Woo Audio/Headphone listening

[PHC1]

I've been in the moods to listen to some late night jazz lately. John Stein, George Kahn, John Abercrombie, Grant Geissman, Ron Jackson, that kind of stuff...

I find myself using my Senn HD650s/iPod and Pandora for an "element of surprise" instead of spinning CDs and vinyl when everyone else is asleep. Which got me all nostalgic about my old EarMax SET OTL headphone amp listening sessions. It is long gone unfortunately.

I've been looking into building another headphone listening station and came across Woo Audio products. They seem cool. The WA5 300B tube amp looks sexxxy.

Anyone have any experience with any of the Woo Audio products? I see Steve Hoffman just picked one up.

Can't go wrong with a nice tube headphone amp and late night jazz. I still would like to hear some feedback before spending a good chunk of money on it.

[Removed]

Hey Serge.....the Woo gear is nice, if your just looking for headphone and one source the WA6 or WA3 are good choices.......I just got rid of my Little Dot headphone amp and will most likely go with the WA6 and pair it up with a Concept table. Should be a fun little system for late night listening when the family is sleeping.....

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

Hey Serge.....the Woo gear is nice, if your just looking for headphone and one source the WA6 or WA3 are good choices.......I just got rid of my Little Dot headphone amp and will most likely go with the WA6 and pair it up with a Concept table. Should be a fun little system for late night listening when the family is sleeping.....

Hey Jeff,
I was thinking the WA5 in case I ever get a pair of high efficiency bookshelf speakers for my study, it will drive them. The Zu Audio Druid Credenza at 101dB efficiency and 12 ohm would probably be perfect for the 1.5w output of the WA5.

[Removed]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Hey Jeff,
I was thinking the WA5 in case I ever get a pair of high efficiency bookshelf speakers for my study, it will drive them. The Zu Audio Druid Credenza at 101dB efficiency and 12 ohm would probably be perfect for the 1.5w output of the WA5.

Cool....That looks it would be a fun system to listen too. The Miniwatt seems popular and gets good press but not as nice looking as the Woo gear.

[cmalak]

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

Hey Serge.....the Woo gear is nice, if your just looking for headphone and one source the WA6 or WA3 are good choices.......I just got rid of my Little Dot headphone amp and will most likely go with the WA6 and pair it up with a Concept table. Should be a fun little system for late night listening when the family is sleeping.....

Jeff are you going to carry the line or is this for your own setup? I am contemplating a headphone setup. What would you suggest in the Woo line in the $500-$750 range for amp and what phones would you pare it up with? It's hard to audition headphones as none of my dealers here in Boston even bother having any on display (they carry some lines but don't have them for customers to try out). So I am unfamiliar with any of the headphone makers and their characteristic sounds. I like the idea of a tube-based phone amp because it might be fun to tube roll as well. Thx Jeff (and Serge for letting me piggy back on your original question).

[PHC1]

Cyril, maybe Jeff knows more but it seems to me they do business direct out of NY. This is a US based company and everything is built here in NY by the way.

Woo Audio High-End Tube Amplifiers - The Sound of Excellence

[cmalak]

cool...thx Serge...i'll check 'em out. Are you happy with your Seinheiser 650s? Are they a good place to start?

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by cmalak

cool...thx Serge...i'll check 'em out. Are you happy with your Seinheiser 650s? Are they a good place to start?

Very happy Cyril. I used to own HD600s for many years and got the HD650s when they first came out. Now there is HD800s as well. There are quite a few other great headphones on the market now, it is a good time to be listening to headphones. The HD650s are smooth, a bit on the warm side of neutral and very fatigue free. Some like the headphones to be a bit more neutral. Check out http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f3/ those guys will get you started in the right direction.

Also check out www.headphone.com for various headphones, specs, frequency charts, impedance, etc... I would also check with the Woo Audio guys for compatibility of amp/headphone impedance if you decide to get into it. I've spent a few years listening to nothing but an SET OTL amp and headphones by the way, it was so addicting and musically satisfying but it is not for everyone.

[cmalak]

Thx Serge...appreciate the links. I will certainly read up and see where it goes.

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Serge is correct......They deal direct only. I'm looking at the Woo WA6 or the Ray Samuals Raptor looks very very nice but double the money. I'm not really a hard core headphone listener just want something to mess around with......