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Willsenton R8, worth buying?

Kruds

Kruds

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I've been looking at the R8 now for about a month or so. I am still trying to find some information about the company behind this brand. The best I could find was a PTO document referencing Guangzhou Meisheng Audio Equipment Co., Ltd.. Does anyone have any other background information?
 
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Kruds said:
I've been looking at the R8 now for about a month or so. I am still trying to find some information about the company behind this brand. The best I could find was a PTO document referencing Guangzhou Meisheng Audio Equipment Co., Ltd.. Does anyone have any other background information?
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Welcome to AK.

Do a search. There are quite a few posts about these amps.
 
Kruds said:
I've been looking at the R8 now for about a month or so. I am still trying to find some information about the company behind this brand. The best I could find was a PTO document referencing Guangzhou Meisheng Audio Equipment Co., Ltd.. Does anyone have any other background information?
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I really like it's available tube compliment.
 
FlaCharlie said:
Welcome to AK.

Do a search. There are quite a few posts about these amps.
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Yes, I’ve seen the many reviews, but who really is behind this brand? Are they another Spark (Cayin,PrimaLuna) or Line Magnetic (Muzishare) derivative? Even the PTO document is less than a year old and references what appears to be an office building.
 
Yes I have, thank you. Everything I read online, see in their tear-downs and on YouTube looks very favorable.

I am definitely looking for something that can use a variety of tubes, auto-bias or easily biased (ie built-in meter), triode and ultralinear selectable, P2P wiring, quality transformers (either torroidal or bifilar), misc other audio caps, pots etc. I’ve been evaluating R8, Muzishare X7, Cayin, PrimaLuna, Line Magnetic and even some used Cary. Most all of these I can see their pedigree (except the R8), hence my post. Right now my budget is $2K +/-$500.

Obviously there’s a lot to like about the R8.
 
I've had one for about a year and I'm very impressed - but then it is my first tube amplifier. When I compared the competing models at China-HiFi, it had the features I required and it had one of the best exterior designs. What really sealed the deal was that it weighed a bit more that the comparable Line Magnetic and Muzicshare, etc. I also preferred the big 6SL7/6SN7 signal tubes in the front end over the miniature 12AX7/ 12AU7 tubes which are more prone to microphonics. I've had no problems with the amp so far.

The weakest part is the front end. I recently bought an expensive new Luxman tube pre-amp to use the "pre-amp in" input and it sounded even better - more solid and full and quieter. It better at 4X the price! But then, it has a wooden cabinet so I was seduced by a pretty face.

I ordered the KT88 model and have since rolled in KT90s and EH6CA7s. I found I like the KT90s in triode mode better that either mode for the OEM KT88s. The EH6CA7s sound even better except that the bass is sloppy on the Forte IIIs in both triode and UL. There might be confounding changes responsible - I'm still playing with the 6CA7s.

I also replaced the OEM front end 6SL7s with Gold Pin Tung-Sol 6SL7 and also noticed a slight improvement but I'm not sure they were worth the $100/pair plus shipping.

I've got a pair of new Tung-Sol 6SN7s for the drivers coming along with a quad of Tung-Sol EL34Bs. Down the line I intend to get a quad of KT77s and a quad of Gold Lion KT88s to try. 6550s also work but they are at the bottom of my testing priorities.

So yes, great piece of gear for the money but the differences between the Line Magnetic and Muzicshare look to be minor.

Luxman stack right.jpg
 
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Kruds said:
Yes I have, thank you. Everything I read online, see in their tear-downs and on YouTube looks very favorable.

I am definitely looking for something that can use a variety of tubes, auto-bias or easily biased (ie built-in meter), triode and ultralinear selectable, P2P wiring, quality transformers (either torroidal or bifilar), misc other audio caps, pots etc. I’ve been evaluating R8, Muzishare X7, Cayin, PrimaLuna, Line Magnetic and even some used Cary. Most all of these I can see their pedigree (except the R8), hence my post. Right now my budget is $2K +/-$500.

Obviously there’s a lot to like about the R8.
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No experience with R8. Another brand/ model you might consider is Rogue Cronus Magnum versions 1 thru current 3 @ $3k. I have version 1 that I bought used. Uses KT120 quad. But I believe can be biased for a couple smaller power tubes if desired. They aren't point to point wired, but fits some of your requirements list. At 100 wpc can drive difficult loads. Built in Pennsylvania. Version 1 or 2 used would be in your budget. Oh and sounds nice.
 
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Line Magnetic 508IA. 48wpc. Single ended, so no bias worries. Pretty. Heavy. Comes with a remote. Right around the edge of your budget.
 
Old Guy8 said:
No experience with R8. Another brand/ model you might consider is Rogue Cronus Magnum versions 1 thru current 3 @ $3k. I have version 1 that I bought used. Uses KT120 quad. But I believe can be biased for a couple smaller power tubes if desired. They aren't point to point wired, but fits some of your requirements list. At 100 wpc can drive difficult loads. Built in Pennsylvania. Version 1 or 2 used would be in your budget. Oh and sounds nice.
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Thanks I hadn't looked into the Rogue(s). They seem to have some nice features. I am glad to see they went with the heavier copper traces. Their price point looks competitive with some of their Chinese counterparts. However I still plan on going (mostly) P2P for this amp.
 
One spec I paid close attention to and weighed heavily was signal to noise ratio. Not that I was totally convinced but the Willsenton seemed 1 dB better on paper by my memory.

An advantage for the Cayin was the nice blue paint job but it was more expensive.

In use, a disadvantage of the Willsenton is the bias meter on the front panel. You have to bend over to see it when making bias adjustments where if the meter was on the top plate, you could see your screwdriver and the meter at the same time. For a clumsy guy like me, it took some getting used to. The good news it is a rarely performed chore.
 
Nixxuz said:
Line Magnetic 508IA. 48wpc. Single ended, so no bias worries. Pretty. Heavy. Comes with a remote. Right around the edge of your budget.
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That amp does look very juicy but China-HiFi rates the SNR at 87 dB. At 40 kg net weight and 270 mm tall, I'll have to make sure the equipment rack I'm designing has room and strength for a possible upgrade path! Plus the "pre-amp in" connection can be set-and-left for use by my pre-amplifier. I spy a NFB switch in the photos too but no discussion in the sales posting. Looks like they only offer it now at 220-240 VAC though - that's fine for me but American buyers will need a step-transformer.
 
FauxHall said:
That amp does look very juicy but China-HiFi rates the SNR at 87 dB. At 40 kg net weight and 270 mm tall, I'll have to make sure the equipment rack I'm designing has room and strength for a possible upgrade path! Plus the "pre-amp in" connection can be set-and-left for use by my pre-amplifier. I spy a NFB switch in the photos too but no discussion in the sales posting. Looks like they only offer it now at 220-240 VAC though - that's fine for me but American buyers will need a step-transformer.
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The Jadis Orchestra Black, and amp that sells for $4000 originally, only gets to around 85dB SNR. The Dynaco ST70 II comes in even lower. It's obviously your ears and your money, but I don't know that SNR would be a measurement I'd lean on too heavily when it comes to tube amps.
According to a poster over on the Steve Hoffman forums, that switch you see is indeed a NFB switch, and allows for 4 different levels.
What appear to be NINETY ONE PAGES?!? of forum responses about it? I also see when the OP of that thread acquired his, it was over 2X the price I'm seeing it for on Chinese sites...
New Line Magnetic 508ia Integrated Amp | Steve Hoffman Music Forums
Also: I stand corrected. the LM508IA indeed has bias adjustments on a newer SE amp.
 
SNRs can be stated in various ways - "weighted" - so I don't put too much weight on specs. But with my very sensitive Klipsch Forte's I hate hearing static out the tweeters so I check that spec closely and give it a lot of "weight."

I'll read that forum thread - thanks.
 
I’m looking at getting the R8 now and I’m wondering how the amp would do driving a set of Thiel 2 2?

Is anyone using the R8 to drive a sub 8 ohm impedance, less sensitive speaker?

What speakers are you using with this amp?

Thanks,
Dwane
 
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