[Promee]

Initial impressions in the first 24 hours are strong and resoundingly positive. There's a ton of information and very articulate user feedback on the Abyss 1266 thread, which is where I did 90% of my research before purchasing. The pairing with the WA22 is perfect synergy. In fact, these headphones are built and tuned around the WA33 in the JPS Labs shop.

How I'd describe it: The wide sound stage of the HD800, with extremely precise imaging and detail. The pleasant and crisply defined treble, presence, and brilliance of the Utopia. The bass is a whole different category. Superior to anything I own and the most impressive thing I found immediately is the clarity, definition, and distinction of the bass. It's huge, clear, and likely the most well defined bass I've ever heard (and I'm not a bass head by any means). The bass and sub-bass (which I can feel more than hear) is very visceral. So, the bass is very warm, distinct and clear, but yet the mid range is a bit relaxed, and treble leans analytical, defined, with perfect separation, which is what I like. These headphones are indeed harder to drive and you need turn up the volume on the WA22 to achieve your typical listening levels.

Sounds like pretty impressive performance! What kind of power tubes are you rocking with it? Just curious since you mentioned it is pushing limits of drivability. I think the 421a, 5998, and 7236 all have a bit more output power capability, so I wonder if it is tougher to drive with those or 6080 / 6AS7.

 

[skhan007]

Sounds like pretty impressive performance! What kind of power tubes are you rocking with it? Just curious since you mentioned it is pushing limits of drivability. I think the 421a, 5998, and 7236 all have a bit more output power capability, so I wonder if it is tougher to drive with those or 6080 / 6AS7.

I’m using NOS 5998, brown base 5962 drivers, and a 596 rectifier. Oddly, the headphones sound better to me on low power mode. The amp is definitely not pushing limits of drivability. My volume is only at about 10 O’Clock for solidly good listening levels. I usually listen at volume 8-9 O’Clock. Loving these headphones with the WA22!!

 

[Promee]

I’m using NOS 5998, brown base 5962 drivers, and a 596 rectifier. Oddly, the headphones sound better to me on low power mode. The amp is definitely not pushing limits of drivability. My volume is only at about 10 O’Clock for solidly good listening levels. I usually listen at volume 8-9 O’Clock. Loving these headphones with the WA22!!

Nice! I thought those were some mighty tubes in the photo

On another note here, I could be wrong about this, but I think the Hi Low switch on the amp doesn’t actually refer to power output, but to output impedance to help with matching. It doesn’t have to be used any particular way, but it is kind of like applying EQ, it can change the frequency response if they are mismatched, but it can be in a way that can sound good, so if it sounds good to your ear, that doesn’t seem odd at all! I think you can get pretty much the full power of the amp on either setting…

 

[CAJames]

On another note here, I could be wrong about this, but I think the Hi Low switch on the amp doesn’t actually refer to power output, but to output impedance to help with matching. It doesn’t have to be used any particular way, but it is kind of like applying EQ, it can change the frequency response if they are mismatched, but it can be in a way that can sound good, so if it sounds good to your ear, that doesn’t seem odd at all! I think you can get pretty much the full power of the amp on either setting…

You are correct. Although technically whichever setting most closely matches the impedance of the headphone will deliver a little more power.

 

[skhan007]

Nice! I thought those were some mighty tubes in the photo

On another note here, I could be wrong about this, but I think the Hi Low switch on the amp doesn’t actually refer to power output, but to output impedance to help with matching. It doesn’t have to be used any particular way, but it is kind of like applying EQ, it can change the frequency response if they are mismatched, but it can be in a way that can sound good, so if it sounds good to your ear, that doesn’t seem odd at all! I think you can get pretty much the full power of the amp on either setting…

Oh, fantastic. That's what I get for not reading the manual properly. I just incorrectly concluded power, but impedance makes sense. Thus, these low Z headphones sound better at that low setting.

I'll likely swap in some 6a7g and 6080 at some point, too. I tried those with my ZMF and Sen cans and I found the 6as7g providing much more low end and the 6080 having more clarity in the midrange and upper midrange, which I liked a lot, although not as punchy in the lower mid like the 5998 or 6as7g.

 

[Promee]

Oh, fantastic. That's what I get for not reading the manual properly. I just incorrectly concluded power, but impedance makes sense. Thus, these low Z headphones sound better at that low setting.

I'll likely swap in some 6a7g and 6080 at some point, too. I tried those with my ZMF and Sen cans and I found the 6as7g providing much more low end and the 6080 having more clarity in the midrange and upper midrange, which I liked a lot, although not as punchy in the lower mid like the 5998 or 6as7g.

That’s similar to my experience with these as well. If you get a chance to snag a pair of 7236, I think you might really like them. To my ear they have the articulation of the 6080 pair that came with the amp, but a whole lot more punch. Not quite as much as the 5998, but close. I would describe them as cleaner and slightly less “magic” than the 5998, but if you want the detail / agility plus the grunt, they’re a good choice. I got a really nice matched quad (nice to have a backup pair!) on EBay lightly used for $300, so they’re not as insane as the 5998 or 421a in price, but they just don’t seem to pop up as much. If you’re interested in them, it might be worth setting up a saved search on EBay and let them ping you when new ones crop up…

 

[Promee]

I wonder if anyone here has had the pleasure of trying a WA2 amp and could tell me if it truly seems to make a difference in sound quality being a SET / OTL design versus the balanced / OTC design of the WA22. I know it will have less power, but I’m curious about the sound quality, and I figure I have a bunch of power tubes now that will fit it, so it might be interesting to try one out…

 

[skhan007]

That’s similar to my experience with these as well. If you get a chance to snag a pair of 7236, I think you might really like them. To my ear they have the articulation of the 6080 pair that came with the amp, but a whole lot more punch. Not quite as much as the 5998, but close. I would describe them as cleaner and slightly less “magic” than the 5998, but if you want the detail / agility plus the grunt, they’re a good choice. I got a really nice matched quad (nice to have a backup pair!) on EBay lightly used for $300, so they’re not as insane as the 5998 or 421a in price, but they just don’t seem to pop up as much. If you’re interested in them, it might be worth setting up a saved search on EBay and let them ping you when new ones crop up…

Great idea, thanks for the tip. I can certainly be on the lookout for some 7236. Any brand or specific config (metal base, dark glass, etc.) you would recommend?

I wonder if anyone here has had the pleasure of trying a WA2 amp and could tell me if it truly seems to make a difference in sound quality being a SET / OTL design versus the balanced / OTC design of the WA22. I know it will have less power, but I’m curious about the sound quality, and I figure I have a bunch of power tubes now that will fit it, so it might be interesting to try one out…

I can't speak to the WA2, but I can state that my Linear Tube Audio MZ3 (likely the best OTL amp I've experienced) matches perfectly with my 300Ω headphones, but drives my Abyss 1266⏀ (low impedance, low sensitivity) impressively well with very strong sound quality. Listening to them now through the MZ3. I'm sure others will comment on the WA2 or you could post this question on the Woo Audio Owners Unite thread, as well. Probably more traffic on that one.

 

[Promee]

Great idea, thanks for the tip. I can certainly be on the lookout for some 7236. Any brand or specific config (metal base, dark glass, etc.) you would recommend?


I can't speak to the WA2, but I can state that my Linear Tube Audio MZ3 (likely the best OTL amp I've experienced) matches perfectly with my 300Ω headphones, but drives my Abyss 1266⏀ (low impedance, low sensitivity) impressively well with very strong sound quality. Listening to them now through the MZ3. I'm sure others will comment on the WA2 or you could post this question on the Woo Audio Owners Unite thread, as well. Probably more traffic on that one.

I have only tried the one set of 7236, so couldn’t say if a particular version is better. The ones I got are Tung Sol and have the writing printed in red ink on a silver base. I will definitely take your suggestion on posting on the other thread as well, and I’m going to check out the LTA amps right now!

 

[phthora]

I wonder if anyone here has had the pleasure of trying a WA2 amp and could tell me if it truly seems to make a difference in sound quality being a SET / OTL design versus the balanced / OTC design of the WA22. I know it will have less power, but I’m curious about the sound quality, and I figure I have a bunch of power tubes now that will fit it, so it might be interesting to try one out…

I haven't heard the WA2 myself, but I had the same curiosity about how it compares to the WA22 when I was looking to buy a tube amp. At the time, I found that these two comparisons really helped me decide what's best for my ears:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sib...o-wa6se-review-posted-update-6-3-2011.555749/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-beauty-and-the-beast-woo-wa2-vs-wa22.615810/

 

[Promee]

I haven't heard the WA2 myself, but I had the same curiosity about how it compares to the WA22 when I was looking to buy a tube amp. At the time, I found that these two comparisons really helped me decide what's best for my ears:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sib...o-wa6se-review-posted-update-6-3-2011.555749/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-beauty-and-the-beast-woo-wa2-vs-wa22.615810/

Thank you for this! I had actually seen the second one when I was deciding on the WA22 as well - I love the WA22, but my audiophile FOMO is kicking in and now I’m having trouble shaking the idea that I need to try a SET amp, and I figure I might as well go OTL while I’m at it… Anybody want to talk me out of it? My wife will thank you

 

[BillinSF]

I wonder if anyone here has had the pleasure of trying a WA2 amp and could tell me if it truly seems to make a difference in sound quality being a SET / OTL design versus the balanced / OTC design of the WA22. I know it will have less power, but I’m curious about the sound quality, and I figure I have a bunch of power tubes now that will fit it, so it might be interesting to try one out…

There's a thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-beauty-and-the-beast-woo-wa2-vs-wa22.615810/

 

[ziggz]

I had noticed that I had some transformer hum from the stock 6080's, however since turning on the amp this morning the hum is nigh indistinguishable. Is it possible this is part of burn in for the tubes? amp is only a couple weeks old, but I do use it ALL day at least 5 days a week, with a 1hr power down on my lunch, so it does get lot's of use. Currently using the stock 6080 tubes, Sophia Aqua II 274B from Woo, and my Grant fidelity 6SN7 globe tubes. Must say the Sophia Aqua was definitely the biggest difference. The definition in the "crunch" of distorted guitars in metal is absolutely phenomenal. Female vocals, specifically the "husky" ones, just give me goosebumps, and cause me to stop what I'm doing, and just listen. I can't explain it properly as I don't know the terms that would correlate, I'm not an audiophile, just a gear head and music lover. But Diana Krall's cover of California Dreaming, that "huskiness" when she articulates is simply stunning stunning. I guess I could try this analogy, Dynamic driver vocal timbre vs Planar vocal timbre timbre. Natural? I feel this word is used way to much, but it's the only one that comes to mind for me.

 

[Promee]

I had noticed that I had some transformer hum from the stock 6080's, however since turning on the amp this morning the hum is nigh indistinguishable. Is it possible this is part of burn in for the tubes? amp is only a couple weeks old, but I do use it ALL day at least 5 days a week, with a 1hr power down on my lunch, so it does get lot's of use. Currently using the stock 6080 tubes, Sophia Aqua II 274B from Woo, and my Grant fidelity 6SN7 globe tubes. Must say the Sophia Aqua was definitely the biggest difference. The definition in the "crunch" of distorted guitars in metal is absolutely phenomenal. Female vocals, specifically the "husky" ones, just give me goosebumps, and cause me to stop what I'm doing, and just listen. I can't explain it properly as I don't know the terms that would correlate, I'm not an audiophile, just a gear head and music lover. But Diana Krall's cover of California Dreaming, that "huskiness" when she articulates is simply stunning stunning. I guess I could try this analogy, Dynamic driver vocal timbre vs Planar vocal timbre timbre. Natural? I feel this word is used way to much, but it's the only one that comes to mind for me.

I feel you on that. I feel like the Aqua just gives the amp the power to really push the lower frequencies with more authority. It keeps it from feeling artificially hollowed out. When a tube amp hits the wall on power for a moment, it doesn’t get harsh and grainy like a solid state one would, it’s more graceful, but it can just sound timid and quiet. A beastly rectifier like the Aqua can really push back on that.

And yes, I think the burn in can absolutely happen over that amount of usage. I think my transformer hum has also improved with time, and I think new tubes are more sensitive to it, maybe microphonic to little vibrations in the heater or cathode, but as the tubes break in I don’t hear it as much. I’ll be curious if you hear it with other tubes. If you have a min and want to experiment at some point, maybe try throwing the stock 6SN7s back on there. If you don’t have as much time on them and they’re relatively new, I’d be curious if you hear any hum…

 

[ziggz]

I feel you on that. I feel like the Aqua just gives the amp the power to really push the lower frequencies with more authority. It keeps it from feeling artificially hollowed out. When a tube amp hits the wall on power for a moment, it doesn’t get harsh and grainy like a solid state one would, it’s more graceful, but it can just sound timid and quiet. A beastly rectifier like the Aqua can really push back on that.

And yes, I think the burn in can absolutely happen over that amount of usage. I think my transformer hum has also improved with time, and I think new tubes are more sensitive to it, maybe microphonic to little vibrations in the heater or cathode, but as the tubes break in I don’t hear it as much. I’ll be curious if you hear it with other tubes. If you have a min and want to experiment at some point, maybe try throwing the stock 6SN7s back on there. If you don’t have as much time on them and they’re relatively new, I’d be curious if you hear any hum…

It's definitely the 6080's. I just received my 7236 and rca 6s7ng's and they hum like a mother**** haha. The RCA's, it was more apparent in the left channel, so I will try swapping them and see if it moves to the right, but the hum with the RCA's is the worst by far, reminds me of Topping amp's single ended ground loops.