"A Real, Live American Masterpiece"
The Woo Audio WA6-SE (Special Edition) Headphone Amplifier is the company's 'pinnacle version' of its highly popular WA6 headphone amp. Its premium performance is derived from an innovative design that uses direct interstage coupling and a power supply housed in a separate chassis.
The hallmark of the WAS-SE is a realistic, warm, smooth sound and exceptionally quiet operation. The versatile design drives a wide range of full-sized headphones and in-ear monitors. It uses a singled-ended triode, 'Class A' all-tube-drive, output transformer-coupled design.
"The Woo Audio WA6-SE is a real, live American masterpiece, designed, built and sold by the company run by the man who founded it," notes Ken Rockwell at KenRockwell.com. "It just works: there's nothing but loads of clean, great sound and great ergonomics."
"Dynamic Range Has Suddenly Gone to Nuclear-Powered Levels"
"We've loved using the WA6SE," reports Nate Lanxon" in his CNET.co.uk review for December 15, 2009. "if you want valves through and through, with admirable performance to boot, this system's well worth considering."
"Dynamic range has suddenly gone to nuclear-powered levels," raves reviewer Rangen in a May 15, 2009 post for head-fi.org. "I'm not talking about the dynamic range of the recording, but the dynamic range of individual instruments, which is now a palpable phenomenon."
All-Tube Design
Unlike many other headphone amps on the market that make partial use of vacuum tube circuitry, but otherwise are solid state designs, the WA6-SE boasts an all-tube design. There are no transistors, ICs, or semi-conductors anywhere in the entire circuitry.
The power supply of the WA6-SE is housed in its own aluminum die-cast chassis. This provides an exceptional degree of isolation from the separate-chassis audio circuitry and contributes to the very low perceived noise floor. The power supply uses an individual filter choke per channel to facilitate a smooth, well-regulated power delivery to the audio section.
Beautifully Made, Inside and Out
The WA6-SE is a high quality, beautifully made product inside and out that uses point-to-point wiring throughout its construction. It uses a premium custom-made 80-watt toroidal power transformer for quiet, dependable operation. Silver plated wires in a Teflon jacket add to the performance.
The casework boasts an aluminum die-cast chassis with an anodized finish along with aluminum volume knobs and power switch button.
For smooth, rich audiophile performance, you can't beat the sound of vacuum tubes. The WA6's tube complement consists of two 6DE7 drive/power tubes and one 5AR4 rectifier tube.
No-Nonsense Connectivity
You get no-nonsense connectivity with your Woo. It provides two pairs of RCA inputs with an input source switch and one 1⁄4" stereo headphone jack. A high/low headphone impedance switch ensures compatibility with a wide range of headphones.
Adventures in Tube Rolling
This Woo Audio product is perfect for tweakers who love to experiment with their gear. Changing the sound quality is as easy as trying a different set of audio tubes as an alternative to the tubes that come standard with your Woo. You'll find lots of suggestions for 'tube rolling' on the Internet on head-fi.org and other audiophile Websites. So roll your own and enjoy!
Assembled in Brooklyn, New York, USA
Woo Audio takes great pride in the fact that its products are assembled in Brooklyn, New York, USA from foreign and domestic components.
Note: AC power cord and interconnect cables are not included with this model.