[maricius]

   
it's an excellent pairing.  Dan uses WA7 at his booth at trade shows.

 
Also in the link is the Alpha Dog with the Woo WA6SE. Would that give me a better sound than the WA7 setup? I don't really the WA7's DAC but I am looking for a nice tube or hybrid amp with good punchy bass and midrange warmth without sacrificing clarity. 

 

[rage3324]

A bit of an odd comparison, but has anyone compared this to a little dot i+ and/or DACMini with Grados? I am thinking about purchasing a WA7 to be my main amp for my AKGs K7xx, Beyerdynamics 770 Premiums (600 ohms) and Grado sr325i if it is a good match.

 

[HemiSam]

I can only speak to using the WA7 as an amp for AKG K702's and that was a good combination.  Also works very well with HD 650's, HD 700's and the new Sony Z7's.
 
Happy hunting...
 
HS

 

[Dogmatrix]

I had a Little Dot MkIII and the Wa7 is better in every way by a large margin
Also run the Alessandro MS2i a close cousin of the 325 on the Wa7 and the synergy is very good no screechy treble

 

[BirdManOfCT]

Any experience using the WA7 as amp with Matrix X-Sabre as DAC?

 

[rage3324]

  I had a Little Dot MkIII and the Wa7 is better in every way by a large margin
Also run the Alessandro MS2i a close cousin of the 325 on the Wa7 and the synergy is very good no screechy treble

Thanks for the info. I would probably keep my little dot i+, but I would definitely sell my MK III after purchasing the WA7. As much as I want to try a solid state amp, the DACMini on Massdrop is super tempting. 
 
Can anyone speak to how the WA7 dac stacks up against the DACMini's dac?

 

[Jeb Listens]

Does anyone have any further impressions of the WA7 with the audeze LCD2(f)  -  I've read through a lot of the information here on these threads and the opinion on the sound from this pairing seems to range from  sublime, to excruciatingly bright, to incredibly dark!  
 
Even accounting for differences in peoples ears and preferences it's hard for a newcomer to reconcile these kinds of extremes into an overall picture! :-D
 
 
I'm just not able to audition before buying and would really welcome any suggestions/ experience.  The WA7 is recommended for the LCD2s on the woo website. 
 
I'd love to make the purchase before Christmas so any help would be much appreciated. 
 
Jeb

 

[HemiSam]

  Does anyone have any further impressions of the WA7 with the audeze LCD2(f)  -  I've read through a lot of the information here on these threads and the opinion on the sound from this pairing seems to range from  sublime, to excruciatingly bright, to incredibly dark!  
 
Even accounting for differences in peoples ears and preferences it's hard for a newcomer to reconcile these kinds of extremes into an overall picture! :-D
 
 
I'm just not able to audition before buying and would really welcome any suggestions/ experience.  The WA7 is recommended for the LCD2s on the woo website. 
 
I'd love to make the purchase before Christmas so any help would be much appreciated. 
 
Jeb

 
LOL...I have had similar experiences on the forum.  It just goes to show that different people experience and recall things differently.  Also, the nature of not only the state of their hearing, biological make-up, but also their musical tastes affect the responses.  I won't even get into the whole forum lemmings angle.
 
I'll offer this in the hope that it's of some use, knowing it won't fully address your question.  The amp section of the Woo WA7 is very good IMO.  It's pitch black quiet and sufficiently powerful to drive most cans fully.  The tubes selection is limited so unless you're also playing with the upgraded power supply and tubes there, there's not a huge variable based on the stock tubes vs the gold tipped elctro's available...some but not huge.  The amp is a cross between a SS and tubey in its signature from my experience...not gooey warm at all.  So I'd argue it's kind of neutral.  The DAC is OK...gets the job done nicely but not out of this world.  It's not clinical/harsh/siblant nor does it result in much roll off at the ends in my experience.  I'd call it fairly middle of the road or kinda neutral.  So then take that and apply it to however you expect the cans in question to be tuned (much bigger variable I'd argue).  Now if you're looking for a significant change (e.g. my HD 650's are pretty darned warm), I don't think the Woo is going to change them materially.  It will power them well and bring out the the details / nuances, but it's not going to color them such that the mids are now forward.
 
I hope that's of some use.  I'm a fan of my Woo WA7.  I've only been playing with DACs and cans since the purchase of the Woo if that helps any...great product, super well made and beautiful to look at during night time listening sessions when everyone else is asleep in the house.  
 
HS

 

[Jeb Listens]

That is a tremendous help, HemiSam, thank you.  You have confirmed what I was thinking - namely that I would not be able to go too far wrong with an amp from Woo.  I'm glad to hear you are enjoying the WA7 so much - i've been lusting after it for quite some time now.  
 
In the end its come down to a choice between the WA7 + WA7tp  vs the WA6-SE - both described as neutral and well matched with Audezes.   Aesthetically speaking I find them each to be quite beautiful in their own way.  
 
It's always a tricky decision not being able to audition the amp first -  I live in England so unfortunately I'll be paying an extra 400 dollars or so in shipping, customs duty and VAT, so keen to try and make the "right" decision (whatever that means...). 
 
Finally, I think i've more or less decided on the WA6-SE -  no disrespect to the WA7 (I'm sure I would be happy with either),  there just seem to be slightly more favourable reviews of this pairing with the LCD-2, especially with the right tubes.  
 
I guess, in the end, the lure of the Sophia Princess was just too strong.
 
Thanks again for your help and taking the time to write.  Much appreciated. 
 
Jeb.  

 

[olegausany]

While I'm not big fan of LCD headphones but at the recent NYC meet I heard LCD-3 driven by WA7 as Dac/Amp with tube power supply with upgrade RCA 12AU7 tubes and they sounded really good with so affordable tubes

 

[AirDave]

WA7 + Beyerdynamic T1 is a great combo IMO. 
It reduce sibilance in some, generally lower quality, recordings

 

[rogerthatmand]

I am about to buy the Sennheiser HD650 or the HD800 (Haven't decided yet).
And I'm looking for a good amp and DAC too. Until now I was sure I'm going for the Schiit Valhalla 2 + Schiit Bifrost... But I'm not sure anymore. 
Is the WA7 really that good for the HD650/HD800? Is it better than the Schiit Combo?

 

[HiFiGuy528]

WA7 + WA7tp and HiFiMan HE560 has great synergy too.

 

[HemiSam]

  I am about to buy the Sennheiser HD650 or the HD800 (Haven't decided yet).
And I'm looking for a good amp and DAC too. Until now I was sure I'm going for the Schiit Valhalla 2 + Schiit Bifrost... But I'm not sure anymore. 
Is the WA7 really that good for the HD650/HD800? Is it better than the Schiit Combo?

 
 
I've enjoyed the WA7 with my HD 650 very much.  Can't speak to the HD 800 and I doubt I ever will as I believe it would be way too bright for me.
 
The DAC in the WA7 is good, and I'd bet as good as the Schitt (oh boy...hopefully not getting anyone too excited), but I'm not exploring external DAC's...it's an addiction
 
HS

 

[olegausany]

While HD650 and WA7 with stock power supply is a great pairing I would still recommend to get Bifrost Uber and use WA7 as amp only and yes I've owned both at the same time. But to get the best possible sound i would recommend to get tubes power supply too