[redcat2]

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First post on the forum. I am very interested in the WA6-SE. I currently am using the Schiit Valhalla with Sennheiser 650's. It's very nice but I find the sight of those big tubes to be addictive, and beautiful. As silly as that might sound. I wonder if they sound as good as they look. Has anyone had the chance to compare the Valhalla to the WA6-SE? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. My kids are growing up and my late night listening sessions are exclusively with headphones now. I never would have guessed that when they were babies it was easier to listen in the evening! They slept through anything!
Anyway, any information is greatly appreciated. I hope this was an appropriate thread to post this in. Thanks.

Are yes the glow of those big tubes....i think you will get an answer in the following group: http://www.head-fi.org/t/428570/woo-audio-amp-owner-unite/22560#post_8595706

 

[Ahzari]

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Check my review of the WA6 but the 596, GZ32, GZ34, and 274b-- all outperform the Sofia by a great margin. The Sofia looks prettier, but there is amazing sound to be had in better tubes.

I have to disagree with you here. The Sophia is still my favorite all around rectifier tube, more robust and musical than the GZ34 and the 596.. The 596s get a lot of praise but I have yet to find power tubes that complement it well - the GZ34 is fantastic for music with vocals emphasized but the bass is lacking and the treble can be over-emphasized. The Sophia may not have the mids of the GZ or the slightly larger soundstage of the 596, but the bass is the best in the bunch and for the music I listen to (majority electronic / lounge style music) its my 1st choice - in addition its the best looking tube in the bunch (IMO)

 

[Ahzari]

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Thanks redcat2. 
How does the 6EM7 sound and compare to the 6EW7.  I have the 6EW7 but not a big fan of it.  Its to thin sounding.
Has anyone tried the the 6EM7 and Sophia Princess with the LCD-2 v.2.  Would really like to hear your impressions.

I feel the same way about the 6EW7s - thin sounding to my ears (even the fat bottles - I have a few pairs).. for the WA6SE the best tubes I have found (although rather noisy) are the 6FD7s, the next step below that would be the 6CY7s (a little less noisy).

 

[reeltime]

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I have to disagree with you here. The Sophia is still my favorite all around rectifier tube, more robust and musical than the GZ34 and the 596.. The 596s get a lot of praise but I have yet to find power tubes that complement it well - the GZ34 is fantastic for music with vocals emphasized but the bass is lacking and the treble can be over-emphasized. The Sophia may not have the mids of the GZ or the slightly larger soundstage of the 596, but the bass is the best in the bunch and for the music I listen to (majority electronic / lounge style music) its my 1st choice - in addition its the best looking tube in the bunch (IMO)

I agree, the Sofia is by far the prettiest match for the Woo.  But I have several 50's era GZ34's I would take over the Sofia.  But as you say-- I listen to a lot of vocals/rock/acoustic jazz and the like.
 
My next quest:  Western Electric 422A 274B-- which I'm hearing is something extremely special.  Problem is-- one NOS costs as much as a WA6!  
 
Gonna need to recharge before that purchase.

 

[tybritton5]

On a slightly different note, I just bought the Beyer T1 and a Music Fidelity A5 CD player. I am about to purchase a Wa6 amp w/ Sophia Princess, and just wanted to make sure that the Wa6 w/ 4000mW at 600 ohms will drive the T1 properly. The Wa6 has about 3k hours on it, is 1.5 years old, and the Sophia is fairly new.

Thoughts? Thank you.

 

[Ahzari]

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On a slightly different note, I just bought the Beyer T1 and a Music Fidelity A5 CD player. I am about to purchase a Wa6 amp w/ Sophia Princess, and just wanted to make sure that the Wa6 w/ 4000mW at 600 ohms will drive the T1 properly. The Wa6 has about 3k hours on it, is 1.5 years old, and the Sophia is fairly new.
Thoughts? Thank you.

you or the seller have the specs wrong, it's 400mW not 4000.. that said, It will be "enough" but for the T1's I would recommend the WA6SE its more versatile at 800mW / 600 ohms and thus a better amp for more demanding phones like the T1.
 
 

 

[dgilz]

Found on eBay a NOS/NIB 5Z4GT MAZDA from 1964, I really like its audio signature : detailed, dynamic, very interesting. And this kind of tube is quite cheap around 35€.


I really liked listening to my current favourite album of Libbie Linton

 

[Dubstep Girl]

whats best tube combo for the 596 rectifier on the WA6-SE? i've been finding it to be good with the 6FD7 but wanted to know what other people think about other tubes, especially the 6GL7 (woo upgrade with adapter)
 
i haven't found much information on the 6GL7, looks likes not many people have it

 

[Zheng]

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whats best tube combo for the 596 rectifier on the WA6-SE? i've been finding it to be good with the 6FD7 but wanted to know what other people think about other tubes, especially the 6GL7 (woo upgrade with adapter)
 
i haven't found much information on the 6GL7, looks likes not many people have it

Hi, I was just having the same question the other day but couldn't find any post on the woo forum. I've tried both 6FD7 and 6EM7 (or 6GL7). I really like the 6EM7 with the 596 because it's really dynamic and punchy, it's great for rock and progressive rock (at least for my liking) but I don't think it went very well with jazz. I still prefer Sophia Princess and 6EM7 for more laid back music. I was always under the impression that the 6FD7 has better gain than the 6EM7 when I paired it with the Sophia Princess, but with the 596, it's the other way round. btw i'm pairing it with LCD2 and T1.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

so do you think the 6EM7 (6GL7) is worth it? 
 
i use my WA6-SE for my LCD-2 and D7000 mostly, though i might sell the D7000 and get an HE-500 (not sure yet though)

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

whats best tube combo for the 596 rectifier on the WA6-SE? i've been finding it to be good with the 6FD7 but wanted to know what other people think about other tubes, especially the 6GL7 (woo upgrade with adapter)
 
i haven't found much information on the 6GL7, looks likes not many people have it

the 6FD7 has been my fav all around driver for all the rectifiers i have including the 596 on the SE..
 
Most my cans don't need that much power so I didnt try the GL7 (TH900/SIgnature Pro/D7000 etc), Jack Wu said it's a good option for more power hungry headphones..

 

[teknikk7]

Hello all,
 
I have my WA6 on order, what DAC do you recommend for the $100-$200 range? I would like USB because my listening preference is on computer with foobar.  Mostly FLAC some 24/96 stuff.
 
I am looking at a couple:
 
HRT Music Streamer II
 
SCHIIT Modi
 
Audioengine D1 Premium
 
 
Thanks

 

[Dubstep Girl]

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the 6FD7 has been my fav all around driver for all the rectifiers i have including the 596 on the SE..
 
Most my cans don't need that much power so I didnt try the GL7 (TH900/SIgnature Pro/D7000 etc), Jack Wu said it's a good option for more power hungry headphones..

 
well i was too curious and couldn't resist trying them out, so i did. they just arrived today and i love them!!!! i can see why some people might not like them though, they are dark and have more bass than other tubes. 
 
but these are nice and detailed, and have the best PRaT out of any of the other tubes (like REALLY REALLY good imo), the bass is very good, deep, strong, and controlled, and the highs are very smooth. i found these to be just perfect with the 596 and pairs great with my D7000 and LCD-2 (the LCD-2 are a little dark, but it doesn't lose any detail, and it sounds better than the 6EW7 did with it, the LCD-2 have much more bass and a faster sound - the 6EW7 would sometimes make the LCD-2 sound congested during heavy passages). 
 
 
also worked with my T1 and HD 800, gave the HD 800s some nice bass and made the sound tubier, though in a good way. 
 
i like these just as much as the 6EW7, maybe even more, the 6EW7 are very transparent without being bright, have smooth highs and a lovely midrange, but have weak bass and are slower/less dynamic. as for the price, i think its worth it, these are very nice. and i love the adapter, solid teflon with gold plated metal thingies. 
 
also, these tubes have a ton of gain. they also get very hot, much hotter than other tubes, even the adapter is hot to the touch
 
 
 

 
 
unfortunately, the spending didn't just end there...... i have a Mullard GZ34 coming in later this week as well as a pair of Reflector 6N23P-EV for my WA2.

 

[wfranklin]

You might also consider the (brand-new) Meridian Explorer.  24/192 and about the same size as the MusicStreamer II.  I've had reasonably good results with the HRT, but am looking forward to the 24/192 capability of the Explorer (scheduled to arrive Friday).  I have the (at the time) "max'd" version of the WA6 (all the available tweaks offered by Woo, prior to the SE).

 

[Ahzari]

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well i was too curious and couldn't resist trying them out, so i did. they just arrived today and i love them!!!! i can see why some people might not like them though, they are dark and have more bass than other tubes. 
 
but these are nice and detailed, and have the best PRaT out of any of the other tubes (like REALLY REALLY good imo), the bass is very good, deep, strong, and controlled, and the highs are very smooth. i found these to be just perfect with the 596 and pairs great with my D7000 and LCD-2 (the LCD-2 are a little dark, but it doesn't lose any detail, and it sounds better than the 6EW7 did with it, the LCD-2 have much more bass and a faster sound - the 6EW7 would sometimes make the LCD-2 sound congested during heavy passages). 
 
 
also worked with my T1 and HD 800, gave the HD 800s some nice bass and made the sound tubier, though in a good way. 
 
i like these just as much as the 6EW7, maybe even more, the 6EW7 are very transparent without being bright, have smooth highs and a lovely midrange, but have weak bass and are slower/less dynamic. as for the price, i think its worth it, these are very nice. and i love the adapter, solid teflon with gold plated metal thingies. 
 
also, these tubes have a ton of gain. they also get very hot, much hotter than other tubes, even the adapter is hot to the touch
 
 
 

 
 
unfortunately, the spending didn't just end there...... i have a Mullard GZ34 coming in later this week as well as a pair of Reflector 6N23P-EV for my WA2.

How's the background hiss with them on the D7000s?