So I bought the Willsenton R-800i

@musiclover1 And I´m saying that the Cornwalls need subs even though they are fairly big speakers. Those are huge!

@jbhiller wrote:

"I wonder if the 800 has the same design issue as the R8--Skunkie Designs found that it was missing a resistor on the bias pots.  If the pot wiper gets sticky or otherwise malfunctions, it could let full bias hit the tube and blow it.  

This is giving me incentive to flip my 100lb beast over and open her up to have a look.  I have been lazy. I don't want to lift it and I'm not motivated to find my little tool I use to bleed volts off of the capacitors before poking around."


So, I have an R800i in my office system and I just realized a channel was out. One of the Gold Lion 300B's (right channel) went bad. Put the Willsenton stock 300B's in and went to adjust the bias and...wow...both channels are super high. In fact, the left channel won't go below where the Dolby symbol is. I am assuming that's above 120ma. (I used to be able to adjust them to where the "0" is).

Could this be that pesky resistor/bias pot issue? I've reached out to China HiFi for advice.

Also, has anyone opened one of these up to look at cap upgrades, etc? I'm the kinda person who wants to do everything as long as someone is in there.

Also, I live in a mid-sized city and have no idea if the techs are any good here. Anyone have a reco? Willing to ship the amp.

I'm going to open mine up soon.  It has to be done. 

Careful with the tube rolling!! I started with the Willsenton 300i 845, great amp for the money, and now have three SE tube amps and a hybrid tube pre w/ class AB power output AND have amassed a collection of over 300 tubes for the four amps!   i run Klipsch Forte IIIs and Focal 926s with the Willsenton and a Klipsch 12in 300 watt sub wired off the speaker terminals.  The Forte’s love the Willsenton, but only at 9 o’clock max on volume pot, I can get the Focals to 10 o’clock.  Clearly there is serious umph and headroom with the Willsenton’s 23 wpc. I believe the 805 is north of 40 wpc.

Replaced the 300b with new production Gold Lions 300bX, much smoother, more detail and greater linearity up and down the frequency spectrum.  Replaced the 845s with Shuguang 845B, same result, more detail, warmth and greater soundstage. Great upgrades for the money, although I wouldn’t call the Gold Lions cheap at $450/pair.  The Shuguangs were about $250 plus shipping.  Likely won’t be purchasing new or old WEs or vintage RCAs, just way too $$.  

BTW china-hifi told me stock tubes are LinLia hifi series. Not bad, but not great.  The stock 6sn7s are actually 6H8C Novisbirisk, and the 12ax7 is a JJ from the the old Check Tesla factory in Slovenia.  

Now, on to the pre-stage; 12AX7 i agree the Tele’s are great tubes, have both ribbed and smooth plate, smooth plate definitely superior, smoother, more detail and greater soundstage.  IMO however the Amperex Holland Bugle Boy beats the Teles with more air, detail and soundstage hight, not cheap but you should try and find one of these.  Also have Blackburn Mullards, RFTs, Russian and Chinese Gold Lions, GE, RCA, anf Raytheon black plate.  Bugles #1, Tele #2, and Mullard #3.

You should also look at trying a12AT7, lower gain but like I’ve experienced, the Willsenton has tons of headroom.  Have Teles, Mullards, Bugle Boys, Sylvania, Brimar, Westinghouse and a real sleeper, RCA black plate, think I paid $15 for it. Warm, smooth, a little rolled off on the top but a beautiful sounding tube.

On to the 6SN7, have Sylvania's, Tung Sols, Russian Fotons (cheap great all rounders), Raytheons, GEs, RCAs. CBS Hytron’s, GTs, GTAs, and GTBs.  By far the best are the Sylvania GTs from early 50s, two hole or three. Bass, mids, treble extension and clarity.  Next would be the Tung Sol GTAWs, followed by Sylvania and Tung Sol GTB FAA issues. The Tung Sols are a little more gritty, the Sylvania’s a touch warmer  Sleepers are the Hytron GTs from 1954, a superb linear tube with great tonality. 
 

Rectifierers do make a difference due to differences in voltage drop and how the amp (and rest of tubes) react to various DC voltages.  I’m fond of the Svetlana 5U4C black plate (over the gray plate), followed by the RCA smooth black plate.  Also try a 5AR4, Mullard ($$) or another great option is the new issue Gold Lion.  You’ll find the speed of mids and bass tighter with the 5AR4, less rolled off high end.  

Obviously personal preference, type of music, your room, and heck, even your mood can dictate what sounds best on any given day.  Early mornings with my Inspire KT88 running St Pete Svets and Anouar Brahem through the Klipsch (no sub) vs an evening with a glass of wine (left bank all the way), Klipsch and Joss Stone or CSNY vs a stiff bourbon, Jason Aldean and the Focals blaring Night Train are all different, but equally wonderful! 

Music can stir the soul, happy listening! 

Cheers, 

Thanks for sharing your experience! As you say, music can stir the soul and I feel the amp helps to do it. Now that you mentioned it, I have to listen to Anouar Brahem again. The three ECM records I own are all great, the standout for me being „The Astounding Eyes of Rita“ – what a gem and great evening listening. I find myself drawn more and more to this kind of music, which conveys a sense of relaxedness, soulfulness, experience. The style is not that important, it can be this, it can be rock music (I adore Yo La Tengo), ambient, classical or other. I guess it´s a good sign this speaks to me and I don´t need cathartic relief as often as I used to. But a well recorded wall of sound is also no problem for the R800i.

This tube rolling sure is a black hole thing. I´m far from having that many tubes and I´m very happy with the tubes I own but I keep my eyes and ears open to what people say sounds nice and every now and then get something new (or new old).

For now I´m really happy with the Teles but some local audioguy came across a box of unused RFT ECC83s, I´m curious how they perform. And there´s still Brimar, Valvo and Mullard to check out. But I´m not in a hurry with that.

I did try the Mullard 12AX7 (CV4024) but I didn´t find it to be very engaging so I´m not following that route for now. (I always have to say „for now“ when it comes to these things, I know myself...)

In the 6SN7 slot I´ve lately been using Sylvania VT-231s and wow, they are really good. They are military GTs (I think) and are supposed to sound a lot like the regular GTs or the well-regarded GTAs. So, yes, I agree, they´re really, really good. Also there´s a variety of Fotons with a squareish getter that extends in a right angle that is supposed to be a tad better than the regular ones. I own these and tried them, they sound nice, but I have to find the time to do another direct comparison. With the prices for NOS these days the Fotons are a high quality bargain and the right angle-getter ones also don´t cost a fortune (I paid about 30€ for a pair).

The Svetlana 5U4Cs with black paltes have become a kind of sensation and I´m also very happy with the ones I own. They just don´t seem to last very long, I read about quite a few giving up after just a few hundred hours. One question: Does yours light up a bit when you start up the amp? I read contradictory things about that: Some say it´s a sign they are on their way out and you should replace it soon while others say it´s part of the show. My current one does does show something like a tiny blue flame for a brief moment, but it´s done this almost from the beginning and it´s running fine. Maybe I´m playing with fire, who knows.

All the best!