[polski]

Hello all,

Before I begin I’m a total layman to this audiophile stuff.
Thought I would get that out of the way not to sound like an idiot.

I just recently picked up my new WooAudo3, my first tube amp.
I’m pairing it up with a pair of BeyerDynamic DT880 2003. These are the stock tubes supplied with the amp
( GE 6AS7/6080 and 6DJ8/6922 ) and nothing is modified amp or cans.

I have let the tubes warm up for a few hours and have listened to music during that time.
And all in all I can’t say I’m impressed.

So I have a few questions. How important is the source cable? I’m using a generic interconnection cable with my Sony Discman. I know not the best source. I bought the amp for use with my computer, but I was curious how my old audio cd’s would sound.

And well I don’t really hear any difference between the source -> amp -> cans and source -> cans.

The sound is a bit richer I must add though, and I can hear stuff I haven’t heard before.
But it’s so slight, I was under the impression it should be better then this. Source -> cans: seems to have a sharper sound. While source -> amp -> cans: not as full sound but a slight tad richer.

So my question is what’s wrong, or better yet what am I doing wrong?

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by polski Hello all, Before I begin I’m a total layman to this audiophile stuff. Thought I would get that out of the way not to sound like an idiot. I just recently picked up my new WooAudo3, my first tube amp. I’m pairing it up with a pair of BeyerDynamic DT880 2003. These are the stock tubes supplied with the amp ( GE 6AS7/6080 and 6DJ8/6922 ) and nothing is modified amp or cans. I have let the tubes warm up for a few hours and have listened to music during that time. And all in all I can’t say I’m impressed. So I have a few questions. How important is the source cable? I’m using a generic interconnection cable with my Sony Discman. I know not the best source. I bought the amp for use with my computer, but I was curious how my old audio cd’s would sound. And well I don’t really hear any difference between the source -> amp -> cans and source -> cans. The sound is a bit richer I must add though, and I can hear stuff I haven’t heard before. But it’s so slight, I was under the impression it should be better then this. Source -> cans: seems to have a sharper sound. While source -> amp -> cans: not as full sound but a slight tad richer. So my question is what’s wrong, or better yet what am I doing wrong?

Just a guess... but, I would think that the "chain is no better than it's weakest link." So, without a much better source, interconnects, etc. - you might not be able to detect much of a difference in SQ, except for a bit more gain, and fuller, richer, more detailed sound.

In addition, from the reviews I've seen, the DT880's may not be the best match for the WooAudio 3 to really bring out the bass and lower mids.

But... without the upgraded tubes (i.e. Tung Sol / Cetron 7236, or 5998, Russian 6H23N's, etc.) you will not get the best sound the WA3 can produce. And... of course the whole setup has to be burnt in to produce it's best sound.

 

[polski]

Ok.

I'm aware that the best match for the woo3 are the Sens HD650.
Numerous people have said that.

Maybe I'll pick them up later along the line. Next step will be tube rolling
and buying a new interconnection.

Regarding sound cards for the pc. Is there anyone you would recommend.
Creative sound blaster audigy/x-fi?

 

[jamato8]

I think you need to improve your source but you should still be able to hear a difference, though maybe not as much as you might have thought. With 650's I hear some good sound but I do use a dac after something spinning the silver disc. Maybe the Woo isn't to your liking. Sometimes a nice solid state can give more jump factor and drive for less money. Again as mentioned, tubes play an important role but not so much as to make or break the audition of sound in my opinion.

 

[polski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 I think you need to improve your source but you should still be able to hear a difference, though maybe not as much as you might have thought. With 650's I hear some good sound but I do use a dac after something spinning the silver disc. Maybe the Woo isn't to your liking. Sometimes a nice solid state can give more jump factor and drive for less money. Again as mentioned, tubes play an important role but not so much as to make or break the audition of sound in my opinion.

Well the reason for the tube amp is I liked that fact that I can change the
sound when I want too. SS amp = same sound can't change it. That is my thinking anyway. And second it was a tube amp I could afford

Regarding sound cards for the pc. Is there anyone here who has the same setup with his/hers computer? If so what card would you recommend?

 

[jpelg]

You are hamstringing the sound quality your setup with the source. They Beyers & Woo are better than the Discman by a longshot. The Discman is affecting your resulting sound quality far more than even the cheapest stock interconnect would.

However, quality aside, you should still hear a significant difference in volume, unless you have a vintage Sony Discman with a fairly substantial headphone-out?

There is no reason the Beyers would not work decently with the Woo amp. The DT880's are fairly high impedance (250ohm), similiar to the Senn 300-ohm rating.

 

[polski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg You are hamstringing the sound quality your setup with the source. They Beyers & Woo are better than the Discman by a longshot. The Discman is affecting your resulting sound quality far more than even the cheapest stock interconnect would. However, quality aside, you should still hear a significant difference in volume, unless you have a vintage Sony Discman with a fairly substantial headphone-out? There is no reason the Beyers would not work decently with the Woo amp. The DT880's are fairly high impedance (250ohm), similiar to the Senn 300-ohm rating.

Yes you're right. The discman is 10 years old. It was top of the line from Sony sortiment when I bought it but that was 10 years ago.

I'll hook it up to my pc next. But I have an old sound blaster live so I feel a sound-card upgrade is needed to get the most out of my setup?

What I will do this week I'll pick up a better interconnection cable

Any suggestions?

This i can buy locally from a hi-fi store where i live.

http://www.hificables.co.uk/ProductD...oductID/10802/

Any comments?

Also since this tube stuff is new too me, how to I know if a tube is defect?
Will the amp still work with a defect tube?

Maybe something is up with my tubes, but what do I know.

Regardring the gain, sorry to say I can't hear it. It's funny it's like the woo3 neuters the sound or something. Godforbid something is wrong with the woo3.

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by polski Any suggestions?

Yes - source first!

 

[Capt. Z]

I don't have the DT880, but I have the very old DT990 (600 ohm).

My experience with the Beyerdynamic is that the cable is the weak link in the chain. I have added a solid core copper wire to one of my DT990 and to my second one I added a Cananre Starquad cable.

Both cables tame the high frequency output and at the same time add more bass and mids to the phones.

I believe a cable change would give you a warmer and lusher midrange. The Canare Starquad can be bought already finished for $ 35 - 50 on this forum by some head-fiers.

I love my DT990 with the Woo3, but I use a SS amp for my HD600. So in my case the Woo3 works better with the DT990 than the HD600. Just my preference.

 

[polski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt. Z I don't have the DT880, but I have the very old DT990 (600 ohm). My experience with the Beyerdynamic is that the cable is the weak link in the chain. I have added a solid core copper wire to one of my DT990 and to my second one I added a Cananre Starquad cable. Both cables tame the high frequency output and at the same time add more bass and mids to the phones. I believe a cable change would give you a warmer and lusher midrange. The Canare Starquad can be bought already finished for $ 35 - 50 on this forum by some head-fiers. I love my DT990 with the Woo3, but I use a SS amp for my HD600. So in my case the Woo3 works better with the DT990 than the HD600. Just my preference.

Wow 600 Ohm. Well I will do what is suggested. Source first. New cable new source hopefully somehow.

The headphone cable I will look into later.

But please anyone.

How do I know if the tubes are bad?
Soundcard for pc suggestions?

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[dcheming]

I've been using a ST Audio DSP24 MK 2 card for a few years and I like the sound. It has balanced (XLR) outs as well as S/PDIF I/O. They don't make this model any more but there are various new models. You might get more suggestions by posting for this separately on the Computers-as-Source Forum:

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

 

[jcn3]

i think you need to address the source (the sony discman) much more than you need to address the cable. Get a decent source (new cdp or top notch soundcard) so that you can really see if you like the amp and phones together.

i wouldn't bother with a new ic yet -- i don't think it will do you much good as long as the sony is in the picture.

 

[polski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcn3 i think you need to address the source (the sony discman) much more than you need to address the cable. Get a decent source (new cdp or top notch soundcard) so that you can really see if you like the amp and phones together. i wouldn't bother with a new ic yet -- i don't think it will do you much good as long as the sony is in the picture.

Yes you are right, Right after I posted i looked into good sound cards.

 

[polski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcheming I've been using a ST Audio DSP24 MK 2 card for a few years and I like the sound. It has balanced (XLR) outs as well as S/PDIF I/O. They don't make this model any more but there are various new models. You might get more suggestions by posting for this separately on the Computers-as-Source Forum: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

Well I guess I have to learn, search before posting.
I totally missed that section of the forum.

 

[Solude]

Soundcard wise there is the Chaintech AV710, ESI Juli@ and Emu 1212m. Each being more expensive and arguably better than the last.