So I bought the Willsenton R-800i

@jbhiller 

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.  

A very plausible explanation.

Charles 

@jbhiller  I may ask the local repair guy, but I´m facing two obstacles there: First one is that I wouldn´t know exactly what I´m talking about in the first place. I kind of get a sense what this missing resistor is about but could I explain it? Not really. Second one is that I´m in Poland and while I do have a certain grasp of the language that lets me get through day-to-day interactions I´m pretty sure it won´t be sufficient talking to an expert. It´s like a double foreign language situation.

Let´s see how I get along with that person. If he´s into the gear we may go in-depth with me pretending to know what I´m talking about. Maybe even internal upgrades may be possible with him. Or I see that it´ll be best to focus on the problem at hand and just get the amp working again.

Either way, wish me luck not breaking my back lifting it.

The amp is back and working well. To be honest, I didn´t really get what was wrong with it – the language barrier. It seems that there was something with the electrical wiring. Which didn´t even affect the tube: I asumed it was broken since there was something rattling in it, but all is fine and the rattling a production flaw that I can live with.

The first record I put on now was „The Isaac Hayes Movement“ and even with the stock tubes still in place it was such a dramatic difference to the Rotel I used for the last few days. So smooth!

@chmaiwald 

The first record I put on now was „The Isaac Hayes Movement“ and even with the stock tubes still in place it was such a dramatic difference to the Rotel I used for the last few days. So smooth

I have no doubt that the contrast between these two amplifiers is significant.

I am glad you were able to get the problem corrected.

Charles 

And now: Subwoofers.

I have received two subs to thouroughly test at home. SVS PB-1000 Pro and Rel T/7x. Both add exactly the depth and oomph that I was missing. As some may know I´m running the R-800i (805) with Klipsch Cornwalls IV, which are really good speakers but in spite of their size lack a bit in the bottom end. For a while I´ve been using an equalizer that helped to push some lower frequencies. To me the sound improved tremendously with it, the stage getting so much more spacious. But below 40Hz there really isn´t much happening with the Cornwalls. This is where the subs come in: To make a long story short, I guess I won´t need the equalizer anymore. It not only does what the EQ did before, it also adds an extra level of depth that just wasn´t there before. Sub bass, organ sounds etc greatly benefit from it. The same with voices: I put on last year´s record from Bastarda & Sutari (kind of a modern interpretation of eastern european folk music) and wow, did the voices in the opener „Ty pójdziesz górą“ glow and get that presence that make you believe you´re in the same room. Stunning, really.
Out of the box the Rel left a better impression: Better built quality, better design, nice and practical details like a perfectly prepared connection cable justify the higher price. It played also smoother, more gentlemanly and more musically than the SVS. I found that with the plenty adjustments to the sound the SVS lets you make you can get very close to that. All in all it´s a bit more muscular but I´m not against that. What really bugged me about the Rel was the design with the company logo printed and etched all over it, three times on the front alone. Together with the piano varnish it made it even appear a bit tacky. So the SVS stays. The R-800i, the Cornwalls and the PB-1000 Pro are great partners I think.
I can´t wait to listen to some music with the added bass extension.