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Woo Audio WA6-SE impressions

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by will_f, Apr 16, 2020.

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  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    One thing about rectifiers is that it's best not to associate a brand and type with any certain kind of sound. A decade or two ago, there was such as thing as NOS (NEW old stock), there is rarely such a thing any more. Unless we have tube tester, a good one, not the measures "1700 out of 2100" on eBay deals, then we have no idea how good these tubes really are. Assuming rectifiers have the same voltage drop (there are always losses), I've always had a hard time hearing any "major" differences. I wouldn't take a blind test if money were on the line.

    Note that different type rectifiers will always have different voltage drop and current capability. Also the same type will be different between new production and old stock. Lots of variables.

    A few here will say that the WA6 SE doesn't to anything for them, but the WA6 SE is one of my favorite Woo amps. I would probably take this over the Felik's OTL stuff; well mainly because I'm not a huge fan of the OTL sound. (This is why the EC ZDS, when I was helping Craig on it, sounds a lot less "OTL" than the prior version, the ZD. And I am always taken aback by folks who roll special 6SL7 into the ZDS that make it sound warmpoo abd bloomy. But I get it, a lot of people like this sound). At one point, we could argue the WA6 SE was more expensive, but that is no longer true.

    Like all other Woo amps, the WA6 SE is a little soft, but not especially so. It's one of the more solid-state sounding amps relative to a Woo lineup that is very tubey, bloomy, and soft. One thing about Woo amps is that they tend to be very very dependent upon tube rolling. This could either be a tube rollers dream or nightmare. It's not like DNA or EC where you can stick new production Chinese tubes in them, and they still sound great.

    At some point, the WA6 SE deserves an SBAF revisit.
     
    purr1n, Aug 20, 2020
    #21
  2. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Not sure if interest is high enough to spend money from the coffers, but @ogodei has one for sale right now.
     
    fraggler, Aug 20, 2020
    #22
  3. will_f

    will_f Friend

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    Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to hear much if any difference between the stock rectifier and the Sophia. A rectifier has a pretty simple job and it sits behind a bunch of stuff whose purpose is to filter Noise. Not knowing much beyond the basic theory about how a rectifier works, it seems reasonable a competent designer would make sure the rectifier is as inaudible as possible. I guess if the output voltage is different, that would affect the downstream sound a little, so perhaps that’s the difference.

    It’s also entirely possible I’m imagining a difference. No way I could A-B the two rectifiers without waiting for one tube to cool down and the other to heat up. At least the Sophia is pretty.
     
    will_f, Aug 22, 2020
    #23
  4. will_f

    will_f Friend

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    I’m curious how it stacks up against the starlets and SW51s of the world. If there’s a meet post COVID19 I’d be happy to bring it for comparison.
     
    will_f, Aug 23, 2020
    #24
  5. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    Wanted to chime in here as a recent owner of the WA6SE. I've found that with sennheisers (HD580 and HD6xx Kiss Mod) it works great with marv's recco: Sovtek 5U4G & Sylvania 6DR7

    However, for some of my close backs, a 50's RCA 5R5GY + fat clear bottles of Sylvania 6EWJ is a much better syngeristic paring. With these tubes my Aeon Flow Closed and cheapo E-MU Purple hearts sound great~ The soundstage is massive and they actually have a bigger stage than the 6XX by a pretty large margin. i sometimes forget that im wearing a closeback with this combo.

    Note: with the senns this pairing felt muddier and mushier and i was about to disregard these but then on a whim i plugged in the emu and was like whoa lol. Tube rolling + headphone synergy testing on these is quite fun~
     
    Noodlz, Mar 14, 2021
    #25
  6. Orkney

    Orkney Acquaintance

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    Quick question for WA6SE owners -- I've got one on order with the option to choose between the Gen 1 and 2 -- since I don't have a strong preference for one group of tubes, and the amps seem otherwise identical, is there any advantage to the version with 6v or 13v plate voltage?

    Any input appreciated many thanks.
     
    Orkney, Mar 23, 2021
    #26
  7. TheloniuSnoop

    TheloniuSnoop Friend

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    It's not plate voltage but heater voltage that's different. Woo switched because of tube availability. There should be no sonic differences between the two versions.
     
    TheloniuSnoop, Mar 23, 2021
    #27
  8. Orkney

    Orkney Acquaintance

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    Perfect -- thanks. Should have worked that out. Appreciate the quick reply.
     
    Orkney, Mar 23, 2021
    #28
  9. mimart7

    mimart7 Friend

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    I have a short in the high gain jack, anything I need to know before I I try a DIY repair?

    Anyone know where I can get a replacement?
     
    mimart7, Apr 9, 2021
    #29
  10. ShaneD

    ShaneD Facebook Friend

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    Can I ask you a question? You mention that the Elex's sound great, but that you can't go much lower. My collection is down to eight headphones. Two are hard to drive and I have the perfect amp for them.
    With the remaining six, five of them are in the 30's, ohm wise. Is that just too low for Woo amps?

    Thanks!
     
    ShaneD, Feb 15, 2022
    #30
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    purr1n, Feb 15, 2022
    #31
  12. ShaneD

    ShaneD Facebook Friend

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    I am specifically referring to:
    1) Grado GH2's (32 Ohm)
    2) Beyer T5's (32 Ohm)
    3) CFA Cascade's (38 Ohm)
    4) LSA HP-2's (33 Ohm)
    5) Focal Elegia's (35 Ohm)
    6) Focal Elex's (80 Ohm)

    I love my iFi Pro iCAN and my Violectric V220 (which sounds just a little bit tubey to me).

    I have an XDuoo MT-602 scheduled to arrive tomorrow and I already have sone extra tubes here for it. Cheap fun.

    But I am curious about a nice "tubey" amp that might even replace my Violectric long term. With my collection I am guessing that OTL is not really an option?
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2022
    ShaneD, Feb 15, 2022
    #32
  13. Beefy

    Beefy Friend

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    LOL, I can't imagine a headphone collection that would be a worse pairing with an OTL amp!

    Transformer coupled with a very low Z out or hybrid are your only sane options.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
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    Beefy, Feb 15, 2022
    #33
  14. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    There are times when very low impedance [<50 ohms] dynamic headphones aren't entirely horrible out of higher-impedance upstreams, but that's more personal preference than anything else and mucking around with FR to offset perceived deficiencies in tonal balance with "ideal" amplification, but yep conventional wisdom would indicate a transformer coupled amp might do much better.

    FWIW I much preferred the Campfire Cascades out of a Motorola Z Play than out of the Pro iCAN (compared back to back in an extended store demo setting). FR is entirely preferences though :p
     
    Lyander, Feb 15, 2022
    #34
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Good chance you will hear hum and noise from the Grados and Focals, maybe the rest too. And this is coming from someone who's at the age where they can't hear hum and noise as well. The triple whammy of highish output impedance, lack of current delivery, and highish noise with the WA6 SE, - makes it more suitable for higher impedance lower sensitivity headphones such as the Sennheisers, ZMF, etc.

    Can you wait? This is a bit more than the WA6 SE below but could be your ticket. Of course no guarantees because of inflation, massive supply side issues in the world, long line of cargo ships at the ports, etc.
    Schiit-10-tube-amp-IMG_0899.jpeg

    An SW51 may work, but it's not particularly tubey. Trying really hard to think of something that can work, but $750-$2500 is no man's land. That xduoo MT-602 looks interesting for dirt cheap. Please report back on how it fares against the V220 which I know is a good amp.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2022
    purr1n, Feb 15, 2022
    #35
  16. joch

    joch Friend

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    ^ 10 tubes...this looks interesting...
     
    joch, Feb 15, 2022
    #36
  17. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Since you have the iCAN Pro, have you played much with the tube or tube+ modes? You could also try feeding that tube+ mode into the V220.
     
    Armaegis, Feb 15, 2022
    #37
  18. ShaneD

    ShaneD Facebook Friend

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    Actually I prefer my Cascades out of my Violectric V220. The last thing in the world that they need is bass boost.
     
    ShaneD, Feb 16, 2022
    #38
  19. ShaneD

    ShaneD Facebook Friend

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    I am not in a big rush. I have a bit of unexpected money coming in next month and was thinking of adding a toy. The SW51+ might work at about $600.00 US. The iCAN audio HP8 MKII looks interesting, but it is pricey. Also looking at WBamps in Poland for the Master/Master Pro/Tsar.

    Just looking far and wide for something interesting, new or used.

    I appreciate any input. I am 61 so I certainly don't hear like I did at 31.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2022
    ShaneD, Feb 16, 2022
    #39
  20. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

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    Perhaps Lyr 3? More laidback presentation. B-Stock silver 115V right now
    https://www.schiit.com/b-stocks
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2022
    roshambo123, Feb 16, 2022
    #40
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