there is no other power cord interference. Only essential HP power cords are active. You can program modes.

 

[Badas]

In other news I'm picking up a lightly used pair of Ether Flows tomorrow. I'm buying them. So they will be in my toolbox.

Over the next little while I will report on the WA22 / Ether Flow pairing if anyone is interested.

If the Ether Flow is as good as reported and I like I think the LCD-3s will be finding a new home. I'm not using them very often.

 

[SP Wild]

I am looking forward to sharing experiences of the 22 in this thread.  I haven't had any significant spare time to listen hours on end and compare to my other amps.
 
But from the short experience I have with amp, I think I understand it's character.  It is the most different sounding amp I have heard in a long while.  The first word to come to my mind is vivid.  Going back to the Speedball Crack and Valhalla is a bit of a shock.  Both of those are audibly in a lower tier of performance....and the first sensation going back is Loosey Goosey, both of them.  Also Veiled.
 
The closest in overall tonality that comes to mind would be the Lehmann Black Cube Linear  My Musical Fidelity and Valhalla 2 are leaner...both exhibiting the same basic 6922 tube characteristic.  The Speedball Crack and my Audio GD Phoenix have a similar tonality, both a tad warmer
 
In terms of tube amps...this one seem to really put a grip on my headphones.  Midbass is solid state tight.  Treble is Solid state extended. midrange is full tube glory, lower mids AND uppermids.  I find tube amps tend to open either one or the other, not both at the same time.  So that is why this tube amp sounds so different to me.
 
My main headphones at the moment are the HD650s, and less so the LCD2s because of weight and the need to always crank those up loud (I have the R1).
 
Music at the Moment is 4 decades of top hits up till current top hits.  Streamed on Google play in Google browser, through to Reference 7 dac via latest XMOS usb spdif convertor from AudioGD.  Balanced into the WA22.
 
I Like that I can utilize my balance DAC with single ended headphone plug...I think one of the biggest mistakes I made was going balanced and having to snip the ends of my headphone cables and re terminate.  Not sure if the fact that the single ended output is balanced to ground is of any asset...but the fact that I can utilize all 8 of my Multibit dac chips without having to snip my headphone cables is a significant variable.

 

[abvolt]

In other news I'm picking up a lightly used pair of Ether Flows tomorrow. I'm buying them. So they will be in my toolbox.

Over the next little while I will report on the WA22 / Ether Flow pairing if anyone is interested.

If the Ether Flow is as good as reported and I like I think the LCD-3s will be finding a new home. I'm not using them very often.

I've been looking at those also let us know how you like them..enjoy

 

[leftside]

" I've never been a power cord type of guy. I have a lot of Home Theater equipment and stock cables have worked fine"
I totally agree. It's the only "expensive" power cord I've purchased. I also have the Blue Circle BC 6000 power conditioner for the room with the WA22.

 

[davehg]

I have a few high end power cords I use on the WA22: a Cardas Golden reference, a Foundation Research LC2, and a few other cables. I can clearly hear differences between them, and prefer the LC2. Both cables retailed for about a grand but thanks to Audiogon I can get them for about $350. Power cables are something I would upgrade.

My experience with power conditioners are not positive. Everyone I have tried seems to suck the life out of the system. These have included PS Audio and Richard Gray. They were expensive and on everyone, the sound was worse. I did have my last room wired with a dedicated circuit and used Furutech AC receptacles and will do so in my next house remodel.

I've learned over 20 years in this hobby to always keep your good interconnect and power cables. You always end up replacing them, and it usually costs more.

 

[Badas]

 

 
 
I've got the Ether Flows (extremely nice).
 
Also got a set of TSRP 6SL7's for the WA22. Fun times.
 

 

[abvolt]

Awesome can't wait to hear your thoughts in comparison to your lcd3's, I see you've got the nighthawk's as well how do you like them..Enjoy

 

[Badas]

  Awesome can't wait to hear your thoughts in comparison to your lcd3's, I see you've got the nighthawk's as well how do you like them..Enjoy

First thoughts. LCD-3's are done. Flow is better in every way.
 
Lov my Hawks. A very fun sounding HP. Not accurate in any way but fun and easy listening. I'm a fan.

 

[Arcamera]

The 22 is in the house. WooHoo!
 
Now to sanctify the listening zone. Can I borrow some of those crystals from the previous page?

 

[Arcamera]

A couple of questions:
 
Does anyone actually prefer the low-gain option? So far at least, I find the high-gain position to make the sound more immediate and defined.
 
What do people use to tackle dust?

 

[Badas]

  The 22 is in the house. WooHoo!
 
Now to sanctify the listening zone. Can I borrow some of those crystals from the previous page?

 
Congrats dude.

  A couple of questions:
 
Does anyone actually prefer the low-gain option? So far at least, I find the high-gain position to make the sound more immediate and defined.
 
What do people use to tackle dust?

 
It can really depend. It depends on tubes used and HP's.
 
I find with some tubes there is no volume change between Hi and Low. With one set of tubes I actually had Low producing more volume than Hi.
 
Really it is the subtle sound differences that are important. That really is up to the HP's themselves. At the moment I have one HP that virtually sounds the same on both Hi and Low however the other HP sounds better to my ears on Low. So yes at the moment I use Low. That is likely to change as I have replaced those HP's with the Ether Flow. So it need retesting.
 
Point is. Listen to both and you decide which sounds best. If you change tubes or HP's re-evaluate.

 

[abvolt]

  The 22 is in the house. WooHoo!
 
Now to sanctify the listening zone. Can I borrow some of those crystals from the previous page?

awesome I'm sure you'll really love it's great sound..congrats & enjoy

 

[ghhf]

  The 22 is in the house. WooHoo!
 
Now to sanctify the listening zone. Can I borrow some of those crystals from the previous page?

 
Congratulations!
 
I do have some more, sorry pics only, not for sale nor lend .... LOL