By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. For obvious reasons, nobody here can tell you that much less predict what will sound better (than the A50) to you in your room with your speakers. Of course it isn’t the best for everyone or every situation but the Willsenton R300 sounds amazing and initially it feels as though it has an amazing build quality.

Too often audiophools make changes that make ZERO difference but think they have due to everyday occurrences like fatigue, humidity, temperature, atmospheric pressure, line voltage / noise, etc. Concerning the comparison with the Elekit TU-8900, in terms of components, especially with the Lundahl output transformers, the Elekit is delivered with more high-end components. Please forgive the note if it’s already common practice, or if you are already comfortable with pulling every and then replacing everything.Also, generally, more expensive tubes have always given better sound, especially after installing the amazing Takatsuki 300B's into the R800i and the NOS Mullard 6CA7 xf2 in the case of the R8.

It's probably a bit more of a lottery is you have a major failure but, to date, I haven't heard or read reports of terminal failures. Because I own both the R8 and the R800i, I have set up the R800i as my main amp, while the R8 (my first tube amp), is in another listening room.And with that, I guess I’m confused by the combination of basic (for a dealer) test results, limited inventory, “aggressive” (being polite) pricing, and your glowing (bad pun) recommendation. I assume the two 300b and 2 5U4G tubes are in play when it functions as a pure power amp and thus might benefit from tube rolling, but how about the 2 6SN7 and one 6SL7 tubes.

The sound is described by some as “romantic” because of this big sound that is welcoming, warm and with 3D qualities. I've used most of the caps mentioned here and have found the Duelund Cast, in my case tinned copper version relegates every other cap to a distant second place, really special cap, future plans for going into my speaker crossovers as well. They are good candidates for upgrading to better quality parts due to their solid engineered foundation.Once the unit settles in and I pair it with a more appropriate speaker, I will get a feel for areas that I might like to make some changes (caps, resistors, tubes).

I had read that on another forum but it seems that Willsenton manufactures its amps in the same factory as Cayin.It's hard not to want to just move up the range to the R800i or the Line Magnetic equivalent, but there seems to be a lot of love for the R8 and it is a lot cheaper. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Purely a gut feeling on my behalf but I think that based on owner feedback, Willsenton is a very solid choice.