[mahesvara]

I don't have the Phi CC so I can't tell you

I only mentioned the Phi TC because I've heard from people going to CanJam NY that Phi TC on WA33 is amazing

 

[waterking]

I don't have the Phi CC so I can't tell you

I only mentioned the Phi TC because I've heard from people going to CanJam NY that Phi TC on WA33 is amazing

Thanks! I am just debating between the Empyrean and the Diana Phi.

 

[llamaluv]

Since you live near In Living Stereo, maybe you should ask to try the Abyss Diana Phi / Phi TC on WA33. I have Diana Phi and WA33, and Diana Phi sounds so much better than Susvara (to my ears) that it's not even close

I owned the Phi w/ CC pads for 2-3 months and liked it better on the WA33 compared to the GS-X mk2, which was my other amp at the time. I liked the Phi quite a lot, but never loved it, and preferred the Susvara, so I sold it. I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for my problems with fit, comfort, and ergonomics, but those issues prevented me from fully warming up to it. Regardless, the Susvara is more to my liking based on personal preference. Having both would, naturally, be ideal.

Edit: The Diana Phi is unfortunately a non-starter for me, as the fit is awful, worse than even the Abyss series.

 

[innocentblood]

finally... after 2 years of lusting over it, I was able to get this at a price that I could afford. i was lucky to get my 3 month old, pre-loved bundle of joy @ a 46% discount - that price was just too good to resist. listening to it with my Blu DAVE setup, it is everything that I remember it to be. coincidentally, the first time I listed to the Abyss 1266 Phi last year was on this same setup @ Can Jam Singapore. that led me to get a pre-loved Phi which was also too good to resist at that price point for me. the WA33 came with stock tubes - which was how I fell in love with it the first time - and I swapped out the rectifier for a spare WE422A that I got when I was upgrading the tubes last year on my still existing WA22. i plan to get thoroughly familiar with the sound that this set of tubesproduce before eventually getting some upgrade tubes. besides Woo Audio, what other sites would you guys recommend for upgrade tubes? thank you and enjoy your music

 

[joseph69]

finally... after 2 years of lusting over it, I was able to get this at a price that I could afford. i was lucky to get my 3 month old, pre-loved bundle of joy @ a 46% discount - that price was just too good to resist. listening to it with my Blu DAVE setup, it is everything that I remember it to be. coincidentally, the first time I listed to the Abyss 1266 Phi last year was on this same setup @ Can Jam Singapore. that led me to get a pre-loved Phi which was also too good to resist at that price point for me. the WA33 came with stock tubes - which was how I fell in love with it the first time - and I swapped out the rectifier for a spare WE422A that I got when I was upgrading the tubes last year on my still existing WA22. i plan to get thoroughly familiar with the sound that this set of tubesproduce before eventually getting some upgrade tubes. besides Woo Audio, what other sites would you guys recommend for upgrade tubes? thank you and enjoy your music

Congratulations & enjoy!
I was listening to GNR Lies last night, sounds fantastic with the WA33.

 

[kyle1010]

finally... after 2 years of lusting over it, I was able to get this at a price that I could afford. i was lucky to get my 3 month old, pre-loved bundle of joy @ a 46% discount - that price was just too good to resist. listening to it with my Blu DAVE setup, it is everything that I remember it to be. coincidentally, the first time I listed to the Abyss 1266 Phi last year was on this same setup @ Can Jam Singapore. that led me to get a pre-loved Phi which was also too good to resist at that price point for me. the WA33 came with stock tubes - which was how I fell in love with it the first time - and I swapped out the rectifier for a spare WE422A that I got when I was upgrading the tubes last year on my still existing WA22. i plan to get thoroughly familiar with the sound that this set of tubesproduce before eventually getting some upgrade tubes. besides Woo Audio, what other sites would you guys recommend for upgrade tubes? thank you and enjoy your music

Congrats! Took me 2yrs of lusting and a discount to finally buy 33 as well. I’m still on stock tubes also with the exception of a WE422A from my old WA22. Honestly, I don’t love the 422A in the 33 with the other stock tubes though. I think it sounds kinda muddy. Are you experiencing that? I swapped it out for a sophia princess I had laying around and while the highs cleared up, the bass and mids thin out and the whole presentation is less euphonic or “tubey”. I think this is because I had far better power and driver tubes in the 22 (Sylvania metal base 6SN7s and TS5998s). Like you, I fell for the WA33 two years ago at CanJam SoCal but it had KR 2A3s and the Takatsuki 274b rectifier. I’ll probably end up buying that combo for starters cuz most other matched quads of 2A3s are a serious pain to track down and honestly WA33 is so unbelievably good either way that I don’t feel the need to really chase after tubes like I did with the WA22.

You’re at a serious endgame setup there. I’ve heard Blu/Dave solo a couple times but never on the 33. I bet that’s wild. I’ve also owned a solo Dave but sold it for TT2 cuz I really like it’s richer tonality. I’m very happy with TT2 as dac for now and might pick up a used or discounted HMS in the future, but no rush. I am however, going to audition the Phi TC vs my LCD-4 on a WA33 at CanJam soon and might end up getting that headphone if the reviews and impressions are in line with what I hear. Thus far, WA33 and standard Abyss Phi is the best combo I’ve ever heard in headphones period so I’m very excited to check out TC.

 

[innocentblood]

Congrats! Took me 2yrs of lusting and a discount to finally buy 33 as well. I’m still on stock tubes also with the exception of a WE422A from my old WA22. Honestly, I don’t love the 422A in the 33 with the other stock tubes though. I think it sounds kinda muddy. Are you experiencing that? I swapped it out for a sophia princess I had laying around and while the highs cleared up, the bass and mids thin out and the whole presentation is less euphonic or “tubey”. I think this is because I had far better power and driver tubes in the 22 (Sylvania metal base 6SN7s and TS5998s). Like you, I fell for the WA33 two years ago at CanJam SoCal but it had KR 2A3s and the Takatsuki 274b rectifier. I’ll probably end up buying that combo for starters cuz most other matched quads of 2A3s are a serious pain to track down and honestly WA33 is so unbelievably good either way that I don’t feel the need to really chase after tubes like I did with the WA22.

You’re at a serious endgame setup there. I’ve heard Blu/Dave solo a couple times but never on the 33. I bet that’s wild. I’ve also owned a solo Dave but sold it for TT2 cuz I really like it’s richer tonality. I’m very happy with TT2 as dac for now and might pick up a used or discounted HMS in the future, but no rush. I am however, going to audition the Phi TC vs my LCD-4 on a WA33 at CanJam soon and might end up getting that headphone if the reviews and impressions are in line with what I hear. Thus far, WA33 and standard Abyss Phi is the best combo I’ve ever heard in headphones period so I’m very excited to check out TC.

thank you kyle - I am currently using my WA33 (422A rectifier and stock tubes) with my Abyss 1266 Phi with the SC cables. I did not notice the sound to be "muddy" - but what do you mean by "muddy" anyways? the thing that was immediately noticeable to me was how much bass I was hearing - and i am unsure whether this is a good thing or not the sheer amount of bass was not apparent to me on the WA22. on the WA22, I am using these tubes: Western Electric 422A rectifier, 2 x Western Electric 421A power and 2 x Sylvania 6SN7W Metal Base driver tubes. the sound on the WA22 with this particular set of tubes is glorious to my ears.

today i swapped out the WE422A rectifier and put in the stock rectifier in the WA33. from what I can hear so far, there is no immediately noticeable difference to my ears.

 

[kyle1010]

thank you kyle - I am currently using my WA33 (422A rectifier and stock tubes) with my Abyss 1266 Phi with the SC cables. I did not notice the sound to be "muddy" - but what do you mean by "muddy" anyways? the thing that was immediately noticeable to me was how much bass I was hearing - and i am unsure whether this is a good thing or not the sheer amount of bass was not apparent to me on the WA22. on the WA22, I am using these tubes: Western Electric 422A rectifier, 2 x Western Electric 421A power and 2 x Sylvania 6SN7W Metal Base driver tubes. the sound on the WA22 with this particular set of tubes is glorious to my ears.

today i swapped out the WE422A rectifier and put in the stock rectifier in the WA33. from what I can hear so far, there is no immediately noticeable difference to my ears.

I think I meant muddy in comparison to the Sophia princess which is a noticeably brighter rectifier. The 422a also has a narrower soundstage than the Sophia but much sweeter highs and better depth. Just now, I had a listening sesh with the 422a to confirm, but I swapped in my Wireworld silver power cable and wow that opened things up. 422a sounds far better with that power cable. Electricity is weird man lol. Now I’m sitting here looking at the stock 2A3s like their days are numbered. I gotta get my hands on those KR 2A3s and soon. I still have a pair of EH gold pin 6C45s from my WA7 which I didn’t like in that amp, but since it’s a relatively cheap itch to scratch I’m gonna order another pair to have a quad to try in the 33.

In my WA22 I had a very similar tube compliment. WE422a, Sylvania metal base 6SN7Ws, and Tung Sol 5998 power tubes. Yup, glorious sound, just nowhere near the detail retrieval of WA33 obviously. Anyway, thanks for making me give a second listen to the 422a in the 33. I’ve read the Takatsuki 274b sounds almost identical to it but the curiosity is still killing me, I’ll have to get that too and sell whichever is the lesser tube. Which 33 tube upgrades are you shooting for if any?

 

[musicman59]

Guys,
Have any of you had the chance to compare the sound of the standard WA33 against the WA33 Elite version?
I am really struggling to justify the extra $7k in cost.

 

[macx]

Guys,
Have any of you had the chance to compare the sound of the standard WA33 against the WA33 Elite version?
I am really struggling to justify the extra $7k in cost.

Isn’t that the magic question, I struggled too... but in the end I am happy, very happy.

 

[musicman59]

Isn’t that the magic question, I struggled too... but in the end I am happy, very happy.

Wow! You have both, the WA33 Elite and the WA5-LE mk2?

 

[macx]

Wow! You have both, the WA33 Elite and the WA5-LE mk2?

Oops, never revoked that from signature, no I don’t have the wa5 anymore

 

[kyle1010]

New tubes in today. So far vs stock 2A3s & Sophia rectifier...far smoother highs, richer tone, but narrower soundstage. I wonder if any of these new ones “open up” over time. I am still running the stock 6C45s though. Maybe the EH golds are worth a shot. Didn’t like them in the WA7 but still have the pair so I could just buy 2 more why not. Sophia is probably the widest sounding rectifier I’ve owned so idk if even the Takatsuki can compete in that regard. However, I don’t miss the Sophia’s occasional scratchy treble that makes me skip tracks to find less bright tunes.

 

[isquirrel]

Great info on this forum.

I have a 4 month old WA 33 Elite for sale with the 4 x KR 2A3 Power tubes and the Gold Harmonix and a KR HP 274B rectifier. It is as new and is sitting in its box not being used.

PM me if your looking for one.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Guys,
Have any of you had the chance to compare the sound of the standard WA33 against the WA33 Elite version?
I am really struggling to justify the extra $7k in cost.

Standard model has the most bang for the money right out of the box but if you are seeking the highest performance, go with the Elite and don't need to look back.