[wordfool]

Does anyone have anything bad to say about the Fireflies?! Glowing reviews abound (pun intended), but it's odd in the head-fi world to see so little in the way of criticism. OK, so the 1st gen DAC doesn't get as much love as it could, but even on that topic I'm not really understanding exactly what's wrong with it in terms of sound signature. Can someone elaborate, and perhaps comment on how it compares to the DAC in the 1st-gen Meridian Explorer (which I own)? I'd also be curious to read some more detail about the sonic differences (not just internal design differences) between gen 1 and 2. Thanks.
 
Edit: realized the 1st Gen Meridian Explorer uses the same DAC chip as the 1st Gen Fireflies (Burr Brown/TI PCM5102) so not much will change for me there!

 

[kyle1010]

Does anyone have anything bad to say about the Fireflies?! Glowing reviews abound (pun intended), but it's odd in the head-fi world to see so little in the way of criticism. OK, so the 1st gen DAC doesn't get as much love as it could, but even on that topic I'm not really understanding exactly what's wrong with it in terms of sound signature. Can someone elaborate, and perhaps comment on how it compares to the DAC in the 1st-gen Meridian Explorer (which I own)? I'd also be curious to read some more detail about the sonic differences (not just internal design differences) between gen 1 and 2. Thanks.

Only thing bad I can say about my 1st gen WA7tp is that to get the best sound out of it you need the best of tubes in the power supply. Period. In stock form it's still pretty smooth but not even close to the sonic heights you can reach with some of the better 12AU7 tubes. The problem is some of those tubes are very rare and hard to come by. So once you're in love with a tube combo, the clock's ticking to find more sets of the same ones. I moved up to a WA-22 with Mojo as dac(due to curiosity and better availability of tubes), and while the Mojo trounces the 1st gen WA7's dac in detail retrieval and instrument separation, I often miss the smoother overall presentation of the WA7tp. For that reason I kept it for my girlfriend instead of selling it off, and honestly I would've been just as happy had I not upgraded to the WA-22. The hype is real, WA7tp is that good.

 

[wordfool]

Only thing bad I can say about my 1st gen WA7tp is that to get the best sound out of it you need the best of tubes in the power supply. Period. In stock form it's still pretty smooth but not even close to the sonic heights you can reach with some of the better 12AU7 tubes. The problem is some of those tubes are very rare and hard to come by. So once you're in love with a tube combo, the clock's ticking to find more sets of the same ones. I moved up to a WA-22 with Mojo as dac(due to curiosity and better availability of tubes), and while the Mojo trounces the 1st gen WA7's dac in detail retrieval and instrument separation, I often miss the smoother overall presentation of the WA7tp. For that reason I kept it for my girlfriend instead of selling it off, and honestly I would've been just as happy had I not upgraded to the WA-22. The hype is real, WA7tp is that good.

 
Thanks. I'd plan on using the WA7 with solid state power supply -- do you have any experience with that? You touch on one aspect that I guess I'm most curious about with the 1st Gen DAC -- the detail/resolution that it pulls out. I'm sure it's no slouch in that area and although it can't come close to the Mojo (what can?!) I wonder how it compares to more popular mid-fi DACs like the O-Dac and Schiit Magni/Bifrost 

 

[mjock3]

Hope you don't mind if I contribute. I bought my WA7 used a couple of years ago and it had the solid state power supply. I tried to find some one who would be willing tell sell me the tp unit. I could not so I bought one from Woo. I have absolutely no regrets in doing so. As a matter of fact I think the step up that you get from the tube power supply is greater than any DAC upgrade. I compared the stock DAC to my regular DAC TP Buffalo III with many upgrades as well as my Chord Qute EX DAC and the tube power supply with some nice tubes is much nicer upgrade. I at times would like to upgrade to another setup but the WA7/tp brings me so much enjoyment I think that I would need to spend quite a bit to make it a worth while upgrade.
 
YMMV

 

[wordfool]

Wish I had the money to go with tube power, but sadly it's out of my (already extended) budget

 

[BarDash]

Probably a question asked many times before but to revisit.... Any recommendations for tubes for the WA7tp?

 

[Cardiiiii]

  Wish I had the money to go with tube power, but sadly it's out of my (already extended) budget

 
Pick up a Schiit Wyred or a W4S Regen, it immediately takes the DAC up a couple of notches. An improvement you can definitely hear. Don't go for the EH 6C45 gold pin tubes just yet, they don't really provide much of an audible improvement. I've been waiting for a used 7tp to show up, but no luck yet, looks like I'll have to pony up for one.

 

[wordfool]

   
Pick up a Schiit Wyred or a W4S Regen, it immediately takes the DAC up a couple of notches. An improvement you can definitely hear. Don't go for the EH 6C45 gold pin tubes just yet, they don't really provide much of an audible improvement. I've been waiting for a used 7tp to show up, but no luck yet, looks like I'll have to pony up for one.

 
The DAC is the same as in my Meridian Explorer so it should keep me happy, but good suggestion on the Wyred, too. 
 
Doubt anyone would sell a 7tp alone, but if you can hang on a few months Woo Audio usually has a black Friday sale at the end of November. 

 

[SuperPollito]

  Doubt anyone would sell a 7tp alone, but if you can hang on a few months Woo Audio usually has a black Friday sale at the end of November. 

 
Any idea what the average discount is on the Black Friday sale? That might give me time to save up the $$$ for a pair. Thanks!

 

[wordfool]

Last year it was 10%, which is (as my dad used to say) not great but better than a kick in the teeth!

 

[Jprod]

Hello. I can chime in regarding gen 1 vs gen2. I bought gen1 in February and just bought gen 2. I moved gen 1 into my basement and will use it as an amp for my turntable set up. I immediately noticed an improvement with gen 2. The resolution and detail in the music is much better with the dac in the gen 2 unit. I frankly was expecting a minor difference but I was wrong. There is more instrument separation in gen 2 and the bass seemed better to me also.

 

[BarDash]

Hello. I can chime in regarding gen 1 vs gen2. I bought gen1 in February and just bought gen 2. I moved gen 1 into my basement and will use it as an amp for my turntable set up. I immediately noticed an improvement with gen 2. The resolution and detail in the music is much better with the dac in the gen 2 unit. I frankly was expecting a minor difference but I was wrong. There is more instrument separation in gen 2 and the bass seemed better to me also.

What's your opinion on the upgrade gold plated tubes for the WA7 gen 2? Some people are pretty neutral on them making a difference, but I noticed an upgrade IMO on the SQ.

 

[Jprod]

I cannot comment on the tubes as of yet as I just received them and haven't let them fully burn in yet. I may put them in my gen 1 unit to see if I detect a difference there since I have had the gen 1 a lot longer

 

[BarDash]

I cannot comment on the tubes as of yet as I just received them and haven't let them fully burn in yet. I may put them in my gen 1 unit to see if I detect a difference there since I have had the gen 1 a lot longer

Please post a comment/review when you do. Thanks.

 

[Jprod]

 
Please post a comment/review when you do. Thanks.

will do. I recently went on an electronics bender so to speak . I also recently purchased the ascend acoustics sierra tower speaker with RAAL tweeter and i have been playing with them.  It may take a little while before i can give you an honest assessment