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ilreceiver
4
Jan 26, 2015
Thanks so much for the detailed reply. I'm no audiophile and I have zero training in electrical engineering, but I'm quite skeptical to the tube power supply being a sonic upgrade. Percentage wise, does it improve the sound by >5%? Even at 320, I smell a lot of diminishing or even flat returns.
AudioMan612
218
Jan 26, 2015
ilreceiverOh a power supply can certainly make a difference in audio gear. There are many devices out there that offer PSU upgrades (such as Antelope Audio's Zodiac DAC's). Rebuilding a PSU (besides other circuits of course) can be a way to improve vintage equipment as well. I just have doubts as to how big a difference a power cable can make, as long as you're not talking about using some awful $.99 one.
That said, diminishing returns are certainly a thing in audio, and I'm not sure how far into that the tube PSU is. I missed my chance to hear it myself at an audio show last year as I didn't realize that Woo was leaving early, so they were gone by the time I went to their room.
I'm a graduated computer engineer, so I've taken classes on electrical engineering, but that hasn't really helped me too much with this stuff. It's such a hot topic, I just want to test things myself lol. Recently I read a few interviews with John Siau of Benchmark, who is a well-respected engineer, and he briefly mentioned that he was able to measure difference between speaker cables (and that lamp/zip cord was actually pretty decent), but he didn't say any more than that as that's not what the interview was about, and it is a hot topic.
ilreceiver
4
Jan 26, 2015
AudioMan612I see. Thank you for the explanation! Are you participating in this drop? Getting the PSU?
AudioMan612
218
Jan 27, 2015
ilreceiverNo, I already have a WA7 from when it dropped a little over a year ago. I'd like to eventually upgrade to the tube PSU, but right now I need to save money. I was in the recent Grace Design m920 drop, and I'm going to Japan for two weeks in a few days, so my wallet is upset enough lol.
I've been very happy with my WA7 though.
I will give one warning to those that may not be familiar with tube amps: tube amps do not like being run with an open load (as in nothing plugged into them). This is especially true of tube amps with output transformers (which is most tube amps, including speaker and instrument amplifiers). The main reason for this is that an open load will cause flyback voltage to run through the output transformers and fry the insulation (especially if the amp is turned up, or if the sound of a pop from plugging or unplugging something gets amplified). That said, the WA7 has open load protection so you can leave the amp on without headphones plugged in, BUT, it is disabled when something is plugged in. Make if you guys use 1/4" to 3.5mm adapters (or vice versa), make sure you never leave them plugged in without headphones, as this will disable the open load protection, but you will still have an open load. It's a good habit to just never leave stuff like that plugged into an amp when you're not using it to be safe. I accidentally did this once a long time ago, and recently, one side of my HD 700's got yanked off the cord by accident, and I immediately turned the amp down all the way and cut the power when I caught the issues, and have had no problems, but still, you never know. Different amps use different parts and circuits, and some can fry a lot easier than others.
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