Willsenton R8 KT88/EL34 x4 Tube Amplifier Integrated AMP Power Amplifier Headphone Replaceable Basic Meter (Silver)

So let me start out by saying that this purchase was years in the making. I had seen several tube amplifiers that could use both EL34 and KT88 tubes and one in particular that also had triode and ultralinear operating modes. My end goal was to replace several tube amplifiers including my ancient yet beloved Dynaco Stereo 70 (ST70). It should be noted that several years ago I purchased a Yaqin MC-100 amplifier but my ST70 was simply better sounding so I sold it and started my search anew. For better or worse, I'm not a wealthy audiophile but I am a very good technician so I've been able to buy most of my audio equipment broken for pennies on the dollar and then over months or years, repair it as I acquire parts. This time however, I wanted something new so this was like buying a new major appliance since it cost the same as my washer and dryer. That notwithstanding, let me tell you about this amp. When the Willsenton R8 (R8) arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was triple boxed. Given the weight of this amp is over 70 pounds it needed to be well protected for shipping and it's clear from the weight this is not cheap amp. My ST70 is light as a feather in comparison. One thing I found interesting is that it shipped with the tubes already installed but there was sufficient styrofoam and tape to keep the tubes in place. Nothing was broken and my poor body survived lifting it onto the audio stand (I still got it!). On the features front, the amp comes with a high quality machined aluminum remote. The remote has no power button but does have an oddly large mute button (huh?). The amplifier itself does not have a VU meter but features a large easy to use bias meter. Keeping with the quality theme, the power and volume buttons are machined aluminum with LED illumination (red for power and green for volume) as are the selector and TR/UL buttons. A tube cage is included and the vacuum tubes are Willsenton branded so clearly a lot of care was taken to continue the quality theme. Even without having heard a single note from this amplifier, I knew I had a beautiful piece of audio jewelry for my listening room. My first impression of the amplifier was positive when I turned it on and heard nothing after hearing the startup relay click on. No hiss, no hum, just silence. The amplifier defaults to triode mode when powered on and my first listen was Introit from Faure Requiem (Naxos). Playing through my Infinity Primus 363 towers, the opening pipe organ chord filled the room with power and authority rivaling some of the best tube amps I've heard and certainly better than any I've owned. About three weeks in, I had used the amplifier enough for the tubes to settle in and now there is a greater smoothness to the sound (it was never harsh) and I can easily hear a stark contrast between triode and ultralinear modes. It should be noted that I had a Yaqin MC-100 amp and the difference in the modes was barely audible. In comparison to my ST70, the R8 is a very different sound which is to be expected since they use both different types and brands of tubes and the ST70 uses tube rectification while the R8's rectifier is solid state. I cannot say that one is better than the other as I enjoy them equally. In conclusion, I must say that the Willsenton R8 is a fine amplifier. While it is by no means inexpensive, it is certainly a value leader as it is less than half the price of competitive "brand name" equipment while yielding uncompromising build and sound quality. While sound quality can certainly be improved (or diminished) by changing vacuum tubes, the buyer of the R8 can rest assured that the branded tubes that come with the unit are by no means a cheap add-on. I'm pleased to say that the engineering and care that went into the build and parts selection of this amplifier are worthy of the best brand names. Thanks for reading!

This is my second tube amp and I am highly impressed. I did a lot of research on it before hand and knew about the issues, but this is the revised version as per Skunkie Designs recommendations. It is built like a tank but in a very classy and refined way. When turned on it defaults to Triode mode which puts out less power than the Ultra Linear mode. Both ways sound fine but I leave it in Triode since my Zu Audio DW6 speakers are very efficient. When received the power tubes bias checked just slightly to the right which was very easy to adjust with the included little screw driver. When first turned on I was rather shocked as it sounded very dull and dead, nothing like my Cayin 10 wpc tube amp. But running it with streaming music for about three hours was like flipping a switch and the audio quality really blossomed. I am very pleased with the sound of the stock KT88 tubes, but I have purchased a matched quad of Mullard EL34 tubes to try some time in the future. The volume control is silky smooth, and works very well with the included remote control. The remote is all metal and rather heavy, with edges that are a bit sharp, so be careful not to drop it on anything. It controls volume, mute, source selection and tube mode. The battery access is a pain as you have to remove six small screws to remove the back plate. This amp can be ordered straight from China, but I preferred to pay the extra cost and have the excellent backing of Amazon in case of a problem. Even at that this thing is a real bargain in my mind, and I have no regrets so far. As I am typing this I am enjoying it streaming in the background, and now I think I will spin a few LPs to get an even better musical experience. Highly recommended.

This is my first tube amp, and it sounds so much better than most of my solid state amps. What I mean by that is it sounds more real, the soundstage is better, it is more airy, more detail, especially in ultra liner mode. Most of my solid state amps, including some made in the USA amps, just sound less real, dead in comparison. The 43 watts also gets very loud with my 86db sensitive speakers. 43 watts of tube amp is like a much higher wattage solid state amp. Tube amps have output transformers that block dc , so when the amp clips it clips softly as the output transformer prevents dc from being sent to the speakers, where as a solid state amp when it clips puts full dc rail voltage on the speaker, and boom, there goes your tweeter. My point, don’t listen to the hifi salesman that say…ohh you need 200 watts of headroom for those speakers. That might be true for solid state as if you clip, you blow speakers, but not for tube gear, at least once you get up to these power levels. My amp puts out a solid 43 watts before it starts to clip, it puts out a little more power at the THD levels they speciy. It is an amp the performs as advertised. I say most, as this sounds as good,as a $3500 solid state setup I have. They made some improvements recently and this is a good buy. It is tube gear so you may still want to upgrade tubes or buy a spare set in case something happens, you can troubleshoot., but if you have a problem, contact the factory first, they are eager to help. The input selector will make a little pop in the speakers when changing inputs, it will make a little pop, when switching between ultra linear and triode mode, it will make a little pop when turning off. But it is not substantial enough to damage anything, just a little annoying. Tube gear is just going to be like this, it is nearly 100 year old tech, but sounds great. Just beware, tubes do not last forever, but they should last 1000 to 2000 hours before they start to degrade and decent tubes these days cost at minimum $400 these days for a whole set. Tube amps are a bit different that way. The spec on Amazon when I bought mine said it was for 115 volts +/- 5%. That is roughly 109 to 121 volts. If the voltage at your house is outside of that range, like mine is, you probably should find a variant with a transformer better matched to your normal household voltage, but most of the US should be well serviced by this unit. The manufacturer does make them with 110v +/- 5% and 120v +/-% versions. Tube gear is more sensitive to input voltage variation and this really can not be helped. It is just inherent to tube gear, all tube gear. This is a great sounding, good looking, solidly built unit. Is it as good as competing amps costing two to three time as much? Probably not, but I suspect it sounds just as good. It does sound great. I bought this because I always heard of the tube sound, and at this price it is finally seemed within reach. If that sounds like you, then go ahead and buy this thing, it sounds great.

I don't write reviews but this is an exception because this amplifier is exceptional. It definitely needs the break in period. The manufacturer recommends 100 hrs. I'm approaching that now and I can say that the amp is coming alive! I've been skeptical about audio products that claim a break in period. This amplifier did not overwhelm me upon initial listening. But oh yeah, it's morphing into sonic bliss. I'm in my 50s and still own The ADCOM GFA-555 that my dad bought me for my birthday in 1984. I love that amplifier. I've tried other amps over the years but still use the ADCOM as my main. The other amps got reassigned to center and rear channels for Home Theater. I've been swapping speakers in and out on the Willsenton and it sounds great with all of them so far. Everything from low efficiency bookshelves to high efficiency Klipsch's. It takes their strengths and makes them better. I haven't tried my Magnepan MMG's yet. I should have done so before writing this review but I am listening now and couldn't wait to write this. The Maggie's are hard to drive with an impedance that drops to 2 ohms. The Willsenton has 2 sets of output taps and I'm hoping they are a good match. I read a lot of Audio Reviews and sometimes feel like the reviewers get a bit Audio snobbish with their flowery language. You know, "this amp has a relaxed presentation with excellent pace, rhythm and texture reminiscent of the BBC sound of the 60s blah, blah" Well now I'm the snobby reviewer. This amp is holographic! My high efficiency speakers aren't normally the best at imaging but holy cow! They image pretty damn great with this amp. Instruments are very distinct and separate in the music in a way I've never experienced before. When I was young my dad would take me to HIFI stores. His budget was NAD, ADCOM etc. but I could see him itching to own products like Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, Mark Levinson etc. I can say without hesitation that this Willsenton amplifier reminds me of those 80s iconic high-end products that my dad dreamed about. I'm using the Stock KT-88 tubes in both Triode and Ultra-linear mode. Both are fantastic with the main difference being that it drives woofers with more authority in Ultra-linear mode. But I can hear the benefits of Triode mode with small ensemble acoustic instruments and vocals. I'm officially an Audio Snob. And finally I can afford to be one. Thank you to my father for giving me the opportunity to dream.

Was going great for about 1 week, now it makes popping noises in my left speaker. Sounds like an electrical short, but I am no electrical engineer. I unplugged all components from the amp, except the speakers to narrow it down, and it is definitely coming through the amp. Will most likely return the item. Also, Amazon left this on my porch on its side when the package clearly had "this side up" on it.

I have been living with this beauty for months now and I think I can tell you it's a dream come true. I am a musician and have always loved the warmth and color of tube sounding amplifiers. I could never afford a tube amplifier then, Macintosh and Prima Luna were simply out of the question and way over my budget. I have owned from Yamaha to Marantz solid state amplifiers, always liked them but every time I cranked up the volume it would sound annoying and kind of distorted in a bad way, fatigue would come fast when listening to it for long hours... I knew something was wrong, well, it was the solid state sound, although more precise and clinical, the SS sound always sounded artificial and flat, even with EQ. After receiving my Wilsenton Amplifier, first thing I did was hook it up with my Music Hall 7.3 turntable, Vincent Tube Pre Amp and Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus 805 speakers. The results even without the breaking period was nothing short of extraordinary, I have heard other tube amplifiers in control rooms and the Wilsenton is on par with any of the big league guys, don't ask me how they did it, but they did it. I got so excited about tube amplification that I went ahead and bought all new Vacuum tubes for it, I went for the best and spent 400 dollars more in state of the art Gold Lion KT88 and RCA VT-229 / 6SL7GT - Platinum Grade tubes. After replacing the existing tubes, It blew me off the curb and I can say now that I feel like I am listening to a 100K equipment on a 6K set up. Don't get me wrong, the tubes that came with this amp are very good, but once you replace them with state of the art tubes, the sound opens up even more, the clarity comes forward and the neutrality of the sound jumps ahead in a way it feels more colorful than any SS amp with EQ. Adjusting BIAS was a breeze, just get the screw driver that comes with it and adjust the four main KT88 tubes. The remote feels solid and sturdy and it's cool how it makes the volume knob turns up and down. The sound image and presence are amazing, it's like the singer is on your living room. You don't get tired of it and the only down side is that you simply can't stop listening to all your albums again and again and again as If it were the very first time. I'm hooked and addicted, I admit it and I can't recommend this amplifier enough. A 10 out of 10.

I had high hopes for this integrated amp based on all the rave product reviews on the internet. There is no doubt that the build quality and fit/finish of this amp is excellent. It also sounds musical. But in my case, I received a defective unit. The left channel sounded considerably louder than the right channel. I tried swapping power tubes and signal tubes from the left to right channel and right to left channel if the issue followed the tubes, but the issue remained. I also swapped signal and speaker cables to see if it was an issue with the cables, but it was not the case. Given the fact that this is a China product and I would have to ship back for service, I just did not want the additional hassle. So I shipped back to Amazon for a full refund.

Build quality is a delight to behold. The transformers have the capacity to transmit energy. There are many reviews of this amplifier and its sound, and I agree that this amplifier sounds great. The amplifier sounds best after warming up for a couple of hours. Triode mode is great for background music, western classical and vocal/acoustic music. Ultralinear mode is good for everything. It's a great conversation piece. I get better results if I connect my Benchmark DAC3 HGC to the input that bypasses the volume control, rather than to the other inputs that go through the preamp section. The stock tubes seems to be good but I like the potential to swap out with Red Lion KT88s when these wear out. I checked the bias on the tubes after the amp came on as soon as I got it. They are very close to the sweet spot. Then I adjusted them after about an hour of operation. After a few days I checked them and they stay that way, which is excellent. I adjusted bias in Triode mode to be exactly at the center of the bias meter scale. Switching to the Ultralinear mode, the readings are off by an mm or so, but still within the center segment of the meter. All four tubes show the same meter reading change when you switch from Triode to Ultralinear. So, I guess this is a result of how the circuits work. However I am planning to leave the bias settings as is, as most of my listening is done in Triode mode. Nitpicking, only complaint is that the power transformer gets quite warm to the touch, and the output transformers also get if you are using this amplifier for home theater use. Highly recommend getting this amplifier if you want to experience what tube amplification can do for you. Everything sounds more natural.