[bpiotrow13]

Quiet here for a while so i am posting a photo of my recent acquisition. Winter is coming so needed a heater

With the tubes i bought it with (Jan Phillips 6922 and Sylvania(?) 7236) it sounds wonderful. I will try TS 5998 and some mullards, that may be a killer

I wonder if wa2 is even better or just a different flavour. Has anybody compared them directly? I have heard the difference is not that big.

 

[Odin412]

I wonder if wa2 is even better or just a different flavour. Has anybody compared them directly? I have heard the difference is not that big.

Very nice! I've looked at the WA2 myself but it's much larger than the WA3 so it's not as easy to find space for. I'm interested in sound comparisons as well.

 

[bpiotrow13]

Just listening wa3 with TS5998. The difference as compared to 7236 is not that big. TS 5998 seems a bit punchier and with a bit stronger bas. Not a night/day difference though. I also tried RCA 6as7g that i used to like in other amps but it seemed to lack detais a bit. I will try 6n13s next.

My general thought is that wa3 is really a good amp. Detailed and smooth. It is also extremly good looking. My Verite are just singing with it. Pity Woo is no longer producing it.

 

[Wid]

The 7236 doesn’t give up much to the 5998 in my opinion. I mainly run the 5998 but change out to a 7236 on occasion. Both are top notch tubes for the WA3.

 

[jonathan c]

Quiet here for a while so i am posting a photo of my recent acquisition. Winter is coming so needed a heater



With the tubes i bought it with (Jan Phillips 6922 and Sylvania(?) 7236) it sounds wonderful. I will try TS 5998 and some mullards, that may be a killer

I wonder if wa2 is even better or just a different flavour. Has anybody compared them directly? I have heard the difference is not that big.

~ I owned a WA3 and currently own a WA2. The ownership overlap was two months. The sonic flavor of the two is quite similar . Overall tone, ambience recovery, transients rendition are definitely in the same category . Where the WA2 leaves the WA3 behind is in ‘heft’, ‘impact’, ‘scale’. I surmise that having a power tube per channel rather than one power tube for both channels is the key. Also, the dual tube rectification in the WA2, versus none in the WA3, in my estimation improves “headroom” in dynamics.
~ A real improvement over the performance of the 6922s can be had with 12AT7 tubes with adapters. For both the WA3 (then) and the WA2 (now), I rotate(d) between RFT ECC81, Mullard 6201, Brimar CV455 KB/FB. Le RFT est le tube du choix.

 

[bpiotrow13]

@jonathan c many thanks for this. I do not feel wa3 lacks dynamics, but have not listened to wa2. What about soundstage and resolution?

I did not know You can use ecc81 instead of ecc88.

 

[jonathan c]

@jonathan c many thanks for this. I do not feel wa3 lacks dynamics, but have not listened to wa2. What about soundstage and resolution?

I did not know You can use ecc81 instead of ecc88.

~ My ears tell (told) me that the soundstage is (was) a bit wider and more clearly delineated on the WA2 versus the WA3. Resolution is (was) a bit greater on the WA2 versus the WA3. These differences are (were) not dramatic and certainly do not impair the outstanding musicality of both the WA2 and WA3.
~ Again, the ECC81 can be used with an adapter (12A**—> ECC88). The adapter “rewires” the ECC81, a ‘12-volt’ tube, for use in a ‘6-volt’ circuit. One factor which allows this to work is that the ECC81 and the ECC88 have similar ‘filament current’: 300 milliAmperes and 365 milliAmperes.

EDIT: It is important in this case that the ECC81 filament current is similar to and lower than that of the ECC88.

 

[bpiotrow13]

~ My ears tell (told) me that the soundstage is (was) a bit wider and more clearly delineated on the WA2 versus the WA3. Resolution is (was) a bit greater on the WA2 versus the WA3. These differences are (were) not dramatic and certainly do not impair the outstanding musicality of both the WA2 and WA3.
~ Again, the ECC81 can be used with an adapter (12A**—> ECC88). The adapter “rewires” the ECC81, a ‘12-volt’ tube, for use in a ‘6-volt’ circuit. One factor which allows this to work is that the ECC81 and the ECC88 have similar ‘filament current’: 300 milliAmperes and 365 milliAmperes.

I have also come across an opinion that wa2 is a bit more prone to tube noise. Was it Your experience as well?

 

[jonathan c]

I have also come across an opinion that wa2 is a bit more prone to tube noise. Was it Your experience as well?

~ More tubes ==> higher chance for tube noise. In my case, no issue. At maximum volume with no music, faintly audible hum. At usual listening ‘clock’ settings (different for Audeze LCD-X, Beyer DT880, Beyer DT1770, Senn HD600, ZMF Auteur) with no music, no audible hum or tube noise.
~ I clean the tube pins with Barkeeper’s Friend and isopropyl alcohol. The tube sockets are cleaned with Kontak via a pipe cleaner. I also check the power tube pins for structural integrity: no holes at or near the tips. For the rectifier and driver tubes, I also make sure that the inside top of the tubes have a silvery coating without holes. This coating should reach down the tube wall a bit.

 

[bpiotrow13]

Does anybody know what potentiometer Wa3 is using? Manual says alps i guess. Is itbalps rk27?

 

[blackdragon87]

is the WA3 a better option than the WA6 for ZMF headphones? I know the WA3 is otl and the WA6 is not. I have the option to buy one or the either atm

 

[Wid]

If all you are going to use is the higher impedance headphones the WA3 is a wonderful amp. If you plan to run planars or other low impedance headphones the the WA 6 would be my choice.

 

[jonathan c]

If all you are going to use is the higher impedance headphones the WA3 is a wonderful amp. If you plan to run planars or other low impedance headphones the the WA 6 would be my choice.

~ I had both side by side, black and silver. I still have the WA6 1st Gen. While I loved the WA3, I kept wondering about its absence of a tube rectifier…after a while that led to the WA2 which I am using at this moment.
~ I do wish that Woo Audio would reintroduce the WA3. It is a wonderful portal to the tube OTL headphone amplifier world. If the WA2 is “two WA3s on one chassis”, bring out the single to get enthusiasts started……

 

[Wid]

~ I had both side by side, black and silver. I still have the WA6 1st Gen. While I loved the WA3, I kept wondering about its absence of a tube rectifier…after a while that led to the WA2 which I am using at this moment.
~ I do wish that Woo Audio would reintroduce the WA3. It is a wonderful portal to the tube OTL headphone amplifier world. If the WA2 is “two WA3s on one chassis”, bring out the single to get enthusiasts started……

I still have both side by side and enjoy both.

 

[Odin412]

is the WA3 a better option than the WA6 for ZMF headphones? I know the WA3 is otl and the WA6 is not. I have the option to buy one or the either atm

I have both and enjoy both amps, but I prefer the WA3 with ZMF headphones.