Woo Audio WA6 + WA6SE: Tubes, Comments, Pictures, and Advice
Jan 5, 2012 at 11:03 PM Post #31 of 4,838


Quote:
 
the way i see it, on the WA6SE, i have yet to find a headphone that you have to turn the knob more than 11 oclock before it gets unbearably loud. with the regular WA6, you probably have to turn it more to like 3 o clock-ish before that happens..



With my Edition 8s I max out at position 6 on a 24 step attenuator (approx. 9 'o clock).  For most listening I'm on click 4 and low level 2 or 3.  Very little leeway, actually a bit of a problem.
 
I have some Thunderpants on the way, hopefully the situation will be better with those.
 
Jan 6, 2012 at 2:20 PM Post #34 of 4,838
Does anyone here have experience with the hifiman HE500 paired to the WA6/SE?
 
Jan 6, 2012 at 4:02 PM Post #36 of 4,838
I'm really curious to know what other cans are working well with the standard WA6. It seems like all the cool ones aren't going to be driven properly. I'm wondering if the HD800s or the Beyer T1s would work? What about the Denon 7000? Looking forward to the local head-fi meet so I can try out a few different ones.
 
I just got fit yesterday for some Westone ES5s so my full-size budget won't come around again for a bit. I've actually read those sound great with the WA6.
 
Jan 6, 2012 at 4:30 PM Post #37 of 4,838


Quote:
I'm really curious to know what other cans are working well with the standard WA6. It seems like all the cool ones aren't going to be driven properly. I'm wondering if the HD800s or the Beyer T1s would work? What about the Denon 7000? Looking forward to the local head-fi meet so I can try out a few different ones.
 
I just got fit yesterday for some Westone ES5s so my full-size budget won't come around again for a bit. I've actually read those sound great with the WA6.


 
That was the feeling I was getting too, thats why I decided to return my WA6 while still in the "return eligible period." I did run my Ultrasone 2900s and Denon D7000s with the WA6 and they sounded great, I actually think any of the Ultrasones or Denons would run great out of the WA6 cause they aren't really power hungry. I also think the stock 6DE7 with the Sophia Princess sound amazing with the D7000s, they were rich, smooth, and refined.
 
Being a part of headfi though, it seems like most of us are searching for better and better sound.. With that in mind I chose to upgrade to the SE with the intention to get something like the LCDs or HifiMan which are known to bloom with more power. I think the WA6 is great though and the only upgrade I would do, would be the sophia princess (only upgraded rectifier I tried, but it was awesome, actually kept it to use with my SE).
 
Jan 7, 2012 at 9:39 AM Post #38 of 4,838
From my experience with the WA6 and various HIFI headsets...   it depends on the headphones impedance of the phones...   The WA6 will properly drive all the way up to 600 ohm...   but you will have to have the volume knob at around 3 oclock for good listening levels with 600 ohm cans..  and that leaves little to no room left if you wanted to drive them a little harder/louder.. so, even though they are being driven with plenty of volume your still wanting more for some reason.  Maybe its a mind game, having the volume knob that high ???  And of course the phones with less impedance have plenty of room on the volume dial to put them where ever you need them to sound right for you...   
When I look at the specs for all of the Woo amps you can see that all of the amps are power limited at 600 ohm..  http://wooaudio.com/docs/wooaudio_amplifier_comparisons.pdf
not that the amps don't sound good, its just the power is limited at that impedance.  From what I can tell it looks to me that the sweet spot for power is for a 300 ohm head set...    and thats probably the reason the HD800's (300 ohm) sound so good on any of his amps...  and with tube rolling you have much more latitude for the sound that you want the amp to perform to..  
 
looking at the specs I'm a little surprised that the WA6SE has that much power over the other amps...   it should work extra fine with all the phones...   of course there's always the WA22  :)
 
 
 
Jan 7, 2012 at 2:21 PM Post #39 of 4,838
with the WA6SE, 11 o clock is crazy loud with 600 ohm and basically any headphone i have.
 
 
low impedance like grado don't need more than 10 o clock to be deafening loud. and thats considering i listen to music at very loud levels compared to most people here.
 
sennheiser sounds super loud at 11 o clock.
 
beyers 10-12 o clock
 
lcd-2 10 o clock
 
akg 11 o clock
 
anything more and the headphones will start to clip or sound bad since you'd be overpowering them.
 
 
 
 
Jan 7, 2012 at 2:45 PM Post #40 of 4,838
^^^ +1
 
it is also dependent on the tubes you are using.  i use 6DN7's on my 6SE which have higher power output than the stock 6EW7's.  when fed from my Bifrost (2.0Vrms output power) my volume numbers looked very much like Dubstep Girl's.  HD800 & T1 @ ~10AM, HD600 @ ~9AM.  feeding it from my DAC-2 i have the ability to attenuate the DAC2's output power and i have it set such that HD800 & T1 now play @ ~12 to 1PM.
 
Jan 7, 2012 at 7:57 PM Post #41 of 4,838
So i've been on a unwarranted spending spree.. Purchased an EML tube for the SE coming soon (hopefully) and purchased the HifiMan HE500. Me= Broke! :))
 
Jan 7, 2012 at 8:09 PM Post #42 of 4,838
make sure to post your he-500 impressions with the WA6SE!!
 
Jan 7, 2012 at 8:45 PM Post #43 of 4,838
will do!
 
Jan 9, 2012 at 2:51 AM Post #44 of 4,838
being without a Woo is depressing... I'm not even listening to music anymore through my other amp, just waiting for the SE to arrive!! just ordered a EML 5UAG, I'll def write up a comparison with my Sophia Princess once I get everything together.
 
Jan 9, 2012 at 9:15 AM Post #45 of 4,838
Am I the only one who think the blue LED is annoying? I have black electrical tape over mine lol. The glowing tubes should be enough to determine whether the amp is on or off 
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