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

Have already contacted China HiFi, here’s their response, “ Vacuum tube power amplifier and transistor power amplifier are different.  It's normal thatr hear the huming within 1-1.5m.”   So…I believe it is a function of quality of parts, particularly the transformers, and implementation, i.e., the build.  I’ve read the transformers are potted so not viable to upgrade with a mod.  

I have about 700 hours on my 300i, and it’s gotten slightly worse with time on the amp.  It’s much more noticeable with the 99 dB Klipsch Forte’s than the 92 dB Focal’s.  I think it would be unacceptable with LaScalas.  Yes, we’re beginning to migrate from really good mid-fi to more resolving, and expensive hi-fi!  That being said, I’m happy with the Willsenton with its noise floor vs price.  A high end build with much better parts would likely run $10k-$20k, depending on manufacturer.  It comes down to system synergy, the 300i has enough headroom to push 85-90 dB speakers with ease, that would be one solution.  Also with lower gain 12AT7s, I’ve found the hum isn’t noticeable at my seating position even between tracks.  Roll in a noisy high gain 12AX7 and the hum returns.  

As much as I hate to admit, Klipsch Heritage series may not be the best match for the Willsenton 300i.  My Inspire KT88 is a match with the Klipsch , dead silent! Problem is Dennis only builds a dozen or less amps a year. At the moment he has a 300b SET on ebay for $4,250, it won’t last long, maybe 48 hours. 

Anyway, glad I bought the Willsenton, great soundstage, deep bass, warm mids and crystal clear treble with the right pre stage tubes.  Sitting here right now listening with low level volume, a touch of boost at certain frequencies with a Klark Teknik DN360 studio equalizer and loving the mellow yet articulate sound emanating from the Focals.  

Cheers
 

 

I run Klipsch Heritage Cornwall IVs with the 800i 805 and it's near dead silent. Plus, if it were a transformer hum, the efficiency of your speakers may not matter--it would put that noise into the room without the speakers. 

Since you are running super efficient speakers, you could try going down from the 12ax7 to a 12au7 (that's the lowest gain in that 12 volt tube variety).

New to the thread but not the Willsenton 800i.  My amplifier creates no noticeable hum at what I consider normal listening volumes. My normal listening volume? Loud enough that you could, but wouldn't want to have a conversation. It would require some yelling.

I've rolled a few tubes in mine but I do want to say that this amplifier from the factory has a pretty good tube set in it. I think most would be 100% happy with how it sounds doing absolutely nothing to it. I also want to say that I purchased mine through China HiFi. Living in Boston, MA in the United States, DHL delivered the amplifier in 3 days after it was shipped!!! It took China HiFi 2 days to get it out the door. Outstanding!! The double boxing and packing materials were very well thought out and I'm not sure what else they could of done to safely ship it. Mine made it to my door safely. 

  Back to rolling tubes.  I have bolstered the midrange, added some definition to the high end and didn't hurt the low end at all. I based my selections off of recommendations because this being my first tube amp I do not come from a place of experience. The 12AX7 is now a Telefunken ECC83 EK, I changed the 274B but never noticed any audible difference with the tube I tried. The 805A I installed a set of Linlai Gold Elite E-805 and the 300B, I tried both a WE300B by Psvane and Genelex Gold Lion match set. I settled with the Genelex tube because the additional $450 for the WE300Bs weren't worth the extra $$$. Though they both sounded differently I liked them both differently. And last but not least I installed a set of Shuguang Cv-181 Black Treasures in the 6SN7 spots. This may be the biggest improvement of anything.

  Listening to voice forward recordings like Diana Krall's, When I look into your eyes, You feel her breath on the microphone. The holographic staging of the instruments is so defined. The realism of the piano as it plays from left to right across the room and cymbals that feel like you could reach out and mute them. It's very impressive. But them to spin Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower, listening to Eye of the Eagle and Bridge of Sighs, it just blows me away how well it handles the 70s style rock guitar and Robin's almost horse voice then settles down to the heavy bass riff to end  Eye of the eagle. The beginning of Bridge of sighs showing off it's holographic strengths ringing around you. Again, strong baselines, great rock guitar riffs and Robin's voice just showcased as not all amplifiers can. The songs never sounding muddy or straining. Somehow throwing all that music at you but not being tiring. Displaying details out of the albums I didn't hear before. 

 And all this through a set of 87db KEF R3 Meta and an SVS Micro 3000 sub. It's a fantastic tube amp!

My friend let me borrow the r800i. I know you'll think im weird but I actually like it even better when I run my bottlehead moreplay into it (and NOT through the pre in). I know its like 2x pre amping but it just adds this tubeyness and richness which I really like. Maybe I need to roll the tubes not sure, currently have GE preamp tubes in it.

@richl35 

Actually, it was Jimmy Dewar singing on the Bridge of Sighs disc, including Day of the Eagle.