the end of WAD??

Just picked up Jan's HFW and notice there's no WAD advert, checked out the bb board and there seems to be alot of undelivered orders. Noel Keywood has posted details of the local trading standards officer, its not looking good.

I was seriously considering the 300b mono's next year and at one point did almost place an order earlier this month, glad I didnt now. Hope it gets sorted.

 

That's a shame. Chinese competition or just a general lack of interest in their products?

Let the rampant speculation begin.....

 

From whats being said on the board it seems like it could well be their own doing, or at least a contributing factor. The Chinese invasion cant be helping. There seems to be a gap, price wise, appearing now between the Chinese amps and the more established amps.

 

I have had an uncomfirmed report that the company has changed ownership.

It wouldnt be right to say more because I haven't got all of the information.

If it has changed ownership then it wouldnt be suprising if the make doesnt get any more free advertising in the magazine.

Cheers
Chris

 

T-bone, buy a 300b kit from www.diyhificollective.co.uk instead.

Its cheaper, and some say better. Its certainly at least on a par.

Cheers
Chris

 

Funnily enough I have thought about this as I use hificollective quite abit, Ive also found Nick to be very helpful. Apparantly there are some new designs coming out next year including a preamp so I'll wait and see.

Another alternative is to make the original Wad 300b. Ive been emailing a member across there and he's gone this route. Ive been looking at chassis etc and Im not really sure I want to do one totally from scratch though.

 

The original WAD 300b is supposed to be decent. Designed by Tim Depavaracini I believe.

I've tried a prototype of the pre-amp. I wrote about it in the review section.

He also plans to do an 845 based kit. I don't know of any other 845 kit so this could be a first in the market place. Im quite keen to hear this one.

With the extremely high voltages of the 845 though I wouldnt attempt it myself, being an amateur bodger. You might be better sticking with a 300b kit.

The hifi collective kit can come either as a plain power amp, or have the option of an attenuator built in. I personally like it better with an active pre, like the one Nick sells.

If I was buying it and only had one source I'd get it with the attenuator, and at a later point add an active pre.

Its a nice amp, and a fun build IMO. It looks better than most kit amps - again IMO.

Theres someone on this forum thats got one (I forget who), you could ask him what he thinks of the 300b amp.

I know Nick pretty well, and Im sure he would build the amp for you for a couple of hundred quid if you asked nicely (and didnt fancy the DIY side of it too much).

An alternative is the www.diyhifisupply.com ladyday kit. This is a monoblock 300b kit. Given that it would be shipped from America I'd personally be more tempted by a domestic kit. It's much easier if you have problems to deal locally.


Cheers
Chris

 

Thanks for the info Chris.

Ive no worries about building one, thats the major attraction really. Like you Im more of an active fan and I would use my own pre amp till something else took my fancy. Ive looked at the triode-systems amps and Im not too fussed in all honesty.

Come the NY I'll have a proper think.

 

The current situation appears to be one of back orders not being filled/delivered,and of the proprieter(s) being unavailable,coupled with an almost total lack of information from them,and the only source of information being Noel Keywood.

Having bought a 300B kit from WAD last year,I can only say that the service I received then was second to none,along with the back up,and the current fracas is a complete opposite to that.

Noel Keywood did say in the various threads on the WAD BB that the situation "should" be resolved shortly,although there was a vague time scale attached to that,which has since expired.

It would be an immense shame of this was the end of WAD,as the company has been one of the mainstays of home grown DIY valve amps for many yrs.

The original 300B SET was designed by TdeP,and employed interstage transformers as well as a different PSU design,and was very highly rated indeed,although the current PP and SET models are open to the usual amount of tweaking and component changing....I'm certainly very happy with mine,and glad that I bought when I did.

 

I couldn't agree with Bottlenecks comments more about
Hifi Collective, Nick is very helpful and my orders are delt with quickly
I have had one of his 300b amps for about a year and really like it, it does everything and more than I expected, the build quality is superb and Andy Groves design is bullet proof, it is also a simple kit to put together, if I can do it anybody can,

David

 

I'm also trying to decide to take the plunge and get the glasshouse kit, emailed Nick and he is being very helpful...but decisions decisions... arghh=)

I hope WAD do pull thru, Noel was at the forefront of the valve resurgence with all the articles and diy features in hifi world mag. Not sure how much he has to do with WAD nowadays tho.

 

I hope not too

I was one of those people whomprobbaly got one of the last PREii and PSU ii kits from WAD and was just about to fire them up when they disappeared. My experince with them up to that point was excellent. Yes there is lots of speculation on WAD's own bulletin board and precious little fact.

I was going to buy a 6550 kit but as they have dispappeared have sourced a kit like 300b amp from bluebell which with a bit of luck should be arriving tommorow. Ill pst my progress as I get going! So WAD lost me as a customer -their loss.

 

Noel?

Andy Grove and Tim de Pavaracini had more to do with the designs. Noel didnt do the designing ( I have it on good authority).

Andy Grove also designed the glasshouse amp. Buy in confidence Dik. Its as good as a WAD 300b monoblock set, but cheaper and perhaps a bit better looking too.

I know that WAD has been sold, but don't know the new owners intentions. Will he continue the business as before? Will the product line be the same, stripped down, or with new products? - all conjecture, we will have to wait and see.

I cant imagine the new owner has purchased it just to close the business, so something will come of it Im sure of that.

 

Hi,

The latest is here.

http://www.worldaudiodesign.com/forum/announcement.php?f=14

SCIDB

 

Hi,

The ads for WAD have gone from the current issue of HiFi World. Also there is no DIY supplement.

SCIDB

 

Any update?

 

Check out the WAD board. Another company called 'world design' is stepping in, though it isnt related to WAD in anyway. A diy supplement by world design will be back in HFW from feb onwards. The WAD board will also be shutting, but a new one will open run by er, WD.

 

to be precise, World Design is trying to take over WAD at the moment without success
World Designs is to be fronted be Peter Comeau and will be marketing a range of kits for both amps and speakers,