[m17xr2b]

It's not just you, I prefer the Sylvania 6080GB, GEC 6AS7G and 6080, Bendix 6080 over the WE421A/5998.

 

[Roasty]

I just received a pair of Tung Sol 6SN7 GTB tall tubes.

I had some low level echoey hum in my right channel when pairing the WE421A with RCA 6SN7 GT, but the hum has since disappeared with the TS 6SN7.

So far.. The TS driver tubes sound like an improvement over the RCA. Will listen a bit more before coming to a definite conclusion.

 

[Dan Lee]

Hello fellow WA22 owners. I just got my unit today with the intention of running it as a preamp for my KGSSHV Carbon and Stax SR-009S headphones. This works very well and sounds quite nice adding a nice tone to the analytical 009.

I have two questions I hope you all can answer for me.

1. Is there a way to bypass the WA22 without unplugging interconnects so I can alternate between using the Carbon amp in solid state when I prefer its more analytical nature and then switch back to tube preamp when I want tube sound?

2. Is there a noticeable change in sound as the WA22 goes through the break-in process? I know tubes tend to increase soundstage and holographics, but it almost seems to have closed them in a little and I am wondering if that may change with break-in time.

Thanks for your help guys

 

[moemoney]

Hello fellow WA22 owners. I just got my unit today with the intention of running it as a preamp for my KGSSHV Carbon and Stax SR-009S headphones. This works very well and sounds quite nice adding a nice tone to the analytical 009.

I have two questions I hope you all can answer for me.

1. Is there a way to bypass the WA22 without unplugging interconnects so I can alternate between using the Carbon amp in solid state when I prefer its more analytical nature and then switch back to tube preamp when I want tube sound?

2. Is there a noticeable change in sound as the WA22 goes through the break-in process? I know tubes tend to increase soundstage and holographics, but it almost seems to have closed them in a little and I am wondering if that may change with break-in time.

Thanks for your help guys

To answer question number two definitely there is a big-time Improvement after break in.

 

[hackstu]

Hi all,

I am now a happy owner of a Wa22, But am experiencing an external noise/ hum from the transformers. Will this go away in time? Would changing the valves/tubes help.

 

[leftside]

If you are looking for good adapters, you should get in touch with this guy: @Deyan. This picture shows the 6J5/L63/6P5/6C5 to 6SN7 adapters.

 

[Joao Paulo Martins]

Finally happy with my setup.

Utopia is on the way.

Have a good night for all

 

[Gibson59]

Is it reasonable to expect a little bit of audible hum when listening to the the WA22? Mine is a 2nd gen and I use the RCA input since I have a Chord Qutest DAC. I’m using my Hifiman HE1000se. I was previously using only solid state amps so I’m wondering if this is just to be expected with any tube amp? I absolutely love the sound I’m getting aside from the hum, which is really irritating me on an otherwise perfect amp for me in sound and looks.

I just received my WA22 back from a warranty repair for this issue and while the hum is quieter than before I sent it in, I’m annoyed it’s still there. I will say that dealing with Woo has been great and the process of getting my amp to them and back to me was painless and pretty quick. Their customer service seems great. I know I could simply just go back to them with my concern, but I figured I’d ask around here first.

The hum is not loud enough that I can hear it over music playing, but in quiet passages I can slightly hear it and I feel like the background isn’t as black as it could be. The hum gets louder as I increase the volume. For some reason the hum almost disappears when I use high gain, but the HEKse are low gain and I think the low gain setting just sounds better with them regardless. I have a combination of the stock tubes Woo provided and plenty of high quality NOS tubes and the hum persists regardless of tube combos. I’ve also ruled out any grounding issues.

I took my HEKse to a local hifi ship that has a WA22 on display for demos and I heard absolutely no hum whatsoever when listening to theirs. All I heard when increasing the volume on their demo WA22 was a bit of a hiss noise at very high volumes (higher than I would listen). The fact that I heard no hum on their unit is really bugging me. If their demo WA22 is dead quiet shouldn’t mine be?

This is an expensive piece of equipment so I’m not willing to just accept the slight hum if it’s not common amongst other WA22 owners.

 

[Joao Paulo Martins]

Is it reasonable to expect a little bit of audible hum when listening to the the WA22? Mine is a 2nd gen and I use the RCA input since I have a Chord Qutest DAC. I’m using my Hifiman HE1000se. I was previously using only solid state amps so I’m wondering if this is just to be expected with any tube amp? I absolutely love the sound I’m getting aside from the hum, which is really irritating me on an otherwise perfect amp for me in sound and looks.

I just received my WA22 back from a warranty repair for this issue and while the hum is quieter than before I sent it in, I’m annoyed it’s still there. I will say that dealing with Woo has been great and the process of getting my amp to them and back to me was painless and pretty quick. Their customer service seems great. I know I could simply just go back to them with my concern, but I figured I’d ask around here first.

The hum is not loud enough that I can hear it over music playing, but in quiet passages I can slightly hear it and I feel like the background isn’t as black as it could be. The hum gets louder as I increase the volume. For some reason the hum almost disappears when I use high gain, but the HEKse are low gain and I think the low gain setting just sounds better with them regardless. I have a combination of the stock tubes Woo provided and plenty of high quality NOS tubes and the hum persists regardless of tube combos. I’ve also ruled out any grounding issues.

I took my HEKse to a local hifi ship that has a WA22 on display for demos and I heard absolutely no hum whatsoever when listening to theirs. All I heard when increasing the volume on their demo WA22 was a bit of a hiss noise at very high volumes (higher than I would listen). The fact that I heard no hum on their unit is really bugging me. If their demo WA22 is dead quiet shouldn’t mine be?

This is an expensive piece of equipment so I’m not willing to just accept the slight hum if it’s not common amongst other WA22 owners.

The hiss is totaly ok. The hum maybe is your tube.

 

[Gibson59]

The hiss is totaly ok. The hum maybe is your tube.

That’s the thing... on my WA22 at home there is no hiss, just hum. And I’ve tried every combination of tubes I have and the hum doesn’t really change. It’s the demo unit I tried that had a bit of hiss and no hum and at typical listening levels was dead quiet. That’s what I’m after and why I think there’s still something wrong with my unit.

 

[Joao Paulo Martins]

That’s the thing... on my WA22 at home there is no hiss, just hum. And I’ve tried every combination of tubes I have and the hum doesn’t really change. It’s the demo unit I tried that had a bit of hiss and no hum and at typical listening levels was dead quiet. That’s what I’m after and why I think there’s still something wrong with my unit.

Here on every headphone the hiss got louder more I turn the volume up. Some times more present some time not. Depends on the headphone. But the hum I have on some tubes and I switch and got a dead quiet amp. Do you have ground too ?

 

[Gibson59]

Here on every headphone the hiss got louder more I turn the volume up. Some times more present some time not. Depends on the headphone. But the hum I have on some tubes and I switch and got a dead quiet amp. Do you have ground too ?

Yep I ruled out a grounding issue... I also followed all of the other troubleshooting tips on Woo’s website to no avail. I’ve plugged it into a clean electrical socket on the other side of the house with no RCAs/other equipment and and a ground lift and I’m still getting the hum. I switched all the tubes and still get the hum. I’m so puzzled at this point.

Thanks for trying to help @Joao Paulo Martins

 

[Roasty]

Mine has a very faint hum, which is accentuated depending on what tubes I use. I find the hum louder with power tubes like ts5998 and the WE421A. It's very very faint with mullard 6089.
It's not really audible when music is on, or even during soft passages.

 

[Roasty]

Oh my gosh..

So I've been living with the hum from the Wa22 for so long.

Finally got rid of it by changing out the power cable (was using some DIY cable I ordered from a local audio enthusiast)! Ordered a length of Merlin Black Widow mains cable and the amp is dead black silent background now.

Bliss.

 

[Joao Paulo Martins]

Oh my gosh..

So I've been living with the hum from the Wa22 for so long.

Finally got rid of it by changing out the power cable (was using some DIY cable I ordered from a local audio enthusiast)! Ordered a length of Merlin Black Widow mains cable and the amp is dead black silent background now.

Bliss.

Cables... I used to get generic Monoprice cables. Much better than some out there. Today I use Pangea. Cheap and good cables