[Dangcaonguyen]

Thanks,
It like its sound with the high and just want to be sure it does not damage both headphone and the amp.

 

[punit]

Was using the Sophia + 6FD7 on my WA6 (after trying the stock 6DR7 & 6EW7) as I liked the bass & soundstage better on them. Then tried on a pair of Tung-Sol Black Plate FAT D Getter 6SN7 GTB Tube (with the 6SN7GT adapters of-course). Wow, distinct increase in soundstage, Mids are better & Highs are so much smoother, Bass is same (if not a smidge better). This has prompted me to order the Sophia Electric Grade A 6SN7 tubes. The cost of tubes is now nearly equal to the cost of the amp

.

 

[Frank I]

http://234mono.com/
Our new website microsite  is working now. The website will be completed in 4-6 weeks.

 

[amdj]

Hi Head-Fi,
 
I had some questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
My WA6 is coming in the mail today. It will be my first tube amp. I will be using these with some new HD650s that just came in. I will be using an AK100 as a DAC. The type of files I mainly will use for this setup are 24/96 and 24/192 FLAC files.
 
Since I am new to tube amps, I plan on upgrading the tubes.
 
Would the "1950's Vintage NOS NIB Mullard 5AR4 / GZ34 F31 Dual D Getter Vacuum Tube1950's Vintage NOS NIB Mullard 5AR4 / GZ34 F31 Dual D Getter Vacuum Tube {C}" be a good first choice? I copied and pasted the name from eBay...not sure if Head-Fi permits direct links. I'm assuming this is for the rectifier tube, and that the GZ34s would fit directly into the WA6 without any adapters required? I'd appreciate if anyone can clear this up before I drop $150 on a tube...
 
I plan on sticking with the stock RCA 6DE7 for now.
 
The type of music I listen to are mainly:
1) 70-80s pop (ex: Carole King, Sade)
2) Hip Hop (ex: Dr. Dre, Biggie Smalls)
3) Metal (ex: Tool, Lamb of God)
 
Thanks in advance!
 
Edit: If it makes any difference, I also plan on using this amp with some Westone W4s, UE TF10s, and Westone UM2s for closed headphone use as well as an IEM experience for when it gets noisy at my place.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Its directly compatible. The metal base version is very nice as is the fat base version. The 1950s are good.

I like it best with the 6fd7. Good bass, PRaT, and dynamics. It is a forward sounding tube thsts kinda SS sounding. Good overall tube.

 

[amdj]

Thanks Dubstep Girl. Very informative.
 
Now I've seen prices ranging from ~$120-$250+ for the GZ34.
 
Would $150 be a decent price for a NOS GZ34 tube manufactured from the 50s?
 
I'm very excited to get a home setup...I've been an "IEM" kind of guy since 2003.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

if its the fat black base or the brown base versions, i would say yes. 
 
for metal base, that would be a steal.

 

[andyschaub]

Well, I don't really base my listening on measurements but there are certain electrical properties that you can't ignore. If a tube doesn't provide enough power for the circuit as a whole, then it's kind of a nonstarter. In any case, yes, the TH900's are extremely efficient and I think my "crackling" sound may have more to do with overall gain than with microphonics. So I'm currently using an NOS Sylvania 5UR as the rectifier tube and some used RCA 6DE7's as the driver/power tubes. I'm looking for an NOS pair of something similar. The current result is a much cleaner sound with good bass and overall dynamics and no "crackling" sound at all. In fact, I'm listening right now to a John Abercrombie CD ("39 Steps") running through an Audio Note DAC 4.1x Balanced Signature into my WA6-SE with said tubes and then through a pair of Denon AH-D5000's modified with Moon Audio Black Dragon cabling, and am getting a very "tubey" sound that reminds me a lot of the Audio Note sound in general, using my AN-E SEC/Silver loudspeakers as a point of reference. It's definitely the case the Sophia Princess mesh plate rectifier tube is a (a) prettier than my Sylvania and (b) gives me a sense of a wider soundstage, but if I really wanted to get an ultra-clear sound with a super-wide soundstage and perfect image placement, I would probably go with a solidstate headphone amplifier, like the Bryston BHA-1. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just not the sound I'm looking for. I have a Blossom Blo-0299 solidstate balanced headphone amplifier with an auxiliary power supply driving a pair of balanced, Silver Dragon Sennheiser HD-800's that I use in my home office system for mastering high-resolution files and downsampling them to work with my Audio Note DAC, but I also have a Tri TRV-84HD tube headphone amplifier driving a pair of Audio Note AN-SPx modified AKG K701's that I use more for listening than for mastering again in my home office system.

 

[jaiemm]

New owner of WA6SE checking in… A christmas present to self, and still in the burn-in stage with the stock tubes. (or should I say, still saving up for tube upgrade) 

 
Btw, I’m new here and this is my first post. Too bad I can't post pics. Probably due to some restrictions on new members. Oh well...
 
 

 

[Xtri]

Congratulations!
It's a great amp! I got it in November and I am now getting a couple of new rectifiers, EML 274B Mesh and EML 5U4G Mesh. I currently have a pretty decent collection of tubes that came with it from the guy I bought it with (they were pretty great starting tubes). Oh and I also got a couple of 6FD7 drivers that I am waiting on The 6FD7s that I got with him were defect. They work but one of the tubes picks up a lot of noise.
 
I am currently using it with HE-500 and LCD-2, I got the LCD-2 on monday and man it's a very good combination with this amplifier. Which headphones are you using with it?

 

[jaiemm]

I'm using it with LCD-2 rev 1 as write this. I also have Grado 325is. I'm eyeing on the SP247B+6FD7 combo but that will have to wait for a while. My wallet is still hurting. 

 Would love to get the mighty 596, but it's almost impossible to find.

 

[Frank I]

  New owner of WA6SE checking in… A christmas present to self, and still in the burn-in stage with the stock tubes. (or should I say, still saving up for tube upgrade) 

 
Btw, I’m new here and this is my first post. Too bad I can't post pics. Probably due to some restrictions on new members. Oh well...
 
 

Congrats  and welcome to Headfi if you need any assistance there are some great people her eon Headfi for you to get information from

 

[Problem]

  I'm using it with LCD-2 rev 1 as write this. I also have Grado 325is. I'm eyeing on the SP247B+6FD7 combo but that will have to wait for a while. My wallet is still hurting. 

 Would love to get the mighty 596, but it's almost impossible to find.

The Mighty 596 just pops up time to time on eBay, just not all the time unfortunately. Currently enjoying Mullard GZ34 black base / Mighty 596 combination with Raytheon 6EW7 with the HD800 specifically, quite smooth treble without being harsh and slightly bigger soundstage compared to the Sophia 274B but that's just me

 

[jaiemm]

  Congrats  and welcome to Headfi if you need any assistance there are some great people her eon Headfi for you to get information from

Thanks for the warm welcome Frank! Since you've mentioned it, I'd like to ask anyone who has 6FD7. I've seen photos of a regular (slim I suppose) and a fat tube, which one is better? TIA.

 

[Frank I]

The Fat bottle tubes are very nice. The sound is always subjective from listener to listener .   They are not that expensive so trying both tubes is a good option.