[hodgjy]

NOS tubes sometimes look they've been through hell, but it means little. Paint wears off easily. I bet your tube is NOS, so no worries. You have to remember some of these tubes were scavenged from warehouses, basements, attics, armories, dumps, and cesspools.

 

[Solude]

Good, should be able to do the run tomorrow then  Got a refreshed playlist ready to go, just a matter of letting things settle.  Really should see if the B22 powers.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

WA2 v WA6SE http://www.head-fi.org/t/555749/sibling-rivalry-the-woo-wa2-vs-the-woo-wa6se-review-posted-update-6-3-2011
 
WA6SE v B22 http://www.head-fi.org/t/548400/the-woo-wa6se-and-beta22-sigma22-amps-face-off-review-posted

 
Thanks Reg...saved me hunting them down.
 
Quote:

Thanks for correcting me on that.  I was going from memory, bad idea these days, and knew it was a Woo Audio amp.  Guess I should have looked that one up first.

No worries, the only reason I remember the comparison very well is that baka1969 (Ross) is a very good friend of mine and I got sneak previews to the reviews as he was writing them up.
 
Quote:

When it rains, it pours!
 
Trafo NOS tubes, B22/O22, Q Balanced all came in today :O
 
Like all good DIY, the B22 self destructed in shipping  Completely not the shippers fault, well not entirely anyway.  The nuts and screws in the power supply were put on years ago loosely and over the trip managed to come completely off.  The case is just tall enough for the transformer to jump its mounting bolt and though scary sounding wiring was cut to length so no damage that I can tell.  And no missing nuts or screws after putting them back in.  Really wish DIY guys would take a cue from HeadAmp and LocTite that stuff down.
 
Two things I can say right away after giving everything time to warm up... the NOS tubes on the Trafo definitely improve its tonal balance from the Sovteks and mystery EZ81.  And two, the output of the WA22 is most certainly not balanced.  If it were the output level of the XLR connections would be louder than the TRS and they aren't.  The WA22 is a balanced amplifier into the transformer and single ended out of it.
 
So, with that said... the next round will be the WA22 v the rolled Trafo(Reflektor 6C45P, Brimar EZ80) since they can both use the 1/4" Q without downsides.  Winner goes up against the B22/O22 assuming 'appears fine', translates into 'is fine'.
 
The Reflektors are definitely NOS, the Brimar was bought as NOS but has fading on the print so may have hours on it.  Either way, whats a minimum fair number to burn them in before running the A/B?

 
Glad you got your NOS tubes. The Sovkeks are not even as adequate as the JJs were. Looking forward to more of your comparisons.
 
BTW, got my Mullard E88CC/CV2492s today and methinks you would like them very much over the Gold Lions. More bass and more euphonic tubes. My platinum E88CC Siemens shipped out today and hopefully I get them before the May 2-4 weekend.

 

[Solude]

Likely but $500 for a quad, ouchies!  Loving the $ amount of the Trafo tubes.  If the WA22 takes it I might even consider a WA6SE since its tube cost is also peanuts except for the rectifier which is for all intents and purposes not really rolled, its an SP or EML... done

 

[Solude]

By the way, big thanks to hodgjy for the Trafo tube rolling help.  This combo is anything but lean, sounds great.  Hoping it holds up in direct comparison tomorrow /fingerscrossed

 

[hodgjy]

You're more than welcome! I'm interested in your findings as well.

By the way, big thanks to hodgjy for the Trafo tube rolling help.  This combo is anything but lean, sounds great.  Hoping it holds up in direct comparison tomorrow /fingerscrossed

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Likely but $500 for a quad, ouchies!  Loving the $ amount of the Trafo tubes.  If the WA22 takes it I might even consider a WA6SE since its tube cost is also peanuts except for the rectifier which is for all intents and purposes not really rolled, its an SP or EML... done

Just south of $500 for the quad. That said, your WA22 has about $570 of upgraded tubes.

 

[hodgjy]

I may have done something stupid..well, nothing in audio land is stupid, but Ramen noodles might be a staple for a while. 
 
As much as I love the Trafo with my HD600s, it absolutely cannot do justice to my DT990/600s.  The output transformer just doesn't put out the voltage.  That is my one complaint with the Trafo--has trouble with high impedance headphones.  My Asgard does pretty well with the DT990s, but we all know upgraditis is incurable.  So, I placed an order for the HiFiMan EF-5 today.  Hopefully it comes before the weekend (ordered it from Audioadvisor) so I can put it through the paces.  If it does well enough for me, I'll be forced into getting the HE-500 or HE-5LE

to pair with it.
 

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

I may have done something stupid..well, nothing in audio land is stupid, but Ramen noodles might be a staple for a while. 
 
As much as I love the Trafo with my HD600s, it absolutely cannot do justice to my DT990/600s.  The output transformer just doesn't put out the voltage.  That is my one complaint with the Trafo--has trouble with high impedance headphones.  My Asgard does pretty well with the DT990s, but we all know upgraditis is incurable.  So, I placed an order for the HiFiMan EF-5 today.  Hopefully it comes before the weekend (ordered it from Audioadvisor) so I can put it through the paces.  If it does well enough for me, I'll be forced into getting the HE-500 or HE-5LE

to pair with it.
 

Really? I who thought it was better with high impedance then low impedance going by the T1 and HD 800 compared to my different solid state amps. And I even had the SPL Auditor at the same time for the T1. though it was surely only matter of preference between that and the Trafo for the T1.
 
Looking at the specs it should have more problems driving orthos then these? 360 mA at 30 ohm if I don´t remember wrong.
 
btw solude what did that trio combo go for. Though I suppose I would probably just settle with the driver tubes when needing replacement.

 

[hodgjy]

On paper, it would seem the Trafo should have no problem with the DT990s, but to my ears (which is all that matters), the combo sounds kinda weak, hallow, and almost like there's no meat on the bones.
 
Other reviews of Trafo (in the Trafo thread) have mentioned similar opinions that the Trafo doesn't do as well with high impedance headphones as the similarly priced WA2.  Some also say the WA6 is better with high impedance cans than the Trafo, but that's all a matter of personal opinion.  The Trafo absolutely sings with 300 ohms and less.  Every can I put with the Trafo (less than 300 ohm) have never sounded better.
 

 

[Solude]

Quote:

btw solude what did that trio combo go for. Though I suppose I would probably just settle with the driver tubes when needing replacement.

 
Tubes for the Trafo set me back a massive $45.. be hurting for a while

 

[Solude]

Through the half way point of the comparison.  To this point, the Trafo re-rolled has gained a lot of ground but remains a little light footed and doesn't quite have the laser focused imaging of the WA22.  Almost specialized amps at this point.  The Trafo really suited to jazz, blues and soul... the WA22 more tuned for alternative, metal and punk.

 

[hodgjy]

Your finding about the Trafomatic are similar to mine. The Trafomatic is great for acoustic music and live concerts like Dave Matthews, O.A.R., and MTV Unplugged. It's not as good, although still no slouch, for harder rock and alternative.

Through the half way point of the comparison.  To this point, the Trafo re-rolled has gained a lot of ground but remains a little light footed and doesn't quite have the laser focused imaging of the WA22.  Almost specialized amps at this point.  The Trafo really suited to jazz, blues and soul... the WA22 more tuned for alternative, metal and punk.

 

[Solude]

Absolutely.  This is in context of direct comparison where one has to be better/worse than other.  Not absolutes, but in comparison.  The Trafo for instance would have sent the GS-1 and LF packing though by less of a margin as the WA22 did.  And sits in the same overall character as those two but provides more texture but ever so slightly less sub-bass.  Its an interesting bass performance.  Its there, its not recessed but sounds ever so slightly overly tight reducing the sensation of a thumping bass line.
 
Two songs left on the playlist.  Will throw up the write up shortly.

 

[Solude]

Alright time for one to drop out and one to move on.  Based on popular demand a shot at the weigh-ins
 

 
The short of it... WA22 continues its march to the title with the B22 up next for it.  Lots written on the WA22 in this thread and I would refer you to the previous comparisons.
 
As for the Trafomatic HeadOne, the NOS tubes closed to gap a good deal.  Aside from demonstrating that rolling the rectifier can affect the performance and tonal balance its once again showed new production Sovtek to be bleh.
 
As for the Trafo's character, my notes show a good tonal balance though still ever so slightly tilted to the top.  A lot of this has to do with its bass performance.  The Trafo has a commanding grip on the drivers and tends to stop bass notes early.  So the bass is present, its not recessed in any way but is lacking body in comparison.  Similar to a Senn 800 in that it also has fairly flat bass all the way down but pulls its punches reducing the feel.
 
Texture and detail retrieval is excellent however.  Where I would like more body in the bass I can't fault the completeness of instruments.  Where the GS-1 and LF were primary focused, the WA22 and Trafo present the whole instrument.
 
Where the two are different is the WA22 has laser precise imaging.  Performers are 'right there'.  On the Trafo they take up more space, key more not diffused.  This works quite well on jazz, blues and other similar styles.  But on busier types that are percussion driven like alternative or metal it can cross over into a wall of sound.  Also the level of black is ever so slightly better on the WA22.  The Trafo is completely silent but the reduction of body seems to affect the sensation of going silent between notes.  May have more to do with its higher white level than lower black if that makes sense.
 
So there you have it.  The Trafo punches way above its weight class and replacement tubes cost peanuts really opening it up to a getting a good collection of alternative tubes.  Something I couldn't do with the WA22 given the price of 5U4G and 6SN7 options you'd want to pursue,
 
So frankly I'm bummed that the amp with no preouts for my monitors keeps winning but there it is.  Trafo will be going up for sale soon.  Feel free to PM me if you want it and don't want to risk being sniped.
 
As an aside, I should mention I have been a Kevin Gilmore fan since about 2003 and along the years have had HeadAmp products based on his designs both for dynamics and stats. I fully expected the GS-1 to murder the competition on transparency and detail.  The Liquid Fire was my first experience with Cavalli and left me rather lukewarm to pursue any more.  The HeadOne was also my first experience with Trafomatic and must say for a company that maybe isn't well known, the product and people behind it have been awesome.  I've bugged Jack enough over the years, but the WA22 is the first Woo I pull the trigger on and hear in person.  To say I'm impressed would be an understatement.  That said, would be a lot happier if it was designed around cheaper tube varieties like the WA6SE and WA2 are.
 
I'll be plugging in the B22 tomorrow to one let it warm up and two make sure it not only looks fine, but actually works after being taken apart via vibration during shipping /facepalm
 
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised they're the last two standing but damn I really wanted the Trafo to take it.  So far, for my musical goals and genre preferences I'd rank the amps to date as such WA22 > Trafo > GS-1 > LF.  Who knows maybe I've been a tube guy my whole life and never knew it.  That said I know a well executed hybrid can be excellent since I still drool when I think of my time with the Anthem INT2 that I never did pull the trigger on way back when.