I probably have 200 hrs on my WA22 now. The hum I reported pages ago is nearly gone. It’s of course impossible to know what changed, but some aspect of burn-in seems to have corrected it. Tubes, transformers, who knows. As an aside, I have been re-listening to my favorite music upsampled...

I run my 2023 model 3xGT in high gain with ZMF VC's. usually between 20-30.

Excellent review and enormously enjoyable to read, Promee. As a Qutest owner I simply agree with your perceptions here. When I think about my chain over the years, my Qutest has the remarkable status of being the one component I have the least desire to upgrade. That said, I have been...

I have a nice Plixir BDC power supply for my Qutest, but am growing curious to try a 5V/2A lithium battery just to compare. In theory the battery should have zero RF interference/noise. But's its overall implementation still matters a lot, especially the regulator/rectifier stage to output...

Add me to the list of buyers. This looks THE dac to own in the value/price-to-performance category for 2024.

I believe Woo recommends setting your volume at 12'oclock if you are using your WA22 as a pre. Then use the volume on your other amp as needed (assuming it has one). If you need "more" power, push the WA22 volume up from there.

I am confused. Can the Red be run as BOTH a streamer and a DDC outputting over I2S to a Cyan 2 at the same time? Or do you have to choose between streamer mode and DDC mode?

Is the WA22 fuse size a 5x20mm (0.75in) or 6.3x32mm (1.25in)?

Check out this thread and enjoy a few weeks worth of reading! https://www.head-fi.org/threads/6sn7-tube-addicts.479031/ KenRad VT231s will show up repeatedly with praise. As will various Sylvania variants including the "bad boys" and "tall boys". I personally have settled on a solid, if...

Toshiba 6080 tubes might be a good sleeper option for around $150 matched pair. So far my experience with Japanese tubes has been surprisingly good.

I don't claim an understanding of these electrical engineering values (hopefully we have some Double-E peeps in this thread!), nor how they translate into the WA22 specifically....but just in terms of drawing some mental inference about tubes relative to one another, I found this generically...

I have about 12 hours on these tubes now and they have settled in. My initial observations: 1) The 6080s are quieter than the Tung Sol 5998 tubes I had in the output position previously. Not quite silent, but less hum at zero volume---and effectively at a level where I would take hum off...

I have the Sophia. It was a modest upgrade over stock….but I just wish I had kept the money in my pocket for this… https://verdantaudio.com/products/emission-labs-5u4g-mesh-each The EML is a very significant upgrade and absolutely worth it IMO.

Caldera Closed impressions please!

About to roll a recently acquired matched pair of GEC 6080 power tubes from the Hammersmith era. I feel like Ted Knight in Caddyshack, lewdly fondling his prized putter--the Billy Baroo. Oh Billy....Billy...Billy..... ;)

Does the Arce basically have an Iris built into it? In other words is it functionally a DDC + a streamer?

A strong pair of 5998 tubes like the Tung Sols are most likely to drive even more current than you what you are using now. But don’t dismiss a hotter pair of driver tubes as well. That is where the voltage gain happens.

Pairs wonderfully with my WA22, which is not an OTL, but does have a HI/LO impedance toggle, and gives me MUCH more flexibility for owning additional headphones in the future that are not high impedance.

In my Burson Soloist 3x GT headphone amp---I rolled in the new V7 Classics into the Volume stage for a comparison to my V6 Classics in the same position. I have had V6 Classics there for nearly a year and always preferred the V6 Classics to the V6 Vivids (in any position). My favorite way to...

I rolled in the new V7 Classics into the Volume stage for a comparison to my V6 Classics in the same position. I have had V6 Classics there for nearly a year and always preferred the V6 Classics to the V6 Vivids (in any position). My favorite way to explain what I heard reminds me of going to...

Entirely personal preference and perhaps more a function of system chain integration (and again personal preference). I tend to bounce between "white" and "green" when I using my WA22 tube amp. "Red" when connected to my Burson 3xGT.

I rolled in a pair of Foton 6N8S drivers to my WA22. I got these for about $60 each. I can report they are VERY enjoyable on hard rock music. The bass response is very strong with lots of weight and drive. Crunchy guitars have all kinds of presence that again I don't experience...

I gave the GND Defender a solid dozen a/b tests on my WA22 tonight. Sad to report no audible difference in background hum versus straight cable without it. Granted my hum problem is what I might call a 3 on a 10 scale on Hi Z and a 1.5 on Low Z. So I don’t really complain. And with any music...

I think Mike is right in sort of an "all else equal" fashion. In reality, the damping factor comes into play here and affects frequency response depending on your selection of low Z or high Z. This is much more of an issue for dynamic driver headphones than planars. So yes...the volume...

Ok your situation is basically the same as mine. The hum on Hi Z comes thru the ZMF VC headphones. I really do not hear chassis noise to the naked ear from my WA22 when right down near it---so it is a headphones phenomena. I hear some hum on Low Z, but more on Hi Z. In either case...