[mohdkhamsya]

IMO, u r not going to gain more bass from wa7. Maybe, clearer, more texture in the low would be somewhat realistic expectation. To me, not worth $500 upgrade for what u r after. If u plan to have other hp later on, then wa7 would serve u very well (assuming no per hungry orthos here)

 
Aaaah. That's disappointing. I always thought that tube amps would lend a little more bass to my he500s. Slightly more body. Sometimes I find that the 11.32+he500 pairing to be rather conservative when it comes to bass, too controlled and tight. It is technically brilliant. Still textured, deep and rumbly. Fantastic for something hat costs $299. But sometimes I'd like for the bass to punch through the other frequencies just a wee bit more. Seems that the WA7s would add to the tone more than anything else.
 

   
The introductory price was just that. Once passed, the current price stands. From that point of view, you are getting a deal, since you missed the introduction. My opinion is that the WA7 is worth more than the current price and is really an amazing amp at any price. It will drive any headphone or IEM you have; your westones and HD650 will both sound great on it. I have westone UM2 myself. The amp is quiet, relatively transparent but has positive euphonic qualities that a tube / transformer output amp has to offer. I listen to a WA7 + Beyerdynamic T90 at least five evenings per week. For work I use an HD600 + Violectric V200 on headphone mix checks. The latter is very transparent, no euphonics, which is a necessary condition for mix checks. Euphonics are for recreational listening.

 
Alright then. I really really love my he-500s and I'm guessing that they're here to stay for a while. The only other headphones that I've tried and liked are the hd650's which I've sold and the LCD2s. But I prefer orthos because they're generally faster and it suits the type of music I listen to (Rock, acoustic, electronic, vocal mostly). I might get the LCDs in the future. Thing is I'm quite worried that the WA7 won't be able to feed the he500 or LCD2 properly. But I'll go ahead and try them with my cans this weekend.

 

[atomicbob]

  Hey guys,
 
After reading this thread and obsessing over this amp I finally landed one today. Looks good sounds good as described but I have a little perk hopefully someone can shed some light on. Almost everybody claims this amp runs dead quiet, but it is quite different for me. At around 4 o'clock with music off I can hear some noise and past 12 o'clock I detect a lot of noise/static. I suspect the crappy USB cable that I robbed from a printer is the culprit but I have no other USB cable to test. Does anyone experience this and what was your solution. I'm on high gain running HD650 if that matters. Thanks.
 

 
Disconnect the USB cable and switch the input selector to RCA. Do you still have noise? As dogmatrix queried, one channel or both? Equal in both?

 

[atomicbob]

   
Aaaah. That's disappointing. I always thought that tube amps would lend a little more bass to my he500s. Slightly more body. Sometimes I find that the 11.32+he500 pairing to be rather conservative when it comes to bass, too controlled and tight. It is technically brilliant. Still textured, deep and rumbly. Fantastic for something hat costs $299. But sometimes I'd like for the bass to punch through the other frequencies just a wee bit more. Seems that the WA7s would add to the tone more than anything else.
 
 
Alright then. I really really love my he-500s and I'm guessing that they're here to stay for a while. The only other headphones that I've tried and liked are the hd650's which I've sold and the LCD2s. But I prefer orthos because they're generally faster and it suits the type of music I listen to (Rock, acoustic, electronic, vocal mostly). I might get the LCDs in the future. Thing is I'm quite worried that the WA7 won't be able to feed the he500 or LCD2 properly. But I'll go ahead and try them with my cans this weekend.

 
I've got some HE-500 and the WA7. I'll listen to the pairing tonight. When I get to recreational listening time, I typically just plug in the T90 and disappear into the music. HE-500 being a bit more cumbersome and heavy don't let me forget they are on my head.

 

[DNT]

   
Disconnect the USB cable and switch the input selector to RCA. Do you still have noise? As dogmatrix queried, one channel or both? Equal in both?

 
No noise with the RCA. Noise is equal on both channel with the USB though, so does that mean the USB cable has problems? I shall try to do some clean up like dogmatrix adviced tomorrow.

 

[atomicbob]

   
No noise with the RCA. Noise is equal on both channel with the USB though, so does that mean the USB cable has problems? I shall try to do some clean up like dogmatrix adviced tomorrow.

 
Sounds like you are on the right track. USB cable may be your culprit. Or it may be conducted power or digital noise from the laptop or desktop computer.

 

[pervysage]

   
Sounds like you are on the right track. USB cable may be your culprit. Or it may be conducted power or digital noise from the laptop or desktop computer.

 
I hope I don't have any noise coming from my computer using the USB DAC on the WA7 when I get mine in. That was one of my concerns. 
 
Don't see why it doesn't have an Toslink Optical or Coaxial connector at this price point.

 

[GalaxyGuy]

   
I hope I don't have any noise coming from my computer using the USB DAC on the WA7 when I get mine in. That was one of my concerns. 
 
 
Don't see why it doesn't have an Toslink Optical or Coaxial connector at this price point.

 
With no music playing, my WA7 is dead quiet at every volume with every HP I've tried.  I wish I could say the same about my WA22!
 
As for your second point, I believe that Jack puts his effort into a high quality amp with a decent, albeit not terribly flexible, DAC.  I think the amp side surpasses everything that I've heard at this price point and I am deliriously happy with the choice.  If you want a better or more flexible DAC, you can always get an outboard one.  If you want a better amp, you're going to have to spend quite a bit of money to surpass what Jack has produced with this little gem.

 

[mohdkhamsya]

   
I've got some HE-500 and the WA7. I'll listen to the pairing tonight. When I get to recreational listening time, I typically just plug in the T90 and disappear into the music. HE-500 being a bit more cumbersome and heavy don't let me forget they are on my head.

 
 
Oh right. Look forward to hear what you have to say about the wa7 n he500 pairing. :-D

 

[koiloco]

   
With no music playing, my WA7 is dead quiet at every volume with every HP I've tried.  I wish I could say the same about my WA22!
 
As for your second point, I believe that Jack puts his effort into a high quality amp with a decent, albeit not terribly flexible, DAC.  I think the amp side surpasses everything that I've heard at this price point and I am deliriously happy with the choice.  If you want a better or more flexible DAC, you can always get an outboard one.  If you want a better amp, you're going to have to spend quite a bit of money to surpass what Jack has produced with this little gem.

+1.  Agreed.

 

[atomicbob]

+2. It takes a Violectric V800 for me to hear an improvement over the built-in DAC Jack provides.

 

[atomicbob]

Oh right. Look forward to hear what you have to say about the wa7 n he500 pairing. :-D

Ok, spent some time listening to HE-500 and T90 in A/B comparison on the WA7.
First, my biases. I have a love/hate relationship with my HE-500. I enjoy the tight and extended bass, the transparent mids. Highs are accurate but a little recessed for me. Separation is wonderful but soundstage more 2-D than 3-D on my head. My neck fatigues from the weight on extended (>2Hr) sessions. The T90 work well for me, are more 3-D in presentation and have a clarity I appreciate. So overall, I spend more time with the T90 than HE-500. There are some rock, trance, electronica where I enjoy a better experience with the HE-500.

The WA7 brings out the best in any headphone in my collection and the HE-500 is much happier on the WA7 than other amps with which I have tried it. Violectric V200 will drive it well for a more transparent result but I like the mid-range magic the WA7 brings to the party. As always, YMMV.

 

[pervysage]

   
With no music playing, my WA7 is dead quiet at every volume with every HP I've tried.  I wish I could say the same about my WA22!
 
As for your second point, I believe that Jack puts his effort into a high quality amp with a decent, albeit not terribly flexible, DAC.  I think the amp side surpasses everything that I've heard at this price point and I am deliriously happy with the choice.  If you want a better or more flexible DAC, you can always get an outboard one.  If you want a better amp, you're going to have to spend quite a bit of money to surpass what Jack has produced with this little gem.

 
I'm sure I will be super happy with both the AMP and DAC section on the WA7 as it will be a big step up from my beginner setup.
 
Counting the days until that bad boy ships out. Curious to see how much the sound will differ as I've never heard a tube amp before.

 

[moriez]

while I prefer Bifrost Uber over WA7's DAC

 
I'm kind of considering ''The Fly'' so it would be helpful if you can elaborate a bit on the above please.

 

[olegausany]

while I prefer Bifrost Uber over WA7's DAC

 
I'm kind of considering ''The Fly'' so it would be helpful if you can elaborate a bit on the above please.

I getting a little bit more clarity on highs when I use Schiit stack. As already was said too many times everyone hears differently so your preference could different.

 

[Shini44]

Guys i bought WA7 + upgraded Tubes and will use it with TH600 hope the treble will sound super!! i am a treble head >=) now time to save for TH900 XD