[Seamaster]

I think he means GZ34. There is no GZ43 that I know of.

 

[IctusBrucks]

Sorry, meant Amperex GZ34.... thought I already fixed that typo but guess not

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IctusBrucks /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, meant Amperex GZ34.... thought I already fixed that typo but guess not

No problem. How is Amperex GZ34? I've known Mullard GZ34 in metal base is considered the best, but not sure how Amperex fairs against them..

 

[jamato8]

The Amperex is a fine tube. My ultimate preference would still be for the metal base but if there is enough filtering after the tube, you aren't going to notice it. With a CLC I think the metal base would win out.

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Amperex is a fine tube. My ultimate preference would still be for the metal base but if there is enough filtering after the tube, you aren't going to notice it. With a CLC I think the metal base would win out.

Thanks. I kinda expected that response, but coming from you, that gives a lot of weight to it.

I guess I can start out with cheaper amperex for now, and keep an eye out for Mullard in metal base.

 

[yilmaz196]

Hi guys. Is it natural to hear a very little hum noise from headphones with wa22? I did notice now, didnt notice when i got it in the first time. Very hard to feel, but when i plug out the headphones, i understand it is there. Not a noticable hum when u turn on the amp. This is more thin.

 

[Seamaster]

When I 1st got my amp it had little hum, and it went away after 50+ hours. Now the amp is dead quite unless I freshly swap the tubes, then I will get some hum. But then the hum will go away again after few hours.

Tubes needs burn-in too, but only take 50 hours max. After given time if you still have hum, there is chance you have a noisy tube.

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yilmaz196 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi guys. Is it natural to hear a very little hum noise from headphones with wa22? I did notice now, didnt notice when i got it in the first time. Very hard to feel, but when i plug out the headphones, i understand it is there. Not a noticable hum when u turn on the amp. This is more thin.

As Seamaster pointed out, all tube require some time to stabilize. I'd try to isolate this hum issue first by trying out different tubes with sufficient time to stabilize. However, if you experience the hum with all tubes, then it's possible that you might have more noisy amp than norm. You'd have to contact Jack about possibility resolving that issue like other member here had done.

Regards

 

[yilmaz196]

I tried the stock GE power tubes. There is no hum! Definetely it is the power tubes making this hum. Tungsol 5998's r the loudest hum and 7236 second.

Other than this, i realized something today. There is a piece of glass in one of my 7236's. Nothing wrong with the working of tube. I wonder how this got int he tube.

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yilmaz196 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tried the stock GE power tubes. There is no hum! Definetely it is the power tubes making this hum. Tungsol 5998's r the loudest hum and 7236 second. Other than this, i realized something today. There is a piece of glass in one of my 7236's. Nothing wrong with the working of tube. I wonder how this got int he tube.

Tung Sol and 7236 outputs more wattage. More than twice the stock GE if I am right. So I think that has to do with some of your hum issue.

As for the piece of glass, it seems to me that some parts just fell off inside the tube. I have no other way to explaining that..

 

[IctusBrucks]

Fwiw I noticed the same, 7236 has a fair bit of noise, 6as7 is dead quiet.

I have an amperex GZ34 that I dropped and it caused a bit of glass to break free inside the tube. Don't have a tube tester but yesterday I was feeling gutsy and plugged it in... And it's working like a charm

. Doesnt seem to be noisy. Haven't listened on it enought yet.... Need to compare to 274b and see how it sounds with 6cg7.

 

[IctusBrucks]

I've been testing out the WA22 with my Grado HF2 phones lately. So far only tried on the low impedance setting except for 1 test which I'll get to....

With 6SN7 / GZ34 it sounds pretty good, but it sounds a bit underpowered, I have to turn volume up higher than I do with HD650 and DT990. But the amp is still almost dead silent after some time running.

With 6SN7 / Sophia 274b on the HF2, the amp is SO underpowered that it's practically unlistenable. I have to turn volume knob to 3 o'clock to get anything out of the amp, and then it starts buzzing like a Beehive after several minutes. It was dead silent until being run at high volume awhile.

Strangely, after the amp started buzzing quite loudly on LOW impedance, I turned the volume down to 0, then went to HIGH impedance and turned the volume back.... the Buzz was SIGNIFICANTLY quieter, almost completely gone. No noticeable change in sound.

Anybody else with similar findings? Is there any harm is running the Grado HF2 on high impedance to get less noise??

Or would most simply not try to pair WA22/Grado? I think HF2 is 38ohms.... and the WA22 impedance switch is designed so the LOW = anything under 60....

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IctusBrucks /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been testing out the WA22 with my Grado HF2 phones lately. So far only tried on the low impedance setting except for 1 test which I'll get to.... With 6SN7 / GZ34 it sounds pretty good, but it sounds a bit underpowered, I have to turn volume up higher than I do with HD650 and DT990. But the amp is still almost dead silent after some time running. With 6SN7 / Sophia 274b on the HF2, the amp is SO underpowered that it's practically unlistenable. I have to turn volume knob to 3 o'clock to get anything out of the amp, and then it starts buzzing like a Beehive after several minutes. It was dead silent until being run at high volume awhile. Strangely, after the amp started buzzing quite loudly on LOW impedance, I turned the volume down to 0, then went to HIGH impedance and turned the volume back.... the Buzz was SIGNIFICANTLY quieter, almost completely gone. No noticeable change in sound. Anybody else with similar findings? Is there any harm is running the Grado HF2 on high impedance to get less noise?? Or would most simply not try to pair WA22/Grado? I think HF2 is 38ohms.... and the WA22 impedance switch is designed so the LOW = anything under 60....

Something sounds funny. I found the prototype WA22 to have gobs of power for HF-2 and RS-1 and the final version at RMAF was even more powerful. I wonder if the Sylvania 7236 tubes had anthing to do with the extra power?

 

[TheAudioDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IctusBrucks /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been testing out the WA22 with my Grado HF2 phones lately. So far only tried on the low impedance setting except for 1 test which I'll get to.... With 6SN7 / GZ34 it sounds pretty good, but it sounds a bit underpowered, I have to turn volume up higher than I do with HD650 and DT990. But the amp is still almost dead silent after some time running. With 6SN7 / Sophia 274b on the HF2, the amp is SO underpowered that it's practically unlistenable. I have to turn volume knob to 3 o'clock to get anything out of the amp, and then it starts buzzing like a Beehive after several minutes. It was dead silent until being run at high volume awhile. Strangely, after the amp started buzzing quite loudly on LOW impedance, I turned the volume down to 0, then went to HIGH impedance and turned the volume back.... the Buzz was SIGNIFICANTLY quieter, almost completely gone. No noticeable change in sound. Anybody else with similar findings? Is there any harm is running the Grado HF2 on high impedance to get less noise?? Or would most simply not try to pair WA22/Grado? I think HF2 is 38ohms.... and the WA22 impedance switch is designed so the LOW = anything under 60....

I don't have any Grados but I am using my WA22 with my D7000s, which are 25ohms. Probably about 85% of my music is loud enough at 9-10 o'clock, and 11 o'clock is really pushing my ears to their limits (although for some reason, The Dark Side of The Moon and most other Pink Floyd albums are exquisite at 12 o'clock

.) Keep in mind I'm using the stock tubes but it shouldn't make a HUGE difference like what you're mentioning. I'm also running the amp in balanced mode, but even before I balanced my headphones, 12-1 o'clock was the absolute max that I would turn the amp up to.

Is the volume on your source turned all the way up? My amp is dead quiet even with the volume knob to the max (aside from a very very low hum). I'd suggest shooting Jack an e-mail.

When I'm running my amp directly from my T.V.'s outputs when I'm playing my Xbox360 (I've been meaning to get another optical cable so I can run my T.V. through my DAC...), I have to have the volume knob a bit higher than when I'm listening to music, and around 10 o'clock I can hear a buzzing noise which increases as I turn the volume up. So perhaps it's your source/DAC.

 

[IctusBrucks]

My source (DAC1 USB) has the switch set to calibrated output, and my PC volume is maxed so I think I can rule that out...

I'll try to clarify and provide some more perspective.

With HD650 and DT990 I also listen around the 9-10'oclock mark when wanting to hear 'loud but not too loud' music. Compared to stock 5Z4G (or maybe 5U4G for some folks?), 274b sounds slightly more lean and refined but doesn't really loose the bass impact or apparent volume.

When I listen to the HF2 on the Russian 5Z4G and GZ34, I find myself turning it to 10-11 to get the same impact sometimes. Not a big difference really..

Then I try 274b and it's noticeably quieter; super lean sound. Maybe it's simply that 274b and HF2 do not jive.

listening to HF2 on all stock tubes right now and loving the sound.