realised there was a jarcar near the office, bought a digital thermometer on the way back. i will report here the final results. all the detailed monitoring data will be posted on my own thread.
i am using a cheap digital thermometer which i reckon is probably for cooking. so the temp i measure will certainly be less than what it actually is, but it should still serve the purpose.
I've been lurking here reading this thread with interest, since I've had my WA7 for about a week now. No overheating that I can tell, though I have to admit I haven't run the amp for too long during any listening session. I'm very happy with it so far and am anticipating increased performance as it burns in. I'm using the Electroharmonix tubes by the way.
The other day I took it to a local shop that carries Audeze products. I use the HE-500 and wanted to compare with the LCD 3, using both with the WA7. I was very impressed with the LCD 3 and ended up buying it. I'm definitely going to do further comparisons between the LCD 3 and HE-500, as well as against the baby Stax I have. I'm also going to use the WA7 as a DAC to feed a Lyr that I've been using - I'm very curious about the WA7's performance as a DAC. And of course comparing the Lyr against the WA7. A few variables to sort out...
Great site and thread, and insightful comments by everyone. I'm very glad to see the high level of interest in this product and look forward to participating.
Thanks mrbigsby! I appreciate the welcome. It's great to interact with fellow enthusiasts and I'll keep everyone posted on my findings. I' had been out of hi-fi/audio for some time, having only really returned in the last year or so. So I'm still coming up to speed now on how things have changed, though I think I know what I personally enjoy sound quality wise...
I've been extremely impressed with planar magnetic type headphones, which weren't really around (at least I don't recall them) in the 70s when I was really into hi-fi. I was big on Stax at the time, having spent $120 on a pair of SR-X Mk IIIs in 1976. So you can imagine how sticker shock has hit me, with the SR-009 costing $5K now.
Anyway, I appreciate your review of the WA7. It's very helpful to me as a Rip Van Winkle type to read and compare experiences.
I imagine the DAC is exemplary in the WA7. I have just connected it to the Lyr in DAC mode, but it's too early to report on its quality. I'm also listening to music straight out of an Oppo 105 right now, playing a high def (176KHz/24 bit) recording of Samba Pa Ti by Santana, repeating it over and over just to let it sink in. Then I'll go back to the Lyr/WA7 to compare. The Oppo has a very good DAC that I really like, so it should be an interesting test, though of course the headphone amp in the Oppo is a major variable between the two arrangements. I also have a Rega DAC that impresses me, so I'll try to include that in the test as well. All of these aren't extremely high end products, but they are at similar price points so I think the comparison will be of roughly equivalent components... Roughly....
I feel your pain on having to wait for your unit to arrive...
I imagine the DAC is exemplary in the WA7. I have just connected it to the Lyr in DAC mode, but it's too early to report on its quality. I'm also listening to music straight out of an Oppo 105 right now, playing a high def (176KHz/24 bit) recording of Samba Pa Ti by Santana, repeating it over and over just to let it sink in. Then I'll go back to the Lyr/WA7 to compare. The Oppo has a very good DAC that I really like, so it should be an interesting test, though of course the headphone amp in the Oppo is a major variable between the two arrangements. I also have a Rega DAC that impresses me, so I'll try to include that in the test as well. All of these aren't extremely high end products, but they are at similar price points so I think the comparison will be of roughly equivalent components... Roughly....
I feel your pain on having to wait for your unit to arrive...
@WhippieDaddy: I'd be interested in your impressions of the HE-500 compared with the LCD-3. I have the HE-500 so they are a familiar reference point for me.
I do not know much about amps/dac but this piece does look very nice. Would it go well with the Ed8 (or TH900 under my radar but waiting approval from the SO)?
MrBigsby! Saw your review on Humanovation. I saw the first photo and I was like, "Hey that looks a lot like a picture from the WA7 thread." After reading a paragraph or two it became apparent that it was you Nice work mate!
I have the Fischer FA-003Ti (titanium), Fiio D03k DAC, Soundmagic HP100 (on the way), Fischer FA011 rev 2 (on the way), and just got the new Blumenstein Orcas. Cant decide what to review next, but you should see more from me in the next few days. Not sure which site will take which story yet though, of course all the headphones will be posted here too.
@WhippieDaddy: I'd be interested in your impressions of the HE-500 compared with the LCD-3. I have the HE-500 so they are a familiar reference point for me.
I haven't taken delivery of the LCD-3 yet, since they only had a demo model at the store I went to. My unit should arrive any day now - I'm eagerly awaiting it as you can imagine. I'll keep you posted on what I perceive. While listening at the store, my perception was that the LCD-3 had better resolution than the HE-500 and more "air" - there was a solid three dimensional aspect to its reproduction that the HE-500 couldn't quite match. I also felt that the soundstage presentation was definitely superior on the LCD-3 and I think that's what made me choose to buy it. Overall, the experience led me to conclude that the HE-500 is a bit "muffled" by comparison. None of this is too surprising to me, since the price point of the LCD-3 is so much higher than the HE-500. And hopefully the much greater price didn't bias my perceptions about the LCD-3 in its favor.
I really like the HE-500. When I first bought it back in November I did some comparing to the Baby Stax headphones (SR-003) I own. At first I liked the Stax better, but then after burn in the HE-500 started to shine. I found it to have more accurate midrange and certainly more substantial / accurate bass reproduction. The highs are what the SR-003s do the best, though I'm not sure they're better than the HE-500's treble. At this point I definitely prefer listening with the HE-500 than with the Stax. Even last night I was marveling at how pleasurable it is to listen with them, particularly since my focus tends to be on the midrange.
I plan on keeping the HE-500 since I enjoy it so much. I don't think my purchase of the LCD-3 is going to make me want to give up on the HE-500 - the HE-500 is just too good for it to be completely supplanted by the LCD-3. There is therefore something that I cannot yet articulate about them relative to the LCD-3 that makes me still like them as much as I do. And of course the reason I can't yet articulate it is because it will require further side by side comparisons. Once I can, I will certainly share it on this forum.
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