WooAudio WA6 Upgrades

[Catch]

Hi,
 
I am hoping to place an order for this amp in the next week or so. I have been reading allot about it in reviews and on the threads here. It sounds like the amp I am looking for. My large system is tube based and so I am looking for a similar setup but with a 'one box' solution for my bedroom for use with headphones. I will be ordering this amp for delivery to the UK so shipping it back and forth will be less than ideal.
 
I was hoping that someone that owns, or has owned, this piece of kit would give me their opinion on upgrades? After reading hundreds of posts I have come away more confused on the upgrade possibilities than I was at the beginning! I am interested in the upgrades under the bonnet, so to speak, and not the tubes as I intend to roll those as and when. Part of the fun of tube amps I would prefer to order the amp with the full upgrades rather than pay more for shipping...
 
Any suggestions for upgrades would be most appreciated.
 
Cheers,
 
 
C

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

Hi,
 
I am hoping to place an order for this amp in the next week or so. I have been reading allot about it in reviews and on the threads here. It sounds like the amp I am looking for. My large system is tube based and so I am looking for a similar setup but with a 'one box' solution for my bedroom for use with headphones. I will be ordering this amp for delivery to the UK so shipping it back and forth will be less than ideal.
 
I was hoping that someone that owns, or has owned, this piece of kit would give me their opinion on upgrades? After reading hundreds of posts I have come away more confused on the upgrade possibilities than I was at the beginning! I am interested in the upgrades under the bonnet, so to speak, and not the tubes as I intend to roll those as and when. Part of the fun of tube amps I would prefer to order the amp with the full upgrades rather than pay more for shipping...
 
Any suggestions for upgrades would be most appreciated.
 
Cheers,
C

Well the pseudo dual power supply that I implemented and now I believe Woo uses all the time is mandatory. It brings the amp to life. Then you have a choice of different tubes but that is something you can do down the road. If they offer better capacitors, there is a little bit of an improvement there. Otherwise, I would just do that, pseudo dual power supply and a cap upgrade then tubes as you get used to the unit.

 

[claybum]

Woo stopped offering upgrades(at least on their order page) to the WA6 a year or two ago. Look at the order page, stock amp with pseudo dual power supply and some tube upgrades.

 

[Catch]

Ok thanks for clarifying this. I have seen so much talk about upgrades but found it impossible to see any more than tube upgrades on the website. Will speak to them directly re this then. Thanks!

C

 

[devhen]

I'm interested in this too. Anyone know what the price of the WA6 is with the pseudo dual power supply upgrade?

 

[Catch]

I'm interested in this too. Anyone know what the price of the WA6 is with the pseudo dual power supply upgrade?

It comes with it as standard now, so it's the same price.

C

 

[devhen]

Quote:

It comes with it as standard now, so it's the same price.

C

 
Oh, wow. Well that's awesome! Thanks for the info.
 
I had heard that the pseudo dual power supply upgrade made the WA6 perform a lot closer to the WA6SE, do you know if that's true? I don't have a lot of desk space so I'd like to get the WA6 because of its smaller form factor but I don't want to end up wishing I had just opted for the better sounding version...

 

[Catch]

Oh, wow. Well that's awesome! Thanks for the info.

I had heard that the pseudo dual power supply upgrade made the WA6 perform a lot closer to the WA6SE, do you know if that's true? I don't have a lot of desk space so I'd like to get the WA6 because of its smaller form factor but I don't want to end up wishing I had just opted for the better sounding version...

I don't know I'm afraid. I have never heard the SE. I have ordered the WA6 for the same reason as you. It's a space thing. I wanted a bedside rig to use with headphones without upsetting the other half. I have not received it yet though so can't comment on sound either. Hoping to get it in a few weeks though ordered the Sophia tube as well.

C

 

[devhen]

Quote:

I don't know I'm afraid. I have never heard the SE. I have ordered the WA6 for the same reason as you. It's a space thing. I wanted a bedside rig to use with headphones without upsetting the other half. I have not received it yet though so can't comment on sound either. Hoping to get it in a few weeks though

ordered the Sophia tube as well.

C

 
Awesome! I'm considering ordering the same thing (WA6 + Sophia). I would love to hear your impressions of it once you've had some time with it. Do you have any other amps to compare it to?

 

[Catch]

Awesome! I'm considering ordering the same thing (WA6 + Sophia). I would love to hear your impressions of it once you've had some time with it. Do you have any other amps to compare it to?

Hmm, not headphone amps in the same league. I have the new ALO Continental V3 and the RSA Shadow for headphones. I generally listen to my big rig which is McIntosh tube amps. Not sure how that would compare as its such a leap in price and a very different listening experience with the big speakers. I'll let you know how I find it when I get it tough.

C

 

[devhen]

Quote:

Hmm, not headphone amps in the same league. I have the new ALO Continental V3 and the RSA Shadow for headphones. I generally listen to my big rig which is McIntosh tube amps. Not sure how that would compare as its such a leap in price and a very different listening experience with the big speakers. I'll let you know how I find it when I get it tough.

C

 
That would be awesome! Thank you so much. Congrats on the new acquisition. From what I've heard it should be a really great piece of gear.

 

[silversurfer616]

Hi,
have received a WA6(second hand)a couple of weeks ago and tried a few rectifier/power tubes options and eventually got the Sophia Princess two days ago.So,even if it is early hours the Princess is outstanding and the whole system(WA6 and Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC)is now outstanding with both my current headphones HD800 and LCD2Rev2.
Compared to my Audio GDPhoenix(balanced)it is more euphonic...which I do like very much!

 

[Catch]

Hi,
have received a WA6(second hand)a couple of weeks ago and tried a few rectifier/power tubes options and eventually got the Sophia Princess two days ago.So,even if it is early hours the Princess is outstanding and the whole system(WA6 and Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC)is now outstanding with both my current headphones HD800 and LCD2Rev2.
Compared to my Audio GDPhoenix(balanced)it is more euphonic...which I do like very much!

That sounds great. I can't wait to get it myself. Will be using it with my UE18s since I have to keep it silent for the other half. I was told by the guys at Woo that it should be hiss free even with IEMs which is what I was searching for. Exciting days!

C

 

[silversurfer616]

Also gives a great lightshow a night!

 

[sonq]

Quote:

Hi,
have received a WA6(second hand)a couple of weeks ago and tried a few rectifier/power tubes options and eventually got the Sophia Princess two days ago.So,even if it is early hours the Princess is outstanding and the whole system(WA6 and Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC)is now outstanding with both my current headphones HD800 and LCD2Rev2.
Compared to my Audio GDPhoenix(balanced)it is more euphonic...which I do like very much!

I have the same amp combo with HD800, sounds good, but even better after I upgraded the hp cable.