Wavac, which level of SET valves goodness

ob1

Wammer
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Jan 12, 2007
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OB
Anyone run Wavac on here? Any report of reliability would be helpful? How do they sound against similar price components? It's the 805 I am looking at.

thx

 

pure sound

Wammer
Wammer
Sep 10, 2011
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HiFi Trade?
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I knew one guy who'd invested a lot in buying stock. Didn't stop Wavac selling to others or turning a blind eye to parallel importing. No criticism of the products but it'd be a brave man who tied large sums up thinking that he had some kind of territorial exclusive.

 

Purite Audio

Wammer
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Jan 29, 2007
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Keith
Derek Achelis is the current importer retailing through Heatherdale Audio down in Worthing or up in Worthing from down in Devon!

Kr Keith.

 
C

CarlBkk

Guest
What made you interested in Wavac over Lamm or Vac Ob? Just curious.

 

whizzkid

I told you it wasn't important
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Dec 30, 2006
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Slartibartfast
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
What made you interested in Wavac over Lamm or Vac Ob? Just curious.
Because he's probably owned or will own those other makes? this is #1 Thai ladyboy box swapper after all.

 

Frizzy brizzy

Wammer
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Feb 3, 2013
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Laurie
HiFi Trade?
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Been really put off the brand as it seems to be a moving target, with no fixed history to indicate quality or longevity, with little back up. Strange In the USA it travels as they say first class.

Kondo really get the marketing right, ditto puresound or even sugden different price points and tech but marketing and branding are consistent and make the consumer comfortable with what they buy into.

With wavac they come across badly, get the feeling Russian oligarchs buy the 6 figure big rigs.

 

Last Order

Wammer
Wammer
Aug 24, 2013
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It's the 805 I am looking at.thx
Mine was very reliable

sxpg.jpg


 

pure sound

Wammer
Wammer
Sep 10, 2011
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West Devon
HiFi Trade?
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Thats the proper Wavac stuff. I borrowed one of the MD (music dandy!) series when we had our 300B shoot out a few years back. Nice enough but hardly worth the price tag either materially or sonically imho. That seemed to have had a few corners cut while trading on the prestigious brandname.

But the big ticket items I've heard have been pretty impressive.

 

chelseadave

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Sep 18, 2009
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Dave
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
A 300b shootout? now there's an idea.

Thats the proper Wavac stuff. I borrowed one of the MD (music dandy!) series when we had our 300B shoot out a few years back. Nice enough but hardly worth the price tag either materially or sonically imho. That seemed to have had a few corners cut while trading on the prestigious brandname. But the big ticket items I've heard have been pretty impressive.
 

anubisgrau

Wammer
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Oct 23, 2006
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Belgrade Serbia
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Gordan
we spent some time here with a pair of 805m, finding a number of strange things inside. first, apart from tango transformers, there's unusual number of really low cost passive components inside i would never associate with such an expensive gear. however, the wierdest thing was finding that the driver tube had operating points that were effectively saturating interstage transformer with too much current for its spec and producing huge distortion (that typical wavac lush, dark, "golden" sound some fall for). after unsuccessful attempts to get it sorted, including exchange of a input stage (12AX7) for 12AU7 to reduce a crazy high input sensitivity, the owner gave up and pass it on.

wavac 572 was even worse.

however if you like the sound, don't bother. god knows how many similar things one could find dealing with commercial amps. wavac has interesting schematics and it's known for an unique use of inverted interstage transformers and A2 class but for for sure kondo it aint.

 

ob1

Wammer
Wammer
Jan 12, 2007
6,777
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93
outside....Norwich,
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OB
Thx guys,

(apart from wizzkid...dean, have some of this my cockney bum chump... :shaggers: )

I think I might leave it for a time be. Tango transformer is the main attaction here but I also know that most valves amps will need service or repair at some point and as far as I understand from few answers above I may come stuck if the brand have impoter issue.

 

pure sound

Wammer
Wammer
Sep 10, 2011
8,762
217
108
West Devon
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
As I understand it, Tango has stopped producing. I wonder where Wavac will go instead. Tamura? That'd go down well with Air Tight!

 

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