So I bought the Willsenton R-800i
After I bought the Klipsch Cornwall IVs recently it became apparent quite quickly that to make it really shine it needs a tube amp to drive it. (For me at least.) After doing some (=endless) research, considering the options (budget, shops nearby carrying models I´m interested in, etc.) and also asking around on this very forum I decided to go for the Willsenton R-800i. None of my friends here shares my excitement for audio stuff or even has a comparable system, so what´s now in my living room is the one tube amp I know. And I´m delighted. Together with the speakers it gives the music the presence and glow that I so desired.
Of course I can tell that there´s more potential in this amp and I already exchanged some of the stock tubes. There are more on the way and I can´t wait to test them. For now my financial means are a bit limited so I´m not ordering Western Electric and Takatsuki 300Bs just for the sake of comparing them. In fact I´m waiting with those a bit and go for the others first.
Searching online I find a lot of information on English language forums. Somehow tube rolling is not discussed as much on the German forums I checked though – and out of curiosity (and because they were pretty cheap) I went for both West- and East-German ECC83s and a fairly random mix of other tubes from the US and the Soviet Union. I´m waiting for them to arrive and not being able to read about some of them it raises my curiosity how they will sound. Maybe crappy, maybe not so bad, maybe even very good. I´ll see. Tube rolling will take some time and I don´t mind. The amp is there to stay for quite a while.
There´s an exhaustive thread on the Willsenton amps and fitting tubes here but since I found people´s comments on this forum so helpful I´m looking forward to hear from you. I´m open for tube recommendations and would like to hear anyone´s experience with the Willsenton R-800i. Or maybe someone has questions?
As for the tubes:
805 – stock replaced for Cossor
300B – stock
6SN7 – stock replaced for Sylvania GTBs, waiting for Fonon NOS (Soviet, 1979, a bargain for 10€)
12AX7 – stock replaced with current Mullard model, waiting for West German ones from AEG and Telefunken, East German ones from RSD and Funkwerk Erfurt (both used) and also Sylvania JAN 5751 NOS (a military model)
5U4G – stock, waiting for RCA NOS black plate and Svetlana NOS „Coke Bottle“
@chmaiwald , Where are you biasing those big kid 805s? The manual is vague with nebulous statements about biasing. I'm no stranger to hifi gear coming from China so this is not my first go around with translating Mandarin (likely) to English. Do you you have your 805s running at 120 ma? It scares me to crank them that high. Currently, I'm at 90 and the sound is big and fat with enough definition to sound live. Granted my speakers resolve well to sound like live music but not state of the art. |
@jbhiller Good to hear that the amp arrived and is leaving a good first impression. As I said before, I have nothing much to compare it with and it´s good to hear already that the sound it produces is nice right from the start. Also: You also own Cornwall IVs, so that´s even better for me when you talk about all the sound details. Some of the tubes it comes with are really good. I have to roll back so to speak to really compare, I started exchanging very early. But from what I hear the JJ in the 12AX7 slot is really good, and from my own experience I can say that russian produced NOS 6SN7s can produce sound equally pleasing to the Sylvania GTBs I also own. But the quality varies and I hope yours came with a good pair. Both pairs of 300B and 805 should PSVane Hifi, so not bad either. The sloppily translated manual says: „805 adjust bias data refers to: 120mA“, I took it as a recommendation to have the 805s running at 120mA. It´s not been a problem to turn the screw to get them there. Apart from that there are also no other problems or signs that tell me I shouldn´t.
ps: Only yesterday I learned (= read online) that JJ is using the old machinery used for producing Telefunken ECC83s. So that´s a good sign. |
Getting familiar with the sound and character of the new amplifier and exercising patience, agree. Once you have established a good feel for your amplifier then you can decide what it is you want to sonically modify or tune via capacitors and tubes. At this initial stage you already like what you are hearing. And based on your description this is a solid and well-built amplifier, with a good foundation for future upgrades. You’ll be able to transition from good sound to very good/excellent sound with wise capacitor and tube changes. You’re in a good place.😊 Charles |
