[AcousticMatt]

Interesting - I really wish I had brought my Atriums and VCs, but I was trying to pack light. I've got a bit of a collection and only brought 5 of them, but it seemed to power all of them quite well. Hopefully they'll have it at CanJam NYC and I'll be able to try it on my Atriums and Verite Closed, rather than just the HD 650s that I had with me.


That's exactly why I liked it so much - it did really well with everything I had, but it was excellent with the DCA stuff especially. I'm currently running the DCA Expanse off the Matrix Mini-i Pro 3 (or whatever it is - their naming convention is pretty bad) and it just doesn't have the oomph that the HM1 did.


Haha that is something I'm very excited for with the '23!

Nice! It was amazing to hear a sound I already prefer with my favorite headphones just be enhanced with the WA23. I have my VCs coming in very soon and I'm looking forward to hearing those on this setup.

 

[Spawn300Z]

Oh man, the Riviera was incredible. That and the HM1 were my other two favorites besides the WA23. The Riviera sounded the biggest of all. I believe it's mixed tube and solid state. The bass and soundstage was massive. The thing I didn't prefer about it though (besides that it's now out of my price range at $18k) is that it sounded really round in the bass, like it took a real round (almost muddy to my ears) tube sound and then added solid state dynamics afterward. It was a little too much for me. If you're looking for that scaled-up HUGE speaker like sound for the Susvaras though, the Riviera was there and above all other amps I tried in that way.

Thanks I currently have the Riviera got at a great deal. Love it. But was considering something else later for another setup. So this may be an option.

 

[AcousticMatt]

Thanks I currently have the Riviera got at a great deal. Love it. But was considering something else later for another setup. So this may be an option.

Ah, gotcha. I think the WA23 would be a great compliment to it. It does a lot of things differently. Depends on the kind of music that you listen to though, I suppose.

 

[Spawn300Z]

Ah, gotcha. I think the WA23 would be a great compliment to it. It does a lot of things differently. Depends on the kind of music that you listen to though, I suppose.

I’m very eclectic. But favorite is Jazz, Blues. And Neo-Soul.

 

[eruilluvitar]

Oh man, the Riviera was incredible. That and the HM1 were my other two favorites besides the WA23. The Riviera sounded the biggest of all. I believe it's mixed tube and solid state. The bass and soundstage was massive. The thing I didn't prefer about it though (besides that it's now out of my price range at $18k) is that it sounded really round in the bass, like it took a real round (almost muddy to my ears) tube sound and then added solid state dynamics afterward. It was a little too much for me. If you're looking for that scaled-up HUGE speaker like sound for the Susvaras though, the Riviera was there and above all other amps I tried in that way.

Interesting - I actually didn't find the Riviera to be that special - at least not with the Expanse. It felt flat to me, especially compared to the WA23, but even compared to the HM1. The WA23 and HM1 both had better dynamics and better soundstage, with the WA23 being much better soundstage-wise. However, I have heard from several other folks that it is great with the Susvaras, but I don't have those and thus didn't try them on it. For me, and for the headphones I tried on it, it just didn't work as well as either the WA23 or HM1.

 

[AcousticMatt]

Interesting - I actually didn't find the Riviera to be that special - at least not with the Expanse. It felt flat to me, especially compared to the WA23, but even compared to the HM1. The WA23 and HM1 both had better dynamics and better soundstage, with the WA23 being much better soundstage-wise. However, I have heard from several other folks that it is great with the Susvaras, but I don't have those and thus didn't try them on it. For me, and for the headphones I tried on it, it just didn't work as well as either the WA23 or HM1.

...and thank god, for our wallets, right? Ha! I only tried them on my Susvaras and was impressed, but it felt more to me like there was a wow factor that was hard to ignore. I'd agree about the sound-staging being better on the WA23, but I'd say in more of an imaging kind of way. The Riviera just felt like a more massive stage opened up. I imagined it'd be a kind of sound that I could enjoy for shorter periods of time vs. the WA23. Even looking at the WA23 page on Woo's website, it's a real cozy environment with the couch picture. I feel that for sure.

I’m very eclectic. But favorite is Jazz, Blues. And Neo-Soul.

I'm a huge jazz fan and this is the best amp I've ever heard for jazz. Some of the tracks that I demoed it on were jazz and were part of what sold me on it. It's like you're there with the imaging, tone, and holographic-ness. I'd imagine it'd be incredible for blues and neo-soul, too.

 

[eruilluvitar]

Even looking at the WA23 page on Woo's website, it's a real cozy environment with the couch picture. I feel that for sure.

That was largely how I felt while listening to it, too!

 

[AcousticMatt]

That was largely how I felt while listening to it, too!

...and yet, it's got excitement when the tracks calls for it. Amazing. Still listening to it with the Atriums. Glad I took the rest of the week off after CanJam.

 

[eruilluvitar]

...and yet, it's got excitement when the tracks calls for it.

Yeah, that was the first thing I noticed, only to be just enveloped with the amazing presentation afterwards.

Glad I took the rest of the week off after CanJam.

Retrospectively, I probably should have done that, too. I'm exhausted!

 

[AcousticMatt]

Yeah, that was the first thing I noticed, only to be just enveloped with the amazing presentation afterwards.


Retrospectively, I probably should have done that, too. I'm exhausted!

Indeed. I think you'll be just as stoked as I am once you get yours in. And I feel you on the exhaustion. It's fun, but draining. Glad I had the luxury this year to take some time off. Hope you're enjoying some music though in between working.

 

[eruilluvitar]

Hope you're enjoying some music though in between working.

I am! Been "jamming" (aka keeping my ADHD-raddled brain on task) to some awesome soundtracks with the DCA Expanse. Such incredibly natural sounding headphones, once you give them enough juice (to my ears, that is).

 

[AcousticMatt]

I am! Been "jamming" (aka keeping my ADHD-raddled brain on task) to some awesome soundtracks with the DCA Expanse. Such incredibly natural sounding headphones, once you give them enough juice (to my ears, that is).

Sweet! Any soundtrack recommendations?

 

[HONEYBOY]

I went to CanJam SoCal this past weekend and ended up buying this, which was the unit that Woo used for the show.

There you are! I'm so happy you told me to try the WA23. Both myself, and eruilluvitar had religious experiences listening to that. I literally had goosebumps after listening to it with both the Stealth and Expanse. I too truly preferred it to the WA33 and the Riviera. For me it is still a toss up between this and the Zahl HM1. I suspect the Zahl wins slightly in technicalities, but from an emotional standpoint this is really where my heart is at. Glad you walked home with it too. If I am hearing you right, the Lina amp did play a part, but you suspect most of that heavy lifting was with the amp correct? Mind sharing what DAC you use at home?

 

[eruilluvitar]

Sweet! Any soundtrack recommendations?

Oh so so so many. I'm dm you with some of my favorites!

 

[hifixman]

Finally I'm not alone appreciating wa23, but it is not good feeling to be the first one hyping a product facing questions and loneliness with no one else resonating with me, which always occured to me. Particularly, it is scary in that I have paid for it. Guess I could comfort myself as a pioneer then.

For wa22, it is a must to roll tubes ( except with dacs as Mojo Mystique SE or Wavedream whose resolution is too much), but not necessary at the level of Wa23. I would strongly advise folks to try the stock tubes if you want the be blown away by the bass, slam, fullness, muscle, bones and dynamics. I definitely have requested stock tubes for my order as I am very familiar with both stock and pasvon sounds.

I would also like to send a reminder that the stock tubes could be a tad too dark and warm for some cans depending on your personal taste.Therefore I myself have also stocked Sophia 300B rectifier, whose sound I'm very familiar with and fond of for the good extension at both ends and more importantly the huge soundstage of which Wa23 is short compared to wa33. Even though so far no one has tried that combo including woo himself, I'm sure stock tubes with Sophia 300B rectifier could bring magic and even reach very close to wa234 at a minimum cost.

I will do ab comparison with my own Wa23 and Riviera in my system in weeks. But I wouldn't say one is definitely superior than the other as they are good at different things. One aspect that Wa23 could definitely further develop is its sound stage and three dimensionality, which I'm confident could be revolutionized by Esoteric discreet dac, MSB discrete dac as well as Sophia 300B. DCS dac could also expand the three dimensionality yet the bass and imaging are sacrificed to my ears. Actually I ab'ed Lina Dac and Woo's own dac which is only 1300 USD at the show to confirm my assumption.

The other complaint I have heard from people working in the industry is that some feel the Wa23 is a bit sterile, which I can understand where they are from, even though I'm not bothered by it. As the cliche goes, there is no perfect amp.

From the technology standpoint, the reason Wa23 gained the nickname of Mini Elite wa33 is mostly due to the upgrade of the volume control which I honestly don't care that much and
Mundorf MTube capacitors, which in my opinion is the major hero for the dynamics and full bass.