[arftech]

Imo the Wa5 really doesn't look nearly as pretty as the Wa22 or Wa33.

Only reason that kept me from getting one.
It is a very nicely priced 300B amp

I think mine looks gorgeous and it sounds awesom.

 

[Zurv]

anyone have thoughts on Impedance setting?
and what they should be for Susvara and the Utopia?

 

[Nicolas Yance]

I know, that's why I'm hyped for the new Feliks Audio amp, later this year

What's the rumor?

 

[Nicolas Yance]

anyone have thoughts on Impedance setting?
and what they should be for Susvara and the Utopia?

Both on low impedance. Less than 100 is low, over is high.

For power I always go high power with planars and low with dynamic.

 

[ThanatosVI]

What's the rumor?

It's actually confirmed but not with many details.

Feliks Audio is working on their new flagship.
An amplifier with 6SN7 and 300B tubes. (No rectifier tubes)
It won't be OTL but with output transformers (could be Feliks first?)
It will have balanced in and outputs.
Price will be above Euforia AE(no surprise there) and release will be later this year

 

[pippen99]

Is it truly balanced or just has the connections for convenience?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Is it truly balanced or just has the connections for convenience?

This I am not sure about, guess we will have to wait for the official announcement

 

[Zurv]

some pr0n

 

[VandyMan]

question for settings:
Susvara == High power, Low Impedance and High level?
Utopia == Low power, High Impedance (?), and Low Level?

As was mentioned, use High Impedance for headphones over 100 ohms, but Woo also recommends experimenting with this and using whatever sounds best to you.

For Level, I set mine to High because my DAC outputs 4V. Using High gives me a larger usable range on the volume control. If my DAC output 2V, I'd use the Low setting, most likely. This is not a setting you will need to change when you connect different headphones.

How does the Susvara sound with the WA-5? Does the High Power setting provide enough gain?

 

[Zurv]

There is more than enough power for the Susvara. around 40% volume knob is all i needed. The most interesting part was with the extra power of the wa5 (vs the SPL Phonitor X and the mj2 that i've been using) - is it sounds the same, but with better bass. I don't mean pointless added bass. It was puncher and more impactful. Up till now i still liked my Utopia more and i think it was because of the bass. (Note, i hate heavy metal, R&B, heavy rock, etc.. i don't mean drums or beats from a computer... which i'm sure would sound better too.. but a piano or violin also needs bass. without that, the "magic" wasn't there for the susvara.
So, yes, the WA5 brings the magic that the susvara had up to now been missing for me.
That said, how much of that impact is from the WA5 or the KR 300 HP tubes. (The HP tubes are special and only for the US.) At some point i should try the stock tubes.
The Phonitor pumps out a ton of watts to into the headphone jack, but the bass wasn't there.

Where in Brooklyn are you? I'm in Dumbo.

 

[Nicolas Yance]

I think the transformers have more to do with better bass, on how they deliver the power when needed.

 

[VandyMan]

There is more than enough power for the Susvara. around 40% volume knob is all i needed. The most interesting part was with the extra power of the wa5 (vs the SPL Phonitor X and the mj2 that i've been using) - is it sounds the same, but with better bass. I don't mean pointless added bass. It was puncher and more impactful. Up till now i still liked my Utopia more and i think it was because of the bass. (Note, i hate heavy metal, R&B, heavy rock, etc.. i don't mean drums or beats from a computer... which i'm sure would sound better too.. but a piano or violin also needs bass. without that, the "magic" wasn't there for the susvara.
So, yes, the WA5 brings the magic that the susvara had up to now been missing for me.
That said, how much of that impact is from the WA5 or the KR 300 HP tubes. (The HP tubes are special and only for the US.) At some point i should try the stock tubes.
The Phonitor pumps out a ton of watts to into the headphone jack, but the bass wasn't there.

Where in Brooklyn are you? I'm in Dumbo.

Thanks for the write up on the Susvara/WA-5. I'm in Clinton Hill.

 

[bpiotrow13]

Has anybody tried Meze.Empyrean with woo wa5? I wonder if it is a good match, as some say meze does not like 300 b tube.

 

[Zurv]

hrmm.. everything is great with the empy as it is a pretty, well made.. "good" sounding headphone. (note, not great nor amazing - just good.)
Might I suggest a primaluna evo 300? I'd suggest that (or something else) Look at the the WA5 if you are trying to drive something that uses a lot of power. (of course one could do off the taps of the PL.)
If you have a love for the 6sn7 and the 300b (which is something good to love IMO) maybe wait for the unit @ThanatosVI is talking about from Feliks or the WA5.
Yes i have the PL and the WA5.. and the empy. I use the WA5 only to drive the susvara, but i might change it up and uses the PL off the taps for the sus.
(ugh.. what would i do with the WA5 i just bought then... ugh..)

I really like the woo, but it isn't the prettiest and feel like it should cost a few k less (it is all built to order too so you'll need to wait a month+)
The Stock tubes power and rec tubes kinda stuck so add another 1k-2k on top of the price.

 

[ThanatosVI]

hrmm.. everything is great with the empy as it is a pretty, well made.. "good" sounding headphone. (note, not great nor amazing - just good.)
Might I suggest a primaluna evo 300? I'd suggest that (or something else) Look at the the WA5 if you are trying to drive something that uses a lot of power. (of course one could do off the taps of the PL.)
If you have a love for the 6sn7 and the 300b (which is something good to love IMO) maybe wait for the unit @ThanatosVI is talking about from Feliks or the WA5.
Yes i have the PL and the WA5.. and the empy. I use the WA5 only to drive the susvara, but i might change it up and uses the PL off the taps for the sus.
(ugh.. what would i do with the WA5 i just bought then... ugh..)

I really like the woo, but it isn't the prettiest and feel like it should cost a few k less (it is all built to order too so you'll need to wait a month+)
The Stock tubes power and rec tubes kinda stuck so add another 1k-2k on top of the price.

The Woo Wa5 is already one of the most affordable 300B amps on the market if you disregard no Name Chinese amps.

If one is in no rush, I still recommend waiting for thr Feliks amp and reviews.
There is no pricing information yet, so not even clear of they are direct competitors