All the kids love the W A 5

[aerius]

I can't say I'm surprised by the report of lackluster sound. A 2-chassis 300B amp with output transformers as well is going to be severely compromised somewhere, and that somewhere is going to be the circuit design and sound. I can't say I'm surprised that it sounds just like every other under-driven 6SN7 300B amp.

BUT HEY EVERYBODY LOOK AT THE FUCKING BEAUTIFUL CHASSIS WITH SEPARATE POWER SUPPLY!!!!

[postjack]

BUT HEY EVERYBODY LOOK AT THE FUCKING BEAUTIFUL CHASSIS WITH SEPARATE POWER SUPPLY!!!!

Yes, I noticed that. It is a very good looking amp. Very pretty, IMO.

[Carl]

I can't say I'm surprised by the report of lackluster sound. A 2-chassis 300B amp with output transformers as well is going to be severely compromised somewhere, and that somewhere is going to be the circuit design and sound. I can't say I'm surprised that it sounds just like every other under-driven 6SN7 300B amp.

BUT HEY EVERYBODY LOOK AT THE FUCKING BEAUTIFUL CHASSIS WITH SEPARATE POWER SUPPLY!!!!

Now now, there's nothing wrong with transformers as long as you don't use crap ones.

[aerius]

Now now, there's nothing wrong with transformers as long as you don't use crap ones.

Output transformers are great, but I have to question the quality of the transformers in the WA 5. $3000 with all that fancy casework and so forth doesn't exactly leave much of a budget for good transformers. And if good transformers were used, then something else was most likely compromised.

[Thelonious Monk]

someone should man up and make a headphone amp with 6sl7 driving 300b driving 845. that would get me interested in tubes, not these puny girly tubes that couldn't eat 100 watts if they tried.

...but damn does it look nice.

[aerius]

someone should man up and make a headphone amp with 6sl7 driving 300b driving 845. that would get me interested in tubes, not these puny girly tubes that couldn't eat 100 watts if they tried.

There's so many things wrong with this proposed amp of yours that I can't even list them all. For one thing, if a 6SN7 has trouble driving a 300B, what the fuck makes you think a 6SL7 will work? Have you even looked up the specs of these tubes or are you just name-dropping because you think it makes you sound smart?

[Thelonious Monk]

i wasn't even trying to sound smart i just spat out a bunch of random bullshit and hit the post button

[aerius]

i wasn't even trying to sound smart i just spat out a bunch of random bullshit and hit the post button

Here's a word of advice: use your brain, if you have one, before typing out random bullshit and hitting the post button. This is not Head-fi where people will respect you for spamming your way to 2000 posts.

[Thelonious Monk]

i believe the only person who actually posted useful information in this topic is granodemostasta. that doesn't justify my jerkoff post though so i guess i will hush.

[hungrych]

Here's a word of advice: use your brain, if you have one, before typing out random bullshit and hitting the post button. This is not Head-fi where people will respect you for spamming your way to 2000 posts.

Relax man, it was obviously a joke. This isn't head-fi where you can get away with thinking you're better than everyone else.

[cotdt]

the slow and mushy tube sound is typically associated with the 300B, but they say that the TJ 300B mesh tubes don't have this typical 300B sound and is has much better clarity reminescent of the 45. So probably tube-rolling the 300B would solve the slowness problem. Not sure if the 6SN7 is the best driver choice. Personally I would use a power tube as the driver tube. what surprises me about the reports on the woo5 is that it is quiet. it's hard to make DHTs quiet, especially the 300B. so that's quite impressive.

i've found that cheap output transformers sound really good. i don't see any point in investing $800 on a pair of output transformers when my $10 output transformers already sound so good.

[aerius]

the slow and mushy tube sound is typically associated with the 300B, but they say that the TJ 300B mesh tubes don't have this typical 300B sound and is has much better clarity reminescent of the 45. So probably tube-rolling the 300B would solve the slowness problem. Not sure if the 6SN7 is the best driver choice.

In short, no to all of the above, and fuck no to the 6SN7. A 300B is anything but mushy and slow, the mushy slowness is the result of the worthless crap-ass driver stages used by 99% of amp makers, it typically consists of a 12AU7 or 6SN7. A 300B is a lot closer in sound to a 45 or 2A3 than the typical mush you hear, which is the sound of an overworked and underpowered driver stage. Swapping 300B's isn't going to do much, you might get a bit more treble and slightly less mush, but at the end of the day you still haven't fixed anything, the fundamental problem of a crap driver stage still remains. The 6SN7 with its low power and high plate impedance is not a good driver tube unless used as an SRPP, mu, or cathode follower of some sort, and that has a bunch of its own issues. To me it's a kludge solution.

Personally I would use a power tube as the driver tube. what surprises me about the reports on the woo5 is that it is quiet. it's hard to make DHTs quiet, especially the 300B. so that's quite impressive.

Making a 300B quiet isn't all that hard, as far as DHT tubes go the 300B has low gain, and as an output tube there's nothing after it to amplify any noise it creates. Its noise rejection is also on the better side, and combined with its lowish gain this means it's not that hard to keep quiet. Contrast that with say, a 26, normally an input tube with higher gain and a bunch of other stages after it to multiply any noise it creates, and it will make noise since they're pretty temperamental. Back to the problem, it's not that hard to keep a 300B quiet, the problem is keeping it quiet without fucking up the sound. If granodemostasa's impressions are anything to go by, Woo hasn't succeeded there.

i've found that cheap output transformers sound really good. i don't see any point in investing $800 on a pair of output transformers when my $10 output transformers already sound so good.

They can sound good, hell, I'm using $20 transformers in my amp and I can't complain about the sound. But if the rest of the amp is good enough then it's worth it to splurge on $1000 exotics. If I slapped some amorphous core Lundahls or something like that on my amp it ain't gonna do much if anything, but if I put my transformers on my friend's 2A3 amp it'll crap up the sound.

[cotdt]

aerius, you're disagreeing with me but you are basically saying the same thing that I am. strange post.

[aerius]

Read it again. I agree on a point or two (transformers), elaborate on others, and say fuck no to the rest while explaining why.

[Thelonious Monk]

while we are on the subject, would a tube like the 5687 (it has been suggested to me that the 5697 would be a better candidate) do a good job driving a power tube like the 2a3? actually being serious in this post, i only have a very basic knowledge of valves (see: pretty much the same level of understanding as your average head-fier) and would like to build on it, although i do not think i will own a tube amplifier in the near future.

[aerius]

Go to DIYaudio.com, or the Tube DIY forum on Audio Asylum. Search. Read. It'll keep you busy for months.

[Mastergill]

There's so many things wrong with this proposed amp of yours that I can't even list them all. For one thing, if a 6SN7 has trouble driving a 300B, what the fuck makes you think a 6SL7 will work? Have you even looked up the specs of these tubes or are you just name-dropping because you think it makes you sound smart?

I have a 6SL7 who drives 300B with outstanding performance...in a line stage.