This is awesome! I really like your reviewing and it's so nice to see you do a review of this amp. Your intelligent style means I always learn something, even if I already own what you're reviewing - I ended up buying the demo unit of this amp at CanJam SoCal last year because I loved it so much! Still my favorite tube amp I've ever heard. P.S. - your custom Atrium looks super rad!
The 2A3 is one of the best sounding "power" tubes, if not the best one and as such it shines in single ended topology. It has a flea power but it's perfect for headphones. It is one of these refined tubes where the brand really matters.
I would love to find out more reasons why things are the way they are in audio such as at 4:25 - I often wondered why so many tube amps are single ended and this makes a lot of sense
Second order distortion makes the signal less correct but often sounds warmer and more natural. Cunning designers like Nelson Pass add it to their designs.
I think you're confused (and you are further confusing your audience) between SE vs Push-Pull and SE vs Balanced Differential. The first refers to how the power devices are driven the second refers to the total amp stage topology (Balanced differential requiring 2 complete amp stages per channel, one amplifying each side of the waveform). The traditional terminology is what leads to this confusion. It is a confusing subject so there's no need for more of it.. This particular amp just happens to be SE in both ways. You can have a push pull amp with the amp still being SE in terms of its overall topology. In fact this is how most Class A/B amps (tube or solid state) are designed. Please note that it is very rare to see tube based Balanced differential implementations (not uncommon in Solid State amps) due to the difficulty in implementing these especially due to difficulty in perfectly matching the dual amp stages required for each channel.
I had the opportunity to listen to this today. A very balanced tuning, but a bit underpowered for Susvaras still. And the idle noise level is unacceptably high for a unit at this price point. I’ll stick with my Bliss for Susvara duties. And after being fortunate enough to A/B this and a Feliks Envy, the Envy was a better match for my Atriums. Possibly one of the most pleasing listening experiences I’ve had.
I am opposite here myself. I much prefer wa23 over the Envy. Wa23 has a nice warm and lush presentation that is super pleasing and fun. Envy (with stock tubes at least) has a very solid state like sound. If I want a tube amp I want it to sound well "tubey"
@@bigsamiabs8416 interesting. I was listening to the performance version, not sure if that makes a difference. The WA23 I found was much closer to neutral, with some nice upper harmonics. The Feliks added a lot more low end weight and mids richness. I found the Feliks was a perfect counter balance to the Atrium tuning, whereas the WA still presented as a touch lean down low, but occupied a bigger space in its presentation. To be honest, I was wondering if there was something going on with the tubes in the WA unit I tested, because it was incredibly noisy, and performed a bit under what I was expecting based on reviews.
I went with a WA7 Firefly myself. Love how it sits on my desk and I don’t have the space for a huge setup right now. Would love to hear your take on the firefly!
There needs to be more reviews on the WA7 from channels with experience with tube amps / not just straight up advertisement videos All Im really able to find on RUclips is Josh Valor who's not experienced with tubes, DMS/Abyss's video which is just marketing and isnt a review, and random smaller channels with no baseline for what theyve heard before
Hey Cameron. Kamran here :P Love your reviews. Honest and to the point with no BS. Can ia sk you a general question( though i know it's relative). I have got focal clear, hifiman xs and HE6se. I like those headphones but i am little treble sensitive. I do listen to rock, pop and other Genres. I am ready to upgrade. Under $2k what would you reckon i should try? My cource for now is bifrost 2OG and Burson soloist 3xp. plzzz
What Pre Amp are you using? I have the humble WA3 and it's doing an outstanding job. Can't fault it - drives everything from IEM to planar for an OTL I am impressed.
Holy crap, that pendulum song made me have to eq the bass and the treble DOWN for the first time in my life xD (-2db shelf at 166 and -1 at 4k). I usually have to do exactly the opposite. Cool song tho.
The only thing I disklike about the build of the unit is the fact that they used a lower grit blasting media than they should have. Would of given the unit a sleeker look if they hadn't.
It's a fairly different sonic goal than the envy but I also think it's pretty comfortably more technical tbh. The tubes for it are always way cheaper which is nice, but it has less gain than envy
Why make a tube amp in the first place or pursue a tube amp if not for the tube sound? I am so puzzled at why tube amp makers would even make something "like solid state". Like, why?
This is weird. I just watched your tutorial on room treatment, and then go on watching this. First one was very objective, while this was all subjective. You use lots or random audiophile buzzwords that could mean almost anything. Warm, lush, forward sounding, slow, fast, skull cracking slammy yadda yadda. Not sure what to think about this channel yet since you sometimes have really high quality content and other times you have just words.
1) So dynamic heaphones' impedance is non-flat vs frequency even if it's a low impedance headphone, such as 24-32 Ohm? (ISK HD9999, Fostex TH900 MK II, Denon AH-D9200 etc.) 2) Is it correct that for tube amps power output follows impedance output, so is higher for high impedance mode? (maybe thus preference for it also for planars) 2) How's the noise floor lvl for IEMs? 3) Did you overall prefer it over your SS setup? (currently Bliss or something else?)
1) Correct. Simply by the nature of how a dynamic works, it will never have a flat impedence curve 2) this depends on the topology of the amp. Generaly the damping change will play a larger role in the sound change than the powrr one though
GM ☕️from Toronto . The moment I saw this on the Abyss site …it was love at first sight…is it perfect..no …but damn close. Oh, btw, sending my LCDX to get ready-tuned to make it a good less “wonky” 😎
That suggestion is only for OTL tube amps like Dark Voice or Bottlehead Crack, this is an OTC (Output Transformer Coupled) tube amp which is perfectly fine for Planars, in fact this one and other OTC tube amps like Feliks Envy, Trafomatic Primavera etc are pretty much end game for Planar headphones.
Thank you. Keep up the great work 👏🏾 I appreciate the OTL comparison 8:48
I too seek the tubyness, so I purchased a Feliks Euforia
This is awesome! I really like your reviewing and it's so nice to see you do a review of this amp. Your intelligent style means I always learn something, even if I already own what you're reviewing - I ended up buying the demo unit of this amp at CanJam SoCal last year because I loved it so much! Still my favorite tube amp I've ever heard.
P.S. - your custom Atrium looks super rad!
Have you tried the Susvara with it?
Yup! It's the first headphone I listened to on this amp and was what made me want to buy it. Synergy is great with it.
@@mattbingham1955 great thank you.
Thanks for this Cameron, much appreciated.
A comparison against the Feliks Audio Envy Performance Edition would’ve been great though
Envy and the WA-23 are the two tube amps I own. Both are so great, just in different ways.
@@mattbingham1955would you mind elaborating on the differences? Thanks.
Probably the most desirable headphone amp at this moment in time, and likely for some time to come. A classic in the making.
More than the HM1? Doubtful.
@@KaneAmaroqyes more. Tubes have romance
thank you for the great review. ~ Mike 🙏🏻
Owned a few Woo Audio amps and love them. Great team at Woo as well.
The 2A3 is one of the best sounding "power" tubes, if not the best one and as such it shines in single ended topology. It has a flea power but it's perfect for headphones. It is one of these refined tubes where the brand really matters.
I would love to find out more reasons why things are the way they are in audio such as at 4:25 - I often wondered why so many tube amps are single ended and this makes a lot of sense
Second order distortion makes the signal less correct but often sounds warmer and more natural. Cunning designers like Nelson Pass add it to their designs.
I think you're confused (and you are further confusing your audience) between SE vs Push-Pull and SE vs Balanced Differential. The first refers to how the power devices are driven the second refers to the total amp stage topology (Balanced differential requiring 2 complete amp stages per channel, one amplifying each side of the waveform). The traditional terminology is what leads to this confusion. It is a confusing subject so there's no need for more of it.. This particular amp just happens to be SE in both ways. You can have a push pull amp with the amp still being SE in terms of its overall topology. In fact this is how most Class A/B amps (tube or solid state) are designed. Please note that it is very rare to see tube based Balanced differential implementations (not uncommon in Solid State amps) due to the difficulty in implementing these especially due to difficulty in perfectly matching the dual amp stages required for each channel.
🙏🏾 Can you please do a head-to-head vs a flagship OTL like the Feliks Euforia.
It would be tubular dude 🤙🏾
Great video! I realize that this might be applesoranges, but how would you rank/compare the WA23 to the Wandla stack?
I had the opportunity to listen to this today. A very balanced tuning, but a bit underpowered for Susvaras still. And the idle noise level is unacceptably high for a unit at this price point. I’ll stick with my Bliss for Susvara duties. And after being fortunate enough to A/B this and a Feliks Envy, the Envy was a better match for my Atriums. Possibly one of the most pleasing listening experiences I’ve had.
I am opposite here myself. I much prefer wa23 over the Envy. Wa23 has a nice warm and lush presentation that is super pleasing and fun. Envy (with stock tubes at least) has a very solid state like sound. If I want a tube amp I want it to sound well "tubey"
@@bigsamiabs8416 interesting. I was listening to the performance version, not sure if that makes a difference. The WA23 I found was much closer to neutral, with some nice upper harmonics. The Feliks added a lot more low end weight and mids richness. I found the Feliks was a perfect counter balance to the Atrium tuning, whereas the WA still presented as a touch lean down low, but occupied a bigger space in its presentation.
To be honest, I was wondering if there was something going on with the tubes in the WA unit I tested, because it was incredibly noisy, and performed a bit under what I was expecting based on reviews.
I went with a WA7 Firefly myself. Love how it sits on my desk and I don’t have the space for a huge setup right now. Would love to hear your take on the firefly!
There needs to be more reviews on the WA7 from channels with experience with tube amps / not just straight up advertisement videos
All Im really able to find on RUclips is Josh Valor who's not experienced with tubes, DMS/Abyss's video which is just marketing and isnt a review, and random smaller channels with no baseline for what theyve heard before
@@PantsaBear Indeed, I am waiting for reviews as well.
Hey Cameron. Kamran here :P Love your reviews. Honest and to the point with no BS. Can ia sk you a general question( though i know it's relative). I have got focal clear, hifiman xs and HE6se. I like those headphones but i am little treble sensitive. I do listen to rock, pop and other Genres. I am ready to upgrade. Under $2k what would you reckon i should try? My cource for now is bifrost 2OG and Burson soloist 3xp. plzzz
What Pre Amp are you using? I have the humble WA3 and it's doing an outstanding job. Can't fault it - drives everything from IEM to planar for an OTL I am impressed.
Please review the Wa7 3rd gen please!
Holy crap, that pendulum song made me have to eq the bass and the treble DOWN for the first time in my life xD (-2db shelf at 166 and -1 at 4k). I usually have to do exactly the opposite. Cool song tho.
For 9 grand Amp that thing better blow something else other than just my mind
Your fuses?
; )
You keep typing this same comment. Please go to the unemployment office and fix this rut you are in.
It'd be nicer if this is going to be headphoneshow's 2023 christmas give away. 😂
Where did you find yourself on the volume knob on the ab1266 when listening to say rock ?
Hi! For someone who is looking for the best of the best, how does it compare to the elite edition of the WA33?
I hope you review the Pathos InPol Ear
The only thing I disklike about the build of the unit is the fact that they used a lower grit blasting media than they should have. Would of given the unit a sleeker look if they hadn't.
1:50 Depends on the type of honey as well. Manuka honey has a high resistance and is overrated.
For that price it better be your “favorite” or what's the point.
is this available in the uk ?
compare to Felix Audio Amps??
It's a fairly different sonic goal than the envy but I also think it's pretty comfortably more technical tbh. The tubes for it are always way cheaper which is nice, but it has less gain than envy
@@eskamobob8662 which would you prefer more as a pre-amp into something like AGD amps for a stereo system to add some tube warmth?
This is one of the amps that I'd like to get in to try. Especially now that I have an AIC-10.
AIC-10 is on a much higher level.
Why make a tube amp in the first place or pursue a tube amp if not for the tube sound? I am so puzzled at why tube amp makers would even make something "like solid state". Like, why?
Watch his wa33 video to find out
This is weird. I just watched your tutorial on room treatment, and then go on watching this. First one was very objective, while this was all subjective. You use lots or random audiophile buzzwords that could mean almost anything. Warm, lush, forward sounding, slow, fast, skull cracking slammy yadda yadda. Not sure what to think about this channel yet since you sometimes have really high quality content and other times you have just words.
I couldn’t have that thing in my house. The huge gold colour knobs make this something only a Saudi princess would like.
Habib, this thing is gorgeous
@@eskamobob8662 haha you Saudi 👸 🙂
@@robrider838Pictures actually don't do it justice.
No problem just marry a Saudi princess and you'll be fine.
It's missing the 24carat ak47 details xx
1) So dynamic heaphones' impedance is non-flat vs frequency even if it's a low impedance headphone, such as 24-32 Ohm? (ISK HD9999, Fostex TH900 MK II, Denon AH-D9200 etc.)
2) Is it correct that for tube amps power output follows impedance output, so is higher for high impedance mode? (maybe thus preference for it also for planars)
2) How's the noise floor lvl for IEMs?
3) Did you overall prefer it over your SS setup? (currently Bliss or something else?)
1) Correct. Simply by the nature of how a dynamic works, it will never have a flat impedence curve
2) this depends on the topology of the amp. Generaly the damping change will play a larger role in the sound change than the powrr one though
for 1266, aic10 or this which is better?
I would go for the AIC-10.
@@dzemoski45 Between these two amplifiers, the performance gap can be noticeable?
+1 for Pendulum
GM ☕️from Toronto .
The moment I saw this on the Abyss site …it was love at first sight…is it perfect..no …but damn close.
Oh, btw, sending my LCDX to get ready-tuned to make it a good less “wonky” 😎
What you mean ready tuned
@@RoseLove1412I was going to send my LCDX to be retuned…sorry .
@@carminedesanto6746 can you tell me more details. Why would you want a retune. Audeze is willing to retune the headphones for you?
The build quality is not 100% though. Play with that very loose power button, considering the cost of this thing, this is not good enough.
Wow, and only $8,999?! You should do stand up 😂
well Try the new Allnic HPA 10000 you will be amazed
Wow your favorite over WA33 elite, trafomatic primavera , and viva egoista 845.
I have the Elite and the 23... Elite has everything the 23 has... but more... more holo... more slam.
wait where did GS try the Viva. I haven't seen him comment about it 😮
I mean for 8,000 dollars the better make anything sound good man
I thought you shouldnt be using planar headphones with tube amps?
That suggestion is only for OTL tube amps like Dark Voice or Bottlehead Crack, this is an OTC (Output Transformer Coupled) tube amp which is perfectly fine for Planars, in fact this one and other OTC tube amps like Feliks Envy, Trafomatic Primavera etc are pretty much end game for Planar headphones.
A bit sad to see this reviewer doing infomercials on niche and luxury items. I can’t be the only who missed his interesting digital related videos…
These are the same videos hrs always made. You diagreeing with his conclusions on a product doesnt make it a infomercial.
It just needs some vajazzles on it
Ain't No Damn Way .
price is rly for rich snobs
It's so ugly
If you need tubes to make your music sound good you're listening to the wrong music.
It makes the right music even more right 😊
It makes the right music even more right 😊