[thecrow]

Unloading my flotilla of EZ80's and will give first shot to the good people on this thread before I post them in the For Sale Forum.
All were supposedly NOS or near NOS when I bought them and I've put no more than 100 hours on any of these pairs.  I have no tester to verify.  I'll sell the pairs for the price posted here plus $12 for USPS Priority shipping.  I'll eat the Paypal fee.
Here's the list.  I'll mark them as SOLD as it happens.  All are EZ80's.

Philips/Amperex (Holland) D-Getters   $60
Lorenz D-Getters (not SEL's)  $60
Brimar D-Getters   $60
RFT  O-Getters     $40
Rogers D-Getters  $50
EI  O-Getters        $40

PM me if interested.  CONUS only.

Does that mean the u709's are coming in well?

 

[billerb1]

Does that mean the u709's are coming in well?

 
Still burning in and jury is still out for me.  They 'feel' like a more powerful rectifier and in that sense a bit more revealing.  But with that comes a bit 'hotter' sound to me.  That might ease with burn-in but right now I prefer the Holland Miniwatt EZ81 with a bit more depth of tone.
The Minis presently are allowing more blackness, separation between instruments...a less congested, if a bit less detailed, sound.
So maybe what I'm saying is if you prefer the WE 421A or TS 5998 sound (to me) I think the Marconis are a no brainer.  If you prefer the more delicate/elegant or a bit more relaxed sound signature like the GEC 6AS7G's, they might not be the best synergy.
Lol, at least that's where I am today.

 

[ru4music]

 
​Disclaimer: Still testing, but here are my present thoughts!
 
I'm really liking the WE 396A ALOT, I'm listening to them right now.  They are very musical and at the same time provide great detail and imaging/ sound staging with a good extension range from top to bottom.  They also play everything well whatever the quality of the recording (within reason of course.)  They are definitely a top-tier tube based on my WA2 setup and listening experience.  I have yet to find a genre of music (e.g. Rock, Blues, Jazz, Classical etc.) where they have failed me. I had initially thought that they may (at some point) have a congestion issue when playing complex passages of music, but this has not been the case.  In fact, I have been highly impressed by the balance of tonality, musicality, clarity, and detail retrieval during complex music iterations (may be the best I've heard so far on my platform.)
 

1. The WE 396A provide increased musicality, slightly better tonality with a much better tolerance for recording quality variations.
2. The "Holy Grail" Reflector provide better detail retrieval at the cost of some musicality and slightly less tonality.  They reward higher quality recordings and at the same time expose flaws in lessor productions.
3. The Amperex 6922 PQ provide generally good overall performance with slightly less musicality and tonality, and a slightly increased congestion to some complex music passages.

 
I may need to do a A/B/C comparison in the near future between the WE 396A, "Holy Grail" Reflectors, and the Amperex PQ 6922, but I would rate (at the moment) the Amperex PQ 6922 #3 after the other two.

 

As a followup, I have done A/B/C comparisons and stand behind my initial impressions from the above referenced driver tubes.  I highly recommend the WE 396A's (tested with TS 5998/ Brimar EZ80) in the WA2!  They resolve great detail, have speed, musicality, and tonality and play all the genres of music well.  They seem to bring that Western Electric sonic signature to the presentation (a good thing!)  The tonality (timbre) is the best I have heard on certain instruments (e.g. acoustic piano, electric guitar, strings etc.)

 

[koven]

hi all, off topic to tubes but just wondering if any fellow WA2 owners found good headphone pairings w/ brands other than Senn/Beyer. Are there other high impedance headphones that are suitable? I have tried AKG and HF but found they paired poorly w/ an OTL amp. Are we basically limited to Beyer/Senn headphones..?  I hope to get the Elear next so I'm wondering if I should pickup a SS amp to complement, maybe a Burson.

 

[thecrow]

hi all, off topic to tubes but just wondering if any fellow WA2 owners found good headphone pairings w/ brands other than Senn/Beyer. Are there other high impedance headphones that are suitable? I have tried AKG and HF but found they paired poorly w/ an OTL amp. Are we basically limited to Beyer/Senn headphones..?  I hope to get the Elear next so I'm wondering if I should pickup a SS amp to complement, maybe a Burson.

I had a similar question a while ago but did not get much response.

I have found lower impedance headphones sometimes have a loose or flabby bottom end. However the he500 sounded decent and my focal spirit pros and x2 sounded absolutely fine/good (bottom wnd included) when i used some eq.

However i found i was eqing them towards what i get with my beloved hd800 (which my whole system is built around) so i figured, what's the point?

I also tried eqing the fostex th500rp but the bottom end did not come up well enough.

 

[marek17]

I recently ordered a pair Amperex 6922 with gold pins, tubes were Faulty and unserviceable. I sent them back to the seller (Billington Export LTD)

[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAPtKViASk4[/VIDEO]
[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5SofG5RWnE[/VIDEO]

Other tubes that I bought from a friend in this forum are usable.


My combination of tubes: 2x Ei EZ80 + 2x TungSol 5998 + 2x Amperex 6922 PQ

 

[Krutsch]

   

As a followup, I have done A/B/C comparisons and stand behind my initial impressions from the above referenced driver tubes.  I highly recommend the WE 396A's (tested with TS 5998/ Brimar EZ80) in the WA2!  They resolve great detail, have speed, musicality, and tonality and play all the genres of music well.  They seem to bring that Western Electric sonic signature to the presentation (a good thing!)  The tonality (timbre) is the best I have heard on certain instruments (e.g. acoustic piano, electric guitar, strings etc.)

The WE396A is a Woo compatible driver tube?
 
As in, a direct replacement for the the 6922/6DJ8?

 

[ru4music]

I recently ordered a pair Amperex 6922 with gold pins, tubes were Faulty and unserviceable. I sent them back to the seller (Billington Export LTD)

Other tubes that I bought from a friend in this forum are usable.


My combination of tubes: 2x Ei EZ80 + 2x TungSol 5998 + 2x Amperex 6922 PQ

That tube combination should give you a lot of sonic capability.  The PQ Whites are very good (more detail, timbre etc.) and the Bugle Boys are very musical.  The Phillips JAN 6922 never grew on me when I had them in my WA3, they seem to do everything mediocre.  What headphones are you using?
 
BTW, don't do what I watched you do on your video with you headphones anymore, you will damage or blow them out!

 

[ru4music]

 
The WE396A is a Woo compatible driver tube?
 
As in, a direct replacement for the the 6922/6DJ8?

No, it needs a 6N3 to ECC88 adapter.  Here is one that I purchase from Ecrap:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pc-Gold-plated-5670-6n3-WE396A-TO-ECC88-6922-6DJ8-tube-adapter-for-you-amp-/191636111735?hash=item2c9e670177:g:~IoAAOSw~OVWwGvh
 
I will say that (by ear) the WE396A seems a very good match for the existing WA2 bias circuitry and appears to have a close to optimal Class A quiescent operating current (i.e. it's setup correctly for the best sound.)

 

[MIKELAP]

 

   

As a followup, I have done A/B/C comparisons and stand behind my initial impressions from the above referenced driver tubes.  I highly recommend the WE 396A's (tested with TS 5998/ Brimar EZ80) in the WA2!  They resolve great detail, have speed, musicality, and tonality and play all the genres of music well.  They seem to bring that Western Electric sonic signature to the presentation (a good thing!)  The tonality (timbre) is the best I have heard on certain instruments (e.g. acoustic piano, electric guitar, strings etc.)

The WE396A is a Woo compatible driver tube?
 
As in, a direct replacement for the the 6922/6DJ8?

You need adapters for the 396A           http://www.ebay.com/itm/201637263159?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[marek17]

and tube setting/ any changes when you set such a combination tubes? :

1./2x Yugoslavia Ei Ez-80 + 2xTungsol 5998 + 2x Amperex 6DJ8 Bugle Boys
or
2./2x Yugoslavia Ei Ez-80 + 2xSylviana 7236 + 2x Amperex 6DJ8 Bugle Boys
or
3./2x Yugoslavia Ei Ez-80 + 2xSylviana 7236 + 2x Amperex 6922 PQ
or
4./ Ei Ez80 + Tungsol 5998 + russian 6N1P

music do I listen via Sennheiser HD 25-II because Beyerdynamic T1 I sent for repair to the Czech Republic replaced the drivers.(Elvia Praha Servis).
T1

T1 required replaced the drivers with new ones.
I'm thinking I should Elvia could rewire headphones (ballanced mode).
As it has 2gen T1 or HD800.

 

[ru4music]

@MIKELAP Can you publish the current capabilities of the WA2 again?  I can't seem to find them.

 

[MIKELAP]

  @MIKELAP Can you publish the current capabilities of the WA2 again?  I can't seem to find them.

 

[ru4music]

and tube setting/ any changes when you set such a combination tubes? :

1./2x Yugoslavia Ei Ez-80 + 2xTungsol 5998 + 2x Amperex 6DJ8 Bugle Boys
or
2./2x Yugoslavia Ei Ez-80 + 2xSylviana 7236 + 2x Amperex 6DJ8 Bugle Boys
or
3./2x Yugoslavia Ei Ez-80 + 2xSylviana 7236 + 2x Amperex 6922 PQ
or
4./ Ei Ez80 + Tungsol 5998 + russian 6N1P

music do I listen via Sennheiser HD 25-II because Beyerdynamic T1 I sent for repair to the Czech Republic replaced the drivers.(Elvia Praha Servis).
T1

T1 required replaced the drivers with new ones.
I'm thinking I should Elvia could rewire headphones (ballanced mode).
As it has 2gen T1 or HD800.

Based on the Max. filament current ratings provided by @MIKELAP (per Woo Audio) below, all those tube combinations should be OK to use in the WA2.
 

 

Thanks Mike!

 

[MIKELAP]

Anybody try 4 6bl7's in there WA2 ?