[pearljam5000]

Hey,since you have tons of experience with amps,i would love to read your review of the EXTREME,if you have the time to do it,I(and many others)will be extremly happy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif This amp is very tempting to me - if I didn't already own two of its 2 main competitors, the Darkvoice 337 and the Singlepower Extreme, I would get one for sure. What tubes did you get with it stock?

 

[dcstep]

A shielded power cord is important with the WA6. I tried a Ric Schultz PC100 in a pretty crowded armoire and got lots of hum. A Kimber power cord quieted things nicely while retaining the openess of the Schultz.

Dave

 

[JZImages]

Quote:

Originally Posted by No Deal /img/forum/go_quote.gif O.k. I'm convinced. I'm buying the cord right now.

I got it and I got screwed by the company I ordered from (ended up paying $22 for shipping). At the moment, I'm surprise. I thought I wouldn't hear much of a difference, but there is a difference. Soundstage seems a lot better, and it seems quieter in some way but it's not the music that's quieter. I suck at describing what I hear. Also, I seem to be hearing more details. Oh, and I was using a power cord that was laying around before this.

 

[airstream66]

Quote:

Originally Posted by takezo /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...i've also found out, serendipitously, that a very cheap powercord called the volex 17604, a shielded 14 awg cord, works best to bring out the transparency and detail of the mid-range...i'd been using a 12awg diy oyaide tunami cord before but the volex seems to compliment the maxed wa-6 much more in the mid and lower mid-region...without compromising SQ in other areas that i can discern...the $10 volex cord outdoes the $200+ diy tunami for the maxed wa-6... the bass is tight and focused more than ever...it's tube dependent but i'm finding it is comparable to the mpx3 slam se with all drivers except the kenrad 6sn7, which has the deepest controlled bass...there's a weight to the lower mid-range and transparency/texture detail is fleshed out better than it has ever been, especially with the cheap powercord... soundstage, headroom, depth, 3-d layering effect is on par with the $2K+ mpx-3 unit, if you can believe that...the mpx-3 has more definite power leading to a discernibly better separation of notes, especially in condensed or complex layers of music like symphonies...but in small ensemble music it requires a/b comparison to find any differences in layering and soundstage... and before i started using the volex powercord, the mpx3 seemed to have better weight to the notes in the mid to lower-mid region but not so anymore... i've rolled both the diy tunami and the volex on the mpx3 but found negligible differences in tone...low level resolution is outstanding in both units...you can clearly discern realistic sounds of high-hats or cymbols chiming or cow-bells, even at whisper volumes...plastic sounding brass is a thing of the past on these two units... the mpx-3 slam se is the better unit than the wa-6 by sheer power in rendering better separation of notes and the tube-rolling options available to the owner, but in terms of the price to performance ratio, the wa-6 is hard to beat...

I just got my Volex 17604 going on my stock WA6 w/Sophia rig. With the cheaper and lighter power cord I was using I was getting noticeable hum in the left side of my UE triple.fi's when music was not playing. I could not seem to figure the cause and could not find any way to alter it. Of course the UE's are very sensitive and this hum was not audible with other full size phones like the Senn 650s or Ultrasones 750 Pros. Happy to report that the Volex has pretty much eliminated the hum issue with the triples. I need some more listening time to see if I can discern other audio improvements or changes but there has to be some, given that the hum has been knocked out.

 

[airstream66]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JZImages /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got it (Volex)... At the moment, I'm surprise. I thought I wouldn't hear much of a difference, but there is a difference. Soundstage seems a lot better, and it seems quieter in some way but it's not the music that's quieter. I suck at describing what I hear...

I do think that I'm possibly needing to or able to turn up the WA6 volume knob further with the Volex cable vs. the cheaper and thinner power cable I was using before (using Senn 650s). I would say that soundstage might be affected but there also seems to be less harshness in the highs and maybe slightly more involving vocals, particularly male vocals. Overall there is an improvement. Can't compare this power cable to other decent or much more expensive cables but it is better than what I was using.

 

[Gibertus Jeunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by takezo /img/forum/go_quote.gif hey jamato8, i've found that my modded wa-6 took approx. 750+ hrs. to settle into a sweet spot...i've also found out, serendipitously, that a very cheap powercord called the volex 17604, a shielded 14 awg cord, works best to bring out the transparency and detail of the mid-range...i'd been using a 12awg diy oyaide tunami cord before but the volex seems to compliment the maxed wa-6 much more in the mid and lower mid-region...without compromising SQ in other areas that i can discern...the $10 volex cord outdoes the $200+ diy tunami for the maxed wa-6... the bass is tight and focused more than ever...it's tube dependent but i'm finding it is comparable to the mpx3 slam se with all drivers except the kenrad 6sn7, which has the deepest controlled bass...there's a weight to the lower mid-range and transparency/texture detail is fleshed out better than it has ever been, especially with the cheap powercord... soundstage, headroom, depth, 3-d layering effect is on par with the $2K+ mpx-3 unit, if you can believe that...the mpx-3 has more definite power leading to a discernibly better separation of notes, especially in condensed or complex layers of music like symphonies...but in small ensemble music it requires a/b comparison to find any differences in layering and soundstage... and before i started using the volex powercord, the mpx3 seemed to have better weight to the notes in the mid to lower-mid region but not so anymore... i've rolled both the diy tunami and the volex on the mpx3 but found negligible differences in tone...low level resolution is outstanding in both units...you can clearly discern realistic sounds of high-hats or cymbols chiming or cow-bells, even at whisper volumes...plastic sounding brass is a thing of the past on these two units... the mpx-3 slam se is the better unit than the wa-6 by sheer power in rendering better separation of notes and the tube-rolling options available to the owner, but in terms of the price to performance ratio, the wa-6 is hard to beat...

The Volex cords are now made in China and are not any more what they were...

 

[Suprfly2k]

Re: Volex...any good sub-$50 alternatives?

 

[OutdoorXplorer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suprfly2k /img/forum/go_quote.gif Re: Volex...any good sub-$50 alternatives?

You can try getting those Volex made in Mexico from Farnell. It is much better quality than those made in China. I bought 5 of those for my various electrical appliances including AV peripherals.

 

[dannie01]

Just bought one from Farnell, let see it's from Mexico or China. Thanks for the tips takezo and OutdoorXplorer.

 

[ultraman9000]

I just got my WA6 last week (stock, but going back to Jack for V-caps), and have been burning it in w/the stock Sovtek and a pair of 6FQ7s while I get some hours on my HF-2s. I switched to a RCA JAN 5U4G (ST, black plates, top getter) for a listening session earlier this evening and am very impressed with the improvement in SQ. I still have some GZ34s waiting to make their debut, along with a GZ32 and 33, and also GE 5Y3GT, Ken Rad 5Y3G, and CBS Ind. 5R4GY... needless to say, I went off the deep end preparing for tube rolling fun while awaiting my new baby! I'm also thinking of popping in my Ken Rad VT-231s w/the new adapters I got from Jack, but wanted to make sure about something: they are marked on the outside as 6DE7/6DN7, but were recommended and shipped by Jack... so that means they are okay for the 6SN7, no?

 

[Landis]

Hmm... Nothing like a good two year gap bump to spice things up, hmm?

 

[takezo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ultraman9000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got my WA6 last week (stock, but going back to Jack for V-caps), and have been burning it in w/the stock Sovtek and a pair of 6FQ7s while I get some hours on my HF-2s. I switched to a RCA JAN 5U4G (ST, black plates, top getter) for a listening session earlier this evening and am very impressed with the improvement in SQ. I still have some GZ34s waiting to make their debut, along with a GZ32 and 33, and also GE 5Y3GT, Ken Rad 5Y3G, and CBS Ind. 5R4GY... needless to say, I went off the deep end preparing for tube rolling fun while awaiting my new baby! I'm also thinking of popping in my Ken Rad VT-231s w/the new adapters I got from Jack, but wanted to make sure about something: they are marked on the outside as 6DE7/6DN7, but were recommended and shipped by Jack... so that means they are okay for the 6SN7, no?

yes, the 6sn7 and 6dn7 are okay to use with the adapter sold by jack.

are you using a homemade adapter with the 6FQ7? or does jack sell those too now?

 

[ultraman9000]

Oops! I meant to say 6FD7s... sorry 'bout that. Right now, the only adapter I have is the 6SN7-->6DE7 one I got through Jack. And Takezo, I've been curious about your handle for a while now-- it sounds Japanese, but is that just a coincidence?

 

[takezo]

yes, it is. 宜しくお願い致します。

 

[ultraman9000]

こちらこそ宜しくお願いしまーす！You located in Japan by any chance? I'm headed back to Sapporo (where I used to work) for the New Year's myself. Should be nice and freezing!