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New Woo Audio Electrostatic Headphone Amp!


Voltron

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I'm saving up for a high-end electrostat amp. Torn between this and the BHSE, though lately I have been leaning a bit more towards the Woo.

Besides, Vicky is in FL and she's about to get her BHSE, so perhaps I should get the Woo to have both in the Florida team (not to mention it is a bit cheaper).

Btw, when they say pre-order, how much of a deposit do they want? Or does the sum total have to be pre-paid?

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I'm saving up for a high-end electrostat amp. Torn between this and the BHSE, though lately I have been leaning a bit more towards the Woo.

Besides, Vicky is in FL and she's about to get her BHSE, so perhaps I should get the Woo to have both in the Florida team (not to mention it is a bit cheaper).

Btw, when they say pre-order, how much of a deposit do they want? Or does the sum total have to be pre-paid?

I'm on the exact same boat as you Alex. The Woo is supposedly gonna have a somewhat different presentation from what I've read - the Woo is more euphonic and "emotional" while the BHSE is cleaner and more transparent. Per Jack, the production WES should have a lot more dynamic swing and cleaner bass compared to the prototype at CanJam.

I think Woo typically asks for the sum total to be pre-paid but you can ask Jack if a different payment schedule is possible as this is one expensive amp.

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That's what it is according to their product description page

WES Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier

But 6SL7's as drivers? I really don't get that one. :confused:

Nice to see they have updated the site. It's also a better version of a splitter... a splittor... :D

The 6SL7's have plenty of gain so I guess that's why they used them. It's hard to go from ECC83's...

cool beans! I didn't realize the original design was so low :)

There were issues with the output stage (DC coupled) but it's supposed to be all better now. I'd love to compare it to a fully rebuilt ES-1....

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Nice to see they have updated the site. It's also a better version of a splitter... a splittor... :D

Heh, nice, I didn't notice the spelling mistake on my first read. Since there's only one tube it must be a cathodyne phase splitter.

The 6SL7's have plenty of gain so I guess that's why they used them. It's hard to go from ECC83's...

Lots of gain, but pretty much no current since most 6SL7 designs run them at 2.5mA or so. Even if you run the 6SL7's hard you can only put 3-4mA through each section, and if you paralleled the sections in each tube that's only 6-8mA to drive each EL34, then you still have the massively high output impedance of the 'SL7 to deal with. So it's probably some kind of SRPP or cathode follower setup, but then we're back to 3-4mA of current at most which then runs into high frequency roll-off problems thanks to the input capacitance of the EL34.

If I was stuck with current production tubes, I'd probably go with 4 12AT7's or a pair of 6SL7's followed by 6SN7 drivers run at 10mA or so. Or maybe a quad of 6H30's or ECC99's.

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Concerning pre-order payment (copying and pasting response I received via email):

Hello Alex,

Thank you for your interests. We are very proud of the WES.

You may send 50% for deposit to order an unit. Balance should be paid in full 2 weeks prior shipment. You may send payment directly to [email protected] through PayPal eCheck. If you prefer to send a check or money order, please let me know.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Jack

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In retrospect, I should have gotten my BHSE in silver, because the WES keeps tempting me with that snazzy silver chassis! Well I could get a new CDP in black instead but that opens another can of worms that I would prefer to avoid....

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In retrospect, I should have gotten my BHSE in silver, because the WES keeps tempting me with that snazzy silver chassis! Well I could get a new CDP in black instead but that opens another can of worms that I would prefer to avoid....

I could trade you a silver maxed GES (plus black maxed WA6, black Sq Wave XL, a wood Amphora and a pair of Smegma Pro) for your black KGBHSE... :P

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No thanks, I'll stick with what I've got. I'd prefer to own HeadAmp over Woo Audio anyway. Depending on how things play out, the only color change that might happen will be at the source level only. Good thing the Plinius CD-101 also comes in black. :D

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