[b0ssMax]

i got the same response on the cost, and i’m using it as an amp only also. I did like the dac + amp sound of the WA8. Oh well.

 

[emilsoft]

i got the same response on the cost, and i’m using it as an amp only also. I did like the dac + amp sound of the WA8. Oh well.

This is not good. I will reach out to them again, I think there should be some goodwill shown here from them considering it's the same problem so many are having. Under 2 year longevity for a $1700 kit is not acceptable.

If Woo will prove to be unhelpful I will open it up and see if I can make some sense, maybe it's a burnt out cap or something simple.

 

[jamington2004]

They said they replaced the USB controller on mine whatever that is

 

[b0ssMax]

They said they replaced the USB controller on mine whatever that is

was yours still within the warranty period or past that already? Just trying to understand the difference in their treatment of the same issue.

thanks.

 

[AnakChan]

I contacted Woo and they were extremely helpful, and recognising the original owner as a good customer, even out of warrantee they have offered to fix FOC!
Just cost me £30 to send back via UPS.....

was yours still within the warranty period or past that already? Just trying to understand the difference in their treatment of the same issue.

thanks.

As he mentioned on a previous page, it was out of warranty. Not having talked to Woo Audio, I’m speculating that the key is as highlighted above. i.e. In further projecting that speculation, I think what Woo is implying that if an amp changes hands too often and they can’t track then they would have a standard inspection fee + costs as they don‘t know how well/badly the amp was treated throughout various ownerships.

What @jamington2004 had seems like a special case that that the ownership of the amp can be tracked down to the original owner, who is known (to Woo?) to be a good customer. I guess that means that Woo is somewhat more assured that the amp is unlikely to have been opened up, fiddled with internally or modified.

I think an inspection fee for an amp out of warranty is rather common - not only just for amps but even general products, no? I know if I drop my car off for a check by my local garage, they’ll charge me for an inspection fee.

 

[04gto]

I was seriously hunting for a used one of these before. I mean like a bloodhound. Prepared to pay +/- $1200. But then I read this thread and a few other first hand accounts of the overall quality (or lack of) on these. Seems like they have at least a 50% chance of taking a crap shortly after the warranty expires. Too bad, such a cool DAC/AMP. But even if the warranty was longer, I wouldn’t even buy a new one. Not with the very poor owner satisfaction that I have heard or read. Maybe if they extend the warranty to 3 years, I would buy a new one. Or buy a used one for +\- $700-800. Soooo much want, just not a smart buy. What seems more troubling is that Woo Audio does not seem to show up on any of these discussions and do any damage control or reputation loss mitigation.

 

[emilsoft]

As he mentioned on a previous page, it was out of warranty. Not having talked to Woo Audio, I’m speculating that the key is as highlighted above. i.e. In further projecting that speculation, I think what Woo is implying that if an amp changes hands too often and they can’t track then they would have a standard inspection fee + costs as they don‘t know how well/badly the amp was treated throughout various ownerships.

What @jamington2004 had seems like a special case that that the ownership of the amp can be tracked down to the original owner, who is known (to Woo?) to be a good customer. I guess that means that Woo is somewhat more assured that the amp is unlikely to have been opened up, fiddled with internally or modified.

I think an inspection fee for an amp out of warranty is rather common - not only just for amps but even general products, no? I know if I drop my car off for a check by my local garage, they’ll charge me for an inspection fee.

Under normal circumstance inspection fee is fine, but if it's a common problem appearing in many devices then it shouldn't be the case. When a car production issue happens down the line for many cars, the manufacturer makes a recall to fix the issue for free.

Admittedly the WA8 is not a car, but it's an expensive luxury device and customer service expectation should be high

 

[emilsoft]

I was seriously hunting for a used one of these before. I mean like a bloodhound. Prepared to pay +/- $1200. But then I read this thread and a few other first hand accounts of the overall quality (or lack of) on these. Seems like they have at least a 50% chance of taking a crap shortly after the warranty expires. Too bad, such a cool DAC/AMP. But even if the warranty was longer, I wouldn’t even buy a new one. Not with the very poor owner satisfaction that I have heard or read. Maybe if they extend the warranty to 3 years, I would buy a new one. Or buy a used one for +\- $700-800. Soooo much want, just not a smart buy. What seems more troubling is that Woo Audio does not seem to show up on any of these discussions and do any damage control or reputation loss mitigation.

It's the best sounding amp i've heard in my life, desktop or not. It even bests (for me) Woo's own higher range full desktop amps - it has a sweet but also muscular/fast dynamic sound which sits very nicely with hps like HD800S. I don't know what to tell ya - if you get it direct from Woo maybe they will extend repairs for USB related probs, i think they are aware by now it's not a one off deal.

 

[AnakChan]

Under normal circumstance inspection fee is fine, but if it's a common problem appearing in many devices then it shouldn't be the case. When a car production issue happens down the line for many cars, the manufacturer makes a recall to fix the issue for free.

Admittedly the WA8 is not a car, but it's an expensive luxury device and customer service expectation should be high

Is it a common problem? I have to say I haven't seen the stats (nor have I bothered to ask Woo, and if I did I don't think they'd tell me anyway). But in general I tend to err on the side of caution of generalising whether a problem is common or not 'cos usually product owners with issues would post, those that don't hardly ever. So naturally we'll tend to read more about issues than satisfied owners.

Note I'm not saying there's no problem - naturally these current owners have experienced issues but :-
1) not knowing the stats of issues vs total sales,I think it's difficult to conclude it's a "common" problem
2) without knowing the history of a particular unit, it's difficult to know for sure if the cause is design or historical misuse

Maybe you can ask Woo in your next correspondence with them to ask what were the causes of the other WA8 USB issues they had repaired - in no particular order :-
- was it user misuse?
- was it design?
- was it choice of components with higher sensitivity to connectivity that's not completely within specs?

As a comparison, I didn't have any USB issues with my WA8. I did have a PSU related issue instead.

All I'm asking for is a have a more open mind that it may not necessarily a common issue.

 

[emilsoft]

Is it a common problem? I have to say I haven't seen the stats (nor have I bothered to ask Woo, and if I did I don't think they'd tell me anyway). But in general I tend to err on the side of caution of generalising whether a problem is common or not 'cos usually product owners with issues would post, those that don't hardly ever. So naturally we'll tend to read more about issues than satisfied owners.

Note I'm not saying there's no problem - naturally these current owners have experienced issues but :-
1) not knowing the stats of issues vs total sales,I think it's difficult to conclude it's a "common" problem
2) without knowing the history of a particular unit, it's difficult to know for sure if the cause is design or historical misuse

Maybe you can ask Woo in your next correspondence with them to ask what were the causes of the other WA8 USB issues they had repaired - in no particular order :-
- was it user misuse?
- was it design?
- was it choice of components with higher sensitivity to connectivity that's not completely within specs?

As a comparison, I didn't have any USB issues with my WA8. I did have a PSU related issue instead.

All I'm asking for is a have a more open mind that it may not necessarily a common issue.

Based on the number of users who've reported the same issue I'm inclined to think it's a more common problem than it should be. I wish it wasn't the case. I doubt this many reports have misused the amp, I for one have babied it like a bar of gold only using it within normal parameters, temperatures and high quality sources. I've communicated with Woo, i leave it up to them if they want to announce if it's a model related issue. Perhaps it's just very delicate and the temperatures it works at (which can be quite high due to it's small chassis) might just be too much over prolonged period of time for the components.

 

[Maru10]

Hello everyone,

anyone of WA8 users finds the dac section prone to electrical interference? When I feed the dac section out of USB port of my notebook, I hear slight pop every few seconds. I have no problem using it as standalone amplifier though (loving it feeding MESTs in combination with the Hiby r5s as dac). Is this a common problem?

 

[SDBiotek]

Hello everyone,

anyone of WA8 users finds the dac section prone to electrical interference? When I feed the dac section out of USB port of my notebook, I hear slight pop every few seconds. I have no problem using it as standalone amplifier though (loving it feeding MESTs in combination with the Hiby r5s as dac). Is this a common problem?

That's a common occurence with lots of DACs, not just the Woo. It's more noticeable with some computers than others. Sometimes using a different USB port or plugging in the laptop (not running on battery alone) can help.

 

[Maru10]

That's a common occurence with lots of DACs, not just the Woo. It's more noticeable with some computers than others. Sometimes using a different USB port or plugging in the laptop (not running on battery alone) can help.

Thanks for a reply. I have number of dacs which I can run from the laptop, yet Wa8 is the only picking the interference. Thought that this might be a public secret noone talks about - I haven't found any notice about Eclipse being exceptionally voluntary to the USB noise.

 

[Breguet]

I used to own a gold WA8 for about 6 months. But I didn't use it often. I don't have much luck with it paring my HD600/800. Somehow I feel it's a little granular comparing to Chord Hugo/Hugo2

 

[immortalsoul]

Hi, if anyone wants to trade/sell the Woo audio wa8 please send me a PM. Thank you!