[nojwe]

  Quick question on tubes... how much random popping and crackling is normal for tubes on the Fireflies, or indeed in general? I have a new set of (standard) tubes and if I'm just sitting with no music playing I hear a brief pop/crackle every 30 seconds or so from one of the tubes against the otherwise silent background (I assume its one of the tubes because I switched them around last night and the pop/crackle is now in the other ear).  

 
Make sure the pins are clean and the tubes are seated correctly. There shouldn't be any crackling unless you have a bad tube otherwise.

 

[BarDash]

   
Totally agree. It's really expensive to use as just a dac (and a not great one). If you want a dac to use with the Jot, get a Modi multibit. I'm actually using one with my WA7, sounds great!

Ordered the Modi Multibit which should arrive Friday.

 

[Cardiiiii]

Ordered the Modi Multibit which should arrive Friday.

Lol that didn't take much convincing!

 

[wordfool]

   
Make sure the pins are clean and the tubes are seated correctly. There shouldn't be any crackling unless you have a bad tube otherwise.

Yeah, pins are clean... looks like I'll be using the 30-day tube warranty

 

[BarDash]

Lol that didn't take much convincing!

Lol...

 

[groovyd]

waiting on my 2 WA7 units to be upgraded DAC... should be interesting to see what difference if any it makes. wasn't a cheap upgrade at all.

 

[SashimiWu]

  waiting on my 2 WA7 units to be upgraded DAC... should be interesting to see what difference if any it makes. wasn't a cheap upgrade at all.

 
I recently had the WA7 (second generation) and I was really worried I wouldn't like the onboard DAC but to my surprise it sounded very very good.
 
Sadly I didn't have any other DAC's (or the first gen) to test it against but I came in expecting to be disappointed and was very surprised about how great it sounded.
 
Don't forget they also changed the amplification stage as well though I'm not sure if that's included in the upgrade.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

We spent a lot of time on the new DAC. The ESS SABRE chip is only one piece of a big puzzle. The integration between DAC & amp plays a large role in the final sound. Yes, $499 is not cheap per-say, but we don't think you can buy a better sounding external DAC. Not to mention the all-in-one elegant form-factor (no external components, no additional cables). 
 
Beautiful pic from a fan on Instagram 
 

 

[groovyd]

   
I recently had the WA7 (second generation) and I was really worried I wouldn't like the onboard DAC but to my surprise it sounded very very good.
 
Sadly I didn't have any other DAC's (or the first gen) to test it against but I came in expecting to be disappointed and was very surprised about how great it sounded.
 
Don't forget they also changed the amplification stage as well though I'm not sure if that's included in the upgrade.

 
I'm not sure if this included an amp upgrade as well but they mentioned something about teflon tube sockets.

 

[SuperPollito]

I just picked up the WA7tp setup from SashimiWu and a pair of Oppo PM-3, upgrading from a pair of Ultrasone DJ 1 playing directly from iPhone. Granted, I have no other head-fi experience to compare against, but I must say, this is a sick, sick setup. Waiting to pick up a fancy silver cable that I'm not sure will make any difference but might as well do it right for my first (and per my wallet and my wife, hopefully last) foray into head-fi. 

 

[groovyd]

  waiting on my 2 WA7 units to be upgraded DAC... should be interesting to see what difference if any it makes. wasn't a cheap upgrade at all.

Received my upgraded WA7s back and immediately noticed that the RCA gain seems about 20% lower then pre-upgrade meaning I need to turn the knob up about an extra quarter turn to get the same volume out.  Other then that I do not notice a difference in sound quality of the DAC itself. Tube LEDs are a bit brighter.

 

[mrravioli]

Hi, I'm considering upgrading from my ODAC/O2 combo for Beyerdynamic T1. I heard good words about tube amps for T1 but currently torn between choices. WA7 is freakin sexy and appreciate the usb-DAC/amp in one design (coz I only listening with my MacBook). Another choice is the Bottlehead Crack. Ive only heard praise on it and it's also

 

[mrravioli]

Hi, I'm considering upgrading from my ODAC/O2 combo for Beyerdynamic T1. I heard good words about tube amps for T1 but currently torn between choices. WA7 is freakin sexy and appreciate the usb-DAC/amp in one design (coz I only listening with my MacBook). Another choice is the Bottlehead Crack. Ive only heard praise on it and it's also

Oop.. Mispressed the submit.. So, to continue, the Bottlehead is less than half of the price of WA7 and seems pair well with high impedance cans. However it requires building myself (I'm not experienced in this regard and quite busy these days) and also needs a new DAC to pair with (most likely some ODAC or MODI stuff under $200).

At all rates, the sound is still of prime concern. Would the WA7 deserve the extra cost or the Bottlehead deserve the extra efforts to pair with my T1? And I listen to Classical 90% of my time.

 

[groovyd]

Oop.. Mispressed the submit.. So, to continue, the Bottlehead is less than half of the price of WA7 and seems pair well with high impedance cans. However it requires building myself (I'm not experienced in this regard and quite busy these days) and also needs a new DAC to pair with (most likely some ODAC or MODI stuff under $200).

At all rates, the sound is still of prime concern. Would the WA7 deserve the extra cost or the Bottlehead deserve the extra efforts to pair with my T1? And I listen to Classical 90% of my time.

For the T1 I would go with the Bottle + DAC of the day since it is OTL and a perfect match for the T1 impedance. I think you can find people selling them pre-built and even fully upgraded for the cost of the kit.

 

[groovyd]

So I have a box of Zeiss lens cleaning wipes here for my eye glasses and it just dawned on me to use a wipe to clean my WA7 glass... i know obvious right?  haha well it turned out to be a great discovery for me.