Huge Bang for the Buck! Willsenton R8 tube Integrated amp review. 

These are the type of products i want to buy from China. Well made, low tech, and from passionate small companies.

I bought one and came in yesterday,and is now sounding already very good.The sound is still improving.It is a top quality tube amp.

Your delivery is like that of a popular professor: clear, concise, and entertaining, for a subject that could be boring.

Thanks Thomas! I have been patiently waiting for your impression of the R8. I have been enjoying my R8 for four months now. It’s my first tube amplifier. I have conditioned my listening room to moderate the bass somewhat. All in all I like the fat, warm sound. Lately I have been playing live recordings (Latin, rock, blues, soul) cd and vinyl and listening to classical and jazz fm radio. Hearing the room the performance took place in is a critical experience I am seeking. The R8 delivers. It has been fun tuning in the speaker placement as the 3D effect is good. I plan to keep it stock for at least a year before playing around with tube swapping. The R8 is an outstanding value! I no longer seek the latest and greatest gear. Value and performance are now my gold standard.

I love how you don’t wast our time and you start the video right away no ps.

My apologies for deleting comments where people expressed their political views. This is not a channel for that. We are here as passionate audiophiles. Non affiliated link : www.china-hifi-audio.com/en The preamp I used that changed the sound was Burmester and Moon P5.3. The Freya did not change the sound a lot. You can try with you DAC to see if there is a difference but an external preamp should make more of a difference. Please share your experience of your R8.

This amplifier is just perfect, the sound is absolutely fantastic, I hope that willsenton will bring the same thing out with 2 huge vu meters. Than this product would be my amp forever.

Thomas just saw your Willsenton R8 . You have Willsenton Kt88 and Psvane 6sn8 and 6sl7 . I changed the KT88 to Shuguang 50th Anniversary EL34. The 6sn8 to Shuguang CV181z and the 6sl7 to Tung-sol 6sl7GT. The upgrade is amazing . You must tried this combo the dynamics are thru the roof the clarity superb and the voice spot on the middle. I used to have Sonus Faber Venere 3.0 and decided to sell them. I found a pair of Boston Acoustics VR3 and WOW. I hope you can experience this sound. I have always been a tube man. Conrad Premier 12, Audio Research Classic 150. Cary Audio, Convergent technologies, Jadis Defy 7 and Pre (my favorite) but this amp and money get out of town!!!

There’s always the most professional reviews on the Internet

Great review as always Thomas. But in this video it was your sweater that really Moooooooooooooved me.

Thanks for the great revues, I ordered a Willsenton R8 from China Hi Fi in mid November and it arrived in South Africa 10 days later which is excellent service for shipping to South Africa. I had bought this on the recommendation of The next best thing, Jay, as your review had not yet aired. I am very happy with my purchase and yes I prefer the ultra linear mode. I have the stock KT88 and 6SN7 and 6SL7 tubes. The KT88 are great but I replaced the 6SN7 with NOS Raytheon 6SN7GTB and the 6SL7 with NOS SYLVANIA 6SL7WGTB. This has brought the amp to life and makes it very easy and plesent to listen to.

I really appreciate your reviews. You speak like a real enthusiast, and not like someone in the marketing department.

IN JUST OVER ONE MONTH - I WILL BE (80 YEAR OLD) - THE SIGHT OF AN AUDIO AMPLIFIERS BUILD WITH (KT88 AND EL34 ) - ALMOST GAVE ME A / HEART ATTACK / - IN MY EARLY YEARS AS A (AUDIO TECHNICIAN) - I BUILT AND REPAIRED VERY MANY AMPLIFIERS WITH THESE OUTPUT VALVES AND ALSO (*807) - WITH THE ANODE ON TOP - WITH (GZ34) REGULATOR AND (6N7) AND PHILLIPS EL86 - ETC ETC - I ALSO MADE THE METAL CASE TO HOUSE THE TUBES - REPAIRED / REWIND BLOWN SPEAKERS - DESIGNED SUITABLE POWER SUPPLIES - MADE SPEAK ENCLOSURES - THESE VIDEOS ARE UNBELIEVABLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE SOME MUCH OF MY EARLY YEARS IN THE AUDIO BUSINESS - I EVEN CAN REMEMBER TE LAST DISASTER - WHEN I TRIED TO REPAIR A 300 WATT AMPLIFIER AND MY UPPER ARM TOUCHED THE ANODE ON TOP OF TWO (807'S) - THE BURNS LASTED MONTHS - THIS WAS IN 1961 I HAVE NOT SEEN THESE BEAUTIES FOR OVER (50 YEARS) - AND WILL BE OBLIDGED TO DOWNLOAD AND / KEEP THESE EXCELLENT VIDEOS / I MOST CERTAINLY WISH THAT IT COULD BE POSSIBLE TO SEE AND HEAR THESE GEMS AGAIN - THAT WOULD CERTAINLY BE A DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE

Sounds like a really fun amp, I’ll get into tubes later on, now I leave my gear on all day everyday and have little kids so it just doesn’t fit the bill. Great Review Thomas, I always feel confident knowing what to expect with gear after I hear you talk about it 🙏

I bought the Willsenton R8 because of the many positive reviews. Had to be Thomas , to put all the features into perspective. Order out of Chaos. Love the way you put things Thomas. Thank You ....

These small (but passionate) companies are showing us that the big brand names are charging consumers TOO MUCH.

Listening to this review via the Willsenton R8. Very good 😀

Hello Thomas, I’ve not watched your videos for a long time and chanced upon this one today. Video and audio quality and your review presentation has improved so much. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you!

Nice rewiew, Thomas (as always). Helped me convince myself to take the plunge into the tube world with the R8. And I've not regretted it one bit. 😁👍 At some point you teased a rewiew of the Wharfedale Evo 4.4 speakers. I run those speakers with the R8, and to my ears, that is a solid combination. Does everything pretty well, and at a reasonable price - much like you described the R8. I would love to hear your thourghts on those pieces of gear together. By the way, I ordered the R8 with stock Willsenton tubes (EL34s for power). I now run new production Tung-Sol 6SN7 and 6sl7 and a quad of Genalex Gold KT77. That to me is the sweet spot between the "pure fun" stock tubes bring and more definition in highs and lows. :-) Thank you for your interesting videos - keep posting! 👍

Great review Thomas, your ability to articulate the nuances of this unit is invaluable. I’m glad you chose not to use the phrase giant killer otherwise I would have thrown a bowl of chicken rice at my TV (although I would have to find a recipe first). I also appreciate your criteria for choosing what devices to review. Those of us on smaller budgets don’t have the resources to try new gear on a whim and this unit being an affordable standout gives us the chance to try the tube sound without feeling buyer’s remorse.

IT'S ME! I'm the guy who prefers this to a Macintosh!

Thanks to this review and to the fact that it can be used as power amp as well I bought r8. Customer service was excellent, bank transfer took only 1 day (it is cheaper to pay via bank) r8 was shipped in 1 week and it took 3 days from Honk Kong to Ljubljana. I ordered EL34 tubes and it sounds silky-smooth. Amazing product specially considering the price!

After dozens of different varieties in both the preamp and power stages, this thing really shines with Russian nos otk tubes in the preamp section and SED 6550’s in power stage. Klipsch Rp-160m speakers. Bluesound node 2i for streaming. Fluance Rt-85 turntable with Les Box Yaqin ms-23b phono preamp. Best part is the ability to roll so many types of tubes in this amp.

Just purchased this amp, and I appreciate the in depth review. This gives me some things to think about while I wait for it to arrive. I think the ultralinear mode sounds better in your demo, but you didn't mention if you were using the kt88s or the el34s. Either way, thanks for getting into some good details about using it, especially about running a DAC through the pre-amp. This amp seems like it's going to be a lot of fun.

Excellent review, Thomas. I always wonder what I'm going to learn from any reviewer who chooses to review a well-reviewed piece. Well, the times when you've been that person you have never disappointed.

Interesting. Ultraliner makes it sound like there is a time decay effect. Makes it seem like it has more depth in the sound at the end. Love how you do the comparisons. I am using their Reisong Amp and I am extremely satisfied.

Very good and balanced review with lots of insight, this channel has come a long way.

Thanks again for a great review ! Someone Knowledgable in the hifi forums confirms that the pre-in does not bypass the preamp tubes . I also noticed that the noise floor is higher using pre-in mode.

I bought one of these on a wim a few weeks back after seeing a great review by another Canadian RU-vidr (Yes him!) After I placed my order including shipping and Tubes upgrades it was a little north of £1000. I thought to myself, what have I just done? That's crazy! 2 Weeks later it arrived, air shipping is expensive as hell by the way. Anyway, I'm so far loving my purchase and don't regret it one little bit. I've got a feeling I'm going to be doing some tube rolling next year which could impact my wallet quite a bit. But in the meantime I'm just enjoying my purchase!

Very intelligent approach of your review of this amplifier ! UL-mode is only ultra-linear in a restricted excursion on the curves when driven by a signal on the grid of the tubes / those UL curves of a UL mode tube amplifier, when swinging beyond that limited range make the signal swing on these curves between penthode and a triode " sound " character !!! One can only optimize the characteristics/performance of an output stage for a given mode . A real triode amplifier will outclass any amp with switched mode operation. The same observations apply if the choice is given to switch between Class AB and Class A-mode on the same amplifier........Only one mode can be really/fully optimized BUT yes , one can prefer one of these modes when a choice is optional on an amplifier, ....... in function of the kind of music one is listening to ...voices; Quartet, jazz or rock , etc....you will prefer one or another operation mode......sometimes the speaker can decide the choice..... Hissing tube......to be explored ( tube or circuit) ............Nos tubes can change a lot especially on the first amplification stages..........One tube at the imput can make a HUGE difference, for better or for worse. I like your videos because they are close to what audiophiles can experience when listening....and are more realistic than numbers on glossy papers... Have a nice day.

I also bought from CHINA HIFI . I then sold my Primaluna mono blocks and preamp. I was just not even close. I did made some tube changes and used EL34 shuguang 50 anniversary . and CV181. highly recommended. Best Bang for the $$$$$ .

I HAVE MY R8 FOR ALMOST 1 YEAR USING THE KT88 TUBES I DO HAVE SOME MATCHING 34 TUBES BUT HAVE ON USED YET. THIS IS ON GOOD AMP. THE SOUND IS FANTASTIC.

I would very much like to see a head to head with this and the Muzishare X7. Great channel - Thank you.

I need to read/hear about this amp driving Small Maggie’s.

Great review. Nice that you introduced a decent product that a lot of people probably didn't know about and gives an adorable way to try a tube setup.

Thomas my integrated tube amp is an Audio Space AS- 3i. It main characteristic is involving boggy you along in the music. I switched EL34’s for KT- 77 and it is a dream with my Casta C Horn speakers

Great review Thomas, like always! Can you review the Willsenton 300b? im really interested in that product, but cant find any review :(

After watching this video I decided to put the KT88 tubes and switch to triode. The EL34 sound more exciting but the KT88s are more refined and image better.

So much tuning ability with NOS 6SL7 tubes. That image can be adjusted front/back, or narrow/wide very easily with some 50’s tubes that cost less than $50/tube for tested 6SL7/VT-229 tubes.

I appreciate your balanced style Thomas, great job again

You say 6SL7 control tonality, then what is the role of 6SN7 ? (since you decided to swap/upgrade them during your test)

What about the Muzishare x7? Same price point. Thats the comparison people want. Wilsenton r8 vs Muzishare x7. Inquiring minds want to know.

Those Q Acoustics look incredible in silver! I have them in black, and regret not getting those... Superb speakers!

Great review. I bought the R8. Arrived yesterday. So far, excellent. Looking forward to the review that you mentioned of the various tube options.

Thomas, thank you for the detailed review! I am wondering - have you come across the Muzishare X7? Very similar price, features, build quality etc with the Willsenton R8. Would be interested to know if they are comparable in terms of sound quality, or quite different?

Thomas, have you had a chance to listen to the Decware Zen Triode Tub Amplifier? It’s around $1000.00.

Thanks Thomas, as usual you've provided another stellar review! I've had mine for a month or so now, I have not yet slid down the tube rolling slope but will do. I find the Willsenton Tubes good, but i've no experience in comparisons. I bought it with KT88s as I listen to mostly metal and some blues and bit of jazz. The bass punch of the KT88 is perfect for me. Great depth and width in soundstage and lots of air, that 3D imaging people talk about. The difference between TR/UL is night and day as you said, the vocalist is singing (yelling in my musical taste) 2 rows infront of you or situated on stage front and centre depending which mode you choose. Its fantastic. I use it with an Oppo 205 and also an ARES II for digital and for vinyl I have a few phono stages and carts that I use and its supurb on all platforms. Buying from Yong was easy and his communication was flawless, I chose sea mail as it was quite a bit cheaper and I was in no rush, from China to Australia shipping is $$$$ for a heavy beast like this...the smell of paint when I opened the box indicated to me this was a fresh amp!!!! And yes, I too am of the school that heavier somehow means quality haha, so when I nearly did my back lifting it I had positive expectations already. Will wait for the review on the tube rolling and venture down the path most suitable to my tastes. Thanks and Cheers.

When I was growing up, tubes were on their way out and nobody was really sorry to see them go. The goal was to reproduce sound sound as accurately as possible without adding, subtracting, or coloring the music, to get as close to the live performance as possible. Then, if it was necessary to tune the response (or even to adjust for taste) there were bass, sometimes midrange, and treble controls. If one wanted to get crazy, one could get a graphic equalizer with up 19 frequency bands. When I started out, there was Hi-Fi, then came stereo, then stereo with a middle channel, then quadraphonic, then surround sound 5.1 and THX. Still, the idea was to make one feel like they were in a live music venue, whether a concert hall or a smaller setting like a pub. Somewhat later, there was the shift from analog (vinyl) to digital (compact disc) and later compact disc with compression (mp3, etc.). With enough bits, a high enough sampling rate, and really good quality (low phase shift) ADC and DAC, it is impossible to tell the difference by ear (except for the LACK of the noise and distortion inherent in vinyl) and nearly impossible to tell even with electronic measurement devices. So, now you all want to go back to having coloration to the music that for decades we were trying to get rid and spending thousands of dollars to do so. I can't help but be amused. Get a high end solid state amp and DAC, add a control board with parametric EQ and adjustable attack and delay, and you can color your sound any way you like it.

I had a big powerful tube amp for many years so I have some experience to share. If you're the kind of person who likes to leave his amp on all day or all night be prepared to be buying tubes frequently. And the ones that burn out quickest are the big expensive power tubes. On a push pull amp they have to be replaced in pairs, costing at least $60 for the pair or $120 for the full complement. And I'm not even talking about boutique tubes, which the sky's the limit. Just be prepared to open your wallet frequently to replace these tubes.

Excellent amp with good looks to match. Sounds great with my Harbeths. Highly recommend

So I’ve had about 4 weeks with the R8. I upgraded the tubes to Gold Lion KT88’s, Tung Sol 6SL7’s, and Psvane CV181’s. I didn’t even sample the stock tubes. I’m impressed with the amp and it’s breaking in nicely. I’m driving Martin Logan Summits, not the simplest load, but I’ve rarely had the amp turned up above 11 o’clock. The amp has more than enough tubes to drive my Logan’s. The price increase was in effect as my amp was $1275 delivered. With the upgraded tubes it $1850. Not cheap, but not ultra expensive either. I’m satisfied. BTW, to all newbies buying this amp you’ve got to hold down the bias switch with one hand as you use your other to turn the bias screw. That wasn’t in the manual!! But I found the info on an audio forum that had 60 pages dedicated to the R8. Enjoy!

Hey Thomas, great review. So I purchased the Willsenton 300b tube amp because of all the glowing (pun intended) reviews of the R8 and holy mole!! I was blown away, if you haven't heard this amp you owe yourself a listen asap!

“I have to do my mea-culpa, after getting in touch again with M.Lee, we felt that there was a misunderstanding during our communications. Part of that was due to missing emails. Now that everything is cleared out, M.Lee explained to me that the rubber belt or not easy to get and it would be a better choice to order the tray assembly. The MHZS cd33e was not bought from him, still he was kind enough to answer my questions and tried to help me.”

Thomas, great review! I agree with your assessment of the sound and problems. I love my R8 and use it often. When I want more detail, I rotate in a solid state amp. The ability to roll tubes makes this amp change on a regular basis. I think of this as a pinot noir, the flavor changes every time you roll a tube. This allows changing tubes instead of buying a new amplifier. Your comments on preference is the most important for our hobby! Everyones ears are different.

So I have the R8 with EL34s and currently is incorporated into a vintage Marantz system so just using the amp section from the R8. Is paired up with the Marantz 3650 and all together sounds fantastic. Obviously a different more pleasant and fun sound than when I use the Marantz 300DC with the 3650 with all other components the same but. I ran the R8 by itself on the same speakers using all it's functionality so appears that the pre-amp section is the R8's weakness out of the box. I also ran the R8 amp section with my McIntosh C22 preamp and is not a fair comparison with the far superior (far more expensive) MC275 MKVI. The R8 is a great value, very enjoyable and I can listen to it for hours without fatigue. Looking forward to experimenting with other tubes and experience the differences.

Just want to share that grado hemp headphones sound really good on R8.

I was looking for my next amplifier project when I saw this. Yes, is very affordable. I still might build one with design upgrades, including variable control from full triode mode to full ultra linear mode. Also, use bias adjust from KT88 to other power tubes not required. combination bias circuit can automatically accommodate this range of output tubes.......I also notice no BITE (Built-In-Test) on this rig either.....

I'm using the octave V40SE and now I'm using the power tube KT88 from PSVANE MK2. For the preamp the tubes are already exchanged. The difference to the original is huge and a nice and simple thing with the Octave. The tubes can be adjusted easily with a potentiometer. But I would like to try the KR Audio KT88 again with the next change. Best regards from Germany.

On the same strand of craft Chinese valve amps - I'd be really keen to see you review the Line Magnetic LM-34IA!!

On a side note, I am using four NOS GE EL134 along with three vintage French Neotron 6SN7s. I am still looking around for 6SL7 replacements.

Very interesting review Thomas!! I never owned a tube amplifier but I would really love to try one eventually on my setup. Some of my friends swears by tubes.

You keep getting better with your reviews😊 SERIOUSLY Maybe someday I will be able to try a tube amp This might be the one😊

I purchased r8 with kt88 just for curiosity.I am using Luxman sq38u for the past 15 years purchased at US$2300. Luxman is using 4 EL 34 tubes. I did a sound comparison with both using Speaker TAD tsm300 and LS3/5a. And found that they sound exactly same. I am a little surprised 😂.

I find that triode is more tube-like whereas the Utralinear is more solid-state sound. I love triode more!

I've had my R8 for almost a year now and I'm just getting into tube rolling. I ordered the set of pre amp tubes from China Hifi recommended by Mr. Lee { Looks like he sent you the same set } The new tubes have about 20hrs. on them and the soundstage is really starting to open up. New Kt88 power tubes should be arriving any day. Looking forward to your next video.

Thanks Thomas for another great review, I been reading about the R8 for some time now and your take on this amp confirms what I have been reading, If I purchase this I will be running it with my Freya + that you also reviewed, Looking forward to your tube video on the R8. Thanks...

Thomas I bought the Willsenton R8 to use as an amp with my Schiit Freya + and I like it a lot. But then I bought a Tube amp , The Jolida/Black ice Tube power amp only that uses 6550 tubes and produces according to their specs 60 watts per channel and I am happier with this set up, using my Schiit Freya + as my preamp! Gorgeous mid-range to die for! I want to buy me a set of Magnepans , I hope this tube amp can handle them!

Hi Thomas Very pleased with the sound of my R8 and the exemplary customer service from China Hi-Fi. Stock tubes btw are pretty reasonable, but swapped them all out for a complete set of Tung-Sol's with excellent results. Also love the practicality of the built in biasing option...it just makes complete sense. Using amp with Aune S8 dac with op-amp rolled to Sonic Imagery Labs Model 994Enh with wonderful results. Just waiting for my upgraded Aune power supply now for the icing on the cake. Just shows you don't have to spend a fortune on esoteric gear to get truly outstanding results. Not sure if I need to explore KT88 option (but I probably will).

Thank you Thomas. I rolled all tubes to nearly neutral 😂 (I don't like) Spend 460 Euro (500 USD) on tubes from german / europe BTB elektronik house brand (changed in this step from EL34 stock to KT 88) Now i try to come back to the warmness. 😀

Damn!! My man’s got a new camera, a new house, AND a new sweater! 🔥

I need A Dac for rock , folk beach boys , Deep Purple. I have a CD trance port . Bought the Aune X8

I concentrate on hybridamplifiers that bring the typical tube sound with the power of transistors in the output. Is much profitable in energy costs and better for the environment.

Love your videos. The way you articulate and present. Very good. I have a Rega amp and a pair of Proac DT8’s. I would like to try a tube amp but with my OCDness from my guitar tube amps I’m afraid I’m going to spend most my time swapping and rolling tubes. I will try a stereo tube amp one day for sure tho.

Willsenton R-35I EL34 I have this model. I think it is great for the money. Extremely quite even with my tekton Moab at 99db.

I am torn between the R8 and the R300. Dedicated triodes do sound different to pentodes wired for triode mode, but then I would lose the Ultra Linear mode........ 300B tubes are nice though...... Hard decision I think it really depends on your speakers as to what mode you use and what tubes sound best. It becomes a very personal thing. Ultra Linear utilises the tubes better and gives a cleaner, more natural sound. Triode wired mode, although not as good as true class A single ended tiodes, does give that more "tubey" warmth sound, rich in harmonics (of the good kind) but being looser in the base, and having the top end a bit rolled off. Again, personal preference and the speakers make a big difference. Your review... It's kind of the opposite. Tiode mode is actually warmer and more mid focused, where Ultra Linear has the more balanced, linear frequency response (hence the name). It's pretty interesting how our ears and speaker setup can make things sound so different If you use an external preamp - the first stage of amplification is bypassed. That hissing noise in the older R8 models, see videos be Skunkie designs and there are grounding modifications to eliminate that. New (made after may 2023) R8's don't have the same issues as the desing was changed slightly electrically to reduce nosie and also to reduce the chance of red plating output tubes if a bias pot goes open circuit.

Oh, that is exciting. I really want to try tubes out but haven't wanted to spend the premium on the really expensive gear.

great review, I think this is the product for more experienced audiophile than hifi newman.

Thank you for sharing, very interesting and informative, just uploaded a few of my hand crafted tube Amps. I enjoy learning more about the world of tube Audio!

Hi Thomas, I think its about time for a side by side comparison and review of the R8 vs the Muzishre X7. And it is you who can make justice to the R8 vs X7 comparo. Thanks.

I think u blew up their website- it was down a little bit 😂, good vid.

Hi Thomas, thanks for the great review. you are absolutely right about adding a pre amp. I plugged in my Rega Elex r and the bass speed tightened up but i loss on holographic imaging e.g girl from ipanema finger snaps no longer sound as if coming from my left shoulder & vocals "live" like gone too. I ve upgraded to psvane 6sl7, stock kt88 running into a sonus faber/rel setup. I am chasing that tube live like sound but with better bass control. I ll try your next suggestion to upgrade the kt88... 😉

My Audio Space AS-3i amp , change to JJ KT 77’s and it is so involving and bogies on in music

the great thing about tube rolling.if you get an overall sound you like.but it doesnt have quite the bass punch.you can simply add a subwoofer or two.im all solid state at the moment,but im thinking tubes again.

I got one of these, and my only criticism is that it's kind of bright sounding, so you got to be careful to keep it away from bright speakers.

If you're a blue-collar audiophile like me then this amp is an absolute no-brainer!!

Hi Thomas, amazing reviews always. I purchased the Sound Artist S5B from China HiFi as a test to see the quality before I purchase the R8. These speakers sound great but not as good as the Walsh Ohms at medium to high volume. R8 will be ordered this week..... George

I like EH EL34 Triode mode in this amp, but the bass control and overall clarity are not good enough, and I put in the Synergetic Research Blue fuse, it makes a day and night different, no more bass issue. Better than changing the 6SL7 tubes

Have you tried using your Freya connected to this as an amp? To me, it sounds very balanced. The bass is tight and defined. My only problem is I get a little tiny hum, I think from the Freya. I tried different power conditioners but it would not go away. What should I try next?

Interesting. Jay's review was so overwhelming positive, while this review is positive but much more measured. Sounds like one of the many ELAC Debut speaker reviews. Sounds good... for the money.

I wish it had a ground wire connection. So I could use a turntable

Hi Thomas! Have you by any chance tried out the Line Magnetic LM-216iA ? ( 4 KT88:s, push pull. ). I guess it would be directly competing with the Willsenton R8, at a very attractive price point, and exceptionally well built and designed. 836$ at China-hifi.

Hi Thomas. Just received my new R8 after a 9-week wait. Have to say, thus far, I'm completely underwhelmed and disappointed. The sound is quite brittle and not at all what I would describe as tube-like. I'm playing the amp through a pair of Tekton Electron SEs. My last amplifier was the Boyuurange A50 300b amp. I liked the sound of the A50, but at only 7.6 watts per channel, it was weak in the bass and also a bit noisy and grainy. Was hoping the R8 would be the solution. So far though, the Willsenton R8 is a step backwards. Much less enjoyable to listen to. I did just order a complete set of tubes, and will switch from the KT88s that I have in to EL34s. Hopefully that, plus some burning in of the components will dramatically improve the sound. Otherwise, I'll be selling this amp and looking for another - perhaps the Class A sound is really what I'm looking for and just need it in a higher power version (say a Line Magnetic 845 amp or even the new Willsenton R800). What do you think??

Thank you Thomas, I've been waiting for this...

Outstanding review!

Nice review, thanks Thomas! I like your idea of asking why people are selling them. Sounds like a good amp, but I think your Pathos is still my dream amp to drive my old Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Pianos. I had a chance to get a second hand one but I blew it, and I’m still hurting 😢

Thank you Thomas. I love your videos and how you explain sound and what we should think about. I believe that middle 6SN7 tube is the power rectifier. I’m wondering if it is a waste of money to put a Psvane in there and not just use the cheap tube. I believe the the other tubes are in the signal path for voltage gain, etc.

Shit Thomas, have been very very happy living with my prima luna prologue one for the past 8 years. This is the first amp that has tempted me to sell the prima luna!

How does the Willsenton R8 compare to the Galion A75? Comparable sound quality, or one is definitely better than the other?

Great video. Could you review on OMA Speakers, Amps & turn tables. As well as Fleetwood Sound Co speakers, turn tables & Amps. I like your show & reviews. Thank you.

Thomas, please talk about Tidal vs Spotify compression. It may be a partial reason I had a poor (artifical/wonky) experience w/ D90. Perhaps it was showing me compression too much- poorly. Burson handled compression fine, but sounds even more fantastic on Tidal!