[HemiSam]

 
Most definitely.  Wider, deeper soundstage, imaging and clarity, bass, presence...

 
Thanks...that's helpful.  I have been wondering whether I need to upgrade the DAC.  
 
The Gungnir looks very nice.  The difficulty is the dimensions are to large for where I have my setup so I have some research to do.  
 
HS

 

[jhljhl]

   
Thanks...that's helpful.  I have been wondering whether I need to upgrade the DAC.  
 
The Gungnir looks very nice.  The difficulty is the dimensions are to large for where I have my setup so I have some research to do.  
 
HS

I edited my response while you replied...

Most definitely.  I'm coming from an uberfrost.  Wider, deeper soundstage, imaging and clarity, bass, presence...  I think 30% better than internal dac. At this point I can only imagine small incremental improvements with other more expensive dacs.

 

[HemiSam]

  I edited my response while you replied...

Most definitely.  I'm coming from an uberfrost.  Wider, deeper soundstage, imaging and clarity, bass, presence...  I think 30% better than internal dac. At this point I can only imagine incremental further improvements with other more expensive dacs.

 
Very useful information and thanks for building on your earlier response.  Do you listen to CD quality tunes 16 bit / 44 Hz or are you going above that?  I don't have much super high resolution stuff so I'm wondering about your source material.
 
Thanks again.
 
HS

 

[jhljhl]

   
Very useful information and thanks for building on your earlier response.  Do you listen to CD quality tunes 16 bit / 44 Hz or are you going above that?  I don't have much super high resolution stuff so I'm wondering about your source material.
 
Thanks again.
 
HS

I have largely cd quality stuff and the improvement is impressive to me.  Basically, after the Gungnir, imo, I realize the internal dac is just doable; something in a pinch. I think if you want your Wa7 to really shine - get an external dac.

 

[HemiSam]

 
I have largely cd quality stuff and the improvement is impressive to me.  Basically, after the Gungnir, imo, I realize the internal dac is just doable; something in a pinch. I think if you want your Wa7 to really shine - get an external dac.

 
jhl,
 
You've confirmed what my gut has been telling me...thank you!  My pocket book thanks you less...
 
 

 
HS

 

[olegausany]

If you want great Dac which will take less space and cost less get Arcam iRdac

 

[HemiSam]

If you want great Dac which will take less space and cost less get Arcam iRdac

 
Thanks for the input.  I'll have a look and see what I can see.  I'm assuming it runs pretty cool....you think I could place the Fireflies on top of it?
 
 
HS

 

[olegausany]

No WA7 is very heavy

 

[HemiSam]

No WA7 is very heavy

 
OK...so the aluminum shell of the Arcam is too thin for that...got it.  Thank you for answering!
 
 
HS

 

[HiFiGuy528]

No WA7 is very heavy

 
Yes, even without the glass.  Looks can be deceiving.  

 

[BirdManOfCT]

  The WA7 is pretty much spot-on what a lot of Head-Fiers are looking for, assuming it sounds as good as it looks. Buy box, stick on desk, plug into computer, plug in headphones and listen to music while starting lovingly at glowing toobs and talking on here all about it. 

Yep.

 

[HemiSam]

I love me my Woo....  Currently feeding it with an analog signal from my Beresford Caiman MkII DAC and I have to say it's a pretty darn tasty combo for the money.
 
 

 
HS

 

[BirdManOfCT]

  My anti-slip glass protection pads arrived today in the mail.
 

 
I thought these were supposed to be self-adhesive but it maybe due to the weather or something but the pads were not adhesive at all as whatever adhesive was on the pad was gone once I peeled them off.
 
 

 

 
One pad for each side!
 

 
 
They seem to work even though mines aren't self-adhesive, they at least get the job done. OCD problem solved

I thought they were supposed to be "adhesive", too, based on the instructions. Based on the quick reply to my email query, they're just meant to sit there. They do make a big difference, I'll just have to remember to be mindful of it. I've already had one slip off when I forgot while checking tube seating. I thought I was going to have to search the whole floor, but fortunately one had just slipped over the side and was sticking lightly to the WA7 side.

 

[BirdManOfCT]

  @Kevin Brown - a more interesting question is how much power does a given headphone need to achieve a specific sound level. Here are characteristics for a number of popular headphones:
 
 

​	​	nominal​	nominal​	100​	110​	peak​	peak​
​	​	Impedance​	Sensitivity​	dB SPL​	dB SPL​	voltage​	current​
Mfg​	Model​	Ohms​	dB SPL / mW​	mW​	mW​	volts​	mA​
Audio-Technica​	ATH-M50​	38​	99​	1.3​	12.6​	0.69​	18.20​
Audeze​	LCD-2​	50​	91​	7.9​	79.4​	1.99​	39.86​
Audeze​	LCD-3​	50​	93​	5.0​	50.1​	1.58​	31.66​
Beyerdynamic​	T1​	600​	102​	0.6​	6.3​	1.95​	3.24​
Beyerdynamic​	T90​	250​	104​	0.4​	4.0​	1.00​	3.99​
Beyerdynamic​	T5p​	32​	102​	0.6​	6.3​	0.45​	14.04​
Denon​	D7000​	25​	108​	0.2​	1.6​	0.20​	7.96​
Fostex​	TH-900​	25​	100​	1.0​	10.0​	0.50​	20.00​
Grado​	multiple​	32​	98​	1.6​	15.8​	0.71​	22.25​
Hifiman​	HE-500​	38​	89​	12.6​	125.9​	2.19​	57.56​
Sennheiser​	HD600​	300​	102​	0.6​	6.3​	1.38​	4.59​
Sennheiser​	HD650​	300​	102​	0.6​	6.3​	1.38​	4.59​
Sennheiser​	HD800​	300​	102​	0.6​	6.3​	1.38​	4.59​
Ultrasone​	Edition 8​	30​	96​	2.5​	25.1​	0.87​	28.94​

 
Note 1: Grado SR225i, RS2i, SR80i, GS1000i and PS1000 have the same nominal impedance and sensitivity.
Note 2: The last two columns are peak values related to the 110 dB SPL power column
 
One headphone jumps out as being particularly demanding, the HE-500. To power that headphone to 100 dB SPL average with peaks to 110 dB SPL (assuming the music has a crest factor of 10:1) it needs 12.6 mW avg and 125.9 mW peak.The next most demanding is the LCD-2 at 80mW peak. The rest can get by with less than 5mW avg and 50mW peak. Far less than 1W. Looking at the data at the Rockwell site link we find the HE-500 might push the WA7 to between 1 and 5% THD when driven to 110 dBSPL. For the other headphones the THD will likely be between 0.1 and 1.0% when driven so loud. It will also mostly be even order harmonic distortion rather than odd order harmonic distortion. If we keep the listening levels at 85 dB SPL with peaks to 95 dB SPL the WA7 won't even approach 0.1% THD for most headphones. And those levels are still too loud for long listening sessions if one wants to conserve their hearing long term.
 
Final note, I used different equipment but the computations are the same standard for electrical measurements. The differences are likely due to variance in tube characteristics. My points are as follows:
 
1) my measurements corroborate a select portion of the Rockwell site well enough that I tend to trust the others he published
2) my measurements also recreate what I think Jack has spec'd though he left out the 10% THD for 1W at 32 ohms - this is a common measurement for mfgs
3) The WA7 will perform exceptionally well even for the HE-500 if one listens at levels consistent with avoiding long term hearing loss
 
I use both the HE-500 and T90 with my WA7 and enjoy their respective sonic signatures very much with this amp.

Thanks for that information!

 

[BirdManOfCT]

  The WA7 has made it possible for me to enjoy my HDtracks downloads in 96/24 and 192/24 (although I don't have many of those- yet). Absolutely love the WA7! 

Same here. Listening to some right now.