Willsenton R8 Amplifier Review 

Just got mine a few weeks ago - your review was the one that put me over the top. My first integrated tube amp - though I have used guitar amps with tubes in the past. I'm super impressed with the sound, the bass, the clarity... all my music from all genres sound incredible. Thanks for this review!!

Lovely review! I did take a punt with his amp earlier in the year and really enjoying the sound. Glad you did too!

Awesome, Tarun! I totally want to hear one for myself. It sounds so up my alley. Superb review. Thank you! 👏👏👏

Well, another great video. Valve amp reviews are so much fun. So many things to watch and learn. Thank you.

I was glued to your dynamic presentation. Informative, not at all dry in its delivery, and very engaging. I’m subscribing to your channel, and just ordered an R8 for myself. Well done.

This is what I think to be the first really honest review of this interesting amp. Well done!

There several reviewers on RU-vid that are above the rest. Quality presentation. Excellent explanation of both functions and concept. These qualities help put you in that upper echelon.

Your mic sounds so much better now, I'm glad I can come back to your videos as the information was always great.

Great job! I've not had the pleasure of my own tube amp and have always wondered what the fuss is all about. I must say I love the look of them. This sounds like a good place to start.

Another great and well sorted out review. I've owned several EL-34/KT-88/6550 amps in the 40-60 wpc range from Conrad Johnson and Quicksilver. I was running speakers with a fairly low sensitivity. I sold them and went powerful solid state. Since then I've purchased a couple of powered subwoofers, and now I've often wondered how my Maggie .7s would do with another one of those now. I've seen a couple of other R8 reviews - yours is the best yet. Keep up the great work! I may have to give this a try.

An excellent review! Valve amps and high efficiency speakers have been my thing for a long time. A very subjective note on one of the ingredients that make valve amps work for me: the glass and the parts glowing inside are a visual cue to what valve amps do so well - transparency and warmth.

That was one of the best and most succinct explanations of how a tube amp works that I have ever heard! Bravo 👏

Excellent and so informative.Your excitement is contagious .

Thanks for another great review tarun, always liked valve amplifiers, this seems a very good quality item at a great price.

Great Job my Brit Audiophile. Fab review of this little gem.

Just got mine from irish customs 5 days ago. With no customs tax duty. Another score. Beautiful amplifier. Your review was spot on with my experience so far. I also think vinyl and tubes are a match made in heaven. Interesting what you said about the el34. You might of saved me a lot of euro there. Thanks again for an excellent review.

Excellent review. Nice balance of technical stuff with practical stuff and also sensible opinion

Another Grade A Review, sounds like a well sorted integrated, especially at this price point. Thank you sir!

What a great balanced review (as always). You touched on both the pros and cons of owning a tube amp, plus you mentioned tube rolling! ...which is unique to tube amps (and fun to do!). I think you could push that envelope quite a bit farther using NOS or new tubes. Excellent explanation of the operation of tubes too. An all around great job! Since my modified Dynaco 70s with VTA mods are hard to come by these days, I'll be recommending the R8 (based partly on this review, and others). Thank you.

Well done again, Tarun! Your ability to succinctly explain concepts (i.e. the way the tubes/valves work) without getting overly technical or worst, boring, is commendable! Love your delivery. You are quickly becoming a favorite reviewer of mine! Have you reviewed any of the Line Magnetic products, yet?

I’m late to the party today, just saw this. Great explanation of how tube amps work. I especially appreciated your speakers partnering portion.

An interesting review, thank you for taking the time to make this video. Please don’t forget Icon Audio, a British company manufacturing valve amplifiers in China to their design. A 35 to 45 watt integrated using EL34 or KT88 for less than £1400.

Thanks Tarun for another excellent review.

Superb review indeed. I like it a lot...particulary course my "A system" is a marriage of similar SET valve amp. and the bookself monitor ProAc-s. Stay safe and sound Tarun...good luck!

You have become i belive one of the top 3 youtube reviewers with audio equipment ... On second thoughts one of the best reviewers on any level ... Keep up the good work Tarun ... 😎

This is the first valve amp I have seen and it is very interesting. It has got me thinking, as your reviews always do. Well done.

another awsome video Tarun .ive never owned a tube amp .thanks for giving a great explanation of how they work .would love to hear one myself .many thanks .😊😊😊

Smashing review , I paired my icon audio tube up with the klipsh rp600m speakers which you recommended , listening to Shelby Lynne and Diana krall has given a new life to my listening. Vocals and separation is lush ,

Another impressive video and now i know how tubes work. A lovely looking amp and might tempt me to try valve amps.

Explanations excellent. Always in awe of tube amps since being a kid. I'd love one of these or a Doge10 to play with!

Review so thorough I watched it twice to absorb all the information and knowledge :)

That was a real education - I knew nothing about tube amps other than their smooth sound and lower output - thank you.

Remembering my engineering days :-) Good job Tarun. Delighted as usual.

Excellent review again sir. Very tempted to try the Willsenton.

Great review as always Tarun!!!

Thank you sir for this superb presentation. Even though I already have some fine tube gear, the Wilsenton is tempting even if only as an experiment or perhaps a backup amp. Subscribed!

Great review thanks really considering one of these now

excellent well rounded review, not in the market for this but was a great watch and very informative,

Excellent review Tarun. You did a nice job describing the R8. I think the R8 would gel very well with some Triangle towers.

Hi Tarun I have never had the pleasure of listening to a tube amp but from your review it would certainly appeal to me . Many thanks.

Beautiful review 🎊👍😀 Thanks Tarun. Looking for your review Melton Tube Amplifier soon. Thanks

Woah that amp, and your easy explanation on it!! Great video.

I got mine from China hifi 10 days ago bundled with the Psvane kt88 and CV181 instead of the stock 6sn7 (total amount shipped in Italy 1.500€ import taxes included). I’m now waiting for the Melz 6sl7 to fully replace stock tubes!! So far the amp is going way above my expectations and brought my KEF R7 to life (before I used to drive them with an Audiolab 6000a but it was clearly not powerful enough). Even if these KEF are now showing their potential I still find them a little bit too much analytical.. I had a pair of Q acoustics 3050 before and loved their mellower sound so I think my next speaker will be the Concept 500.. matching them with the R8 will hopefully be what I’m searching for!! As always great GREAT REVIEW!! THANKS Tarun

You're the best on RU-vid Tarun. Keep up the great work.

A very good revieuw i was already sold by otter revieuws so i ordert one R8 from China hifi hope to see it deliverd next week or so keep the Channel up 👍

Oh, well done Tarun. This is easily the best explanations of how a valve amp works. I’m sure I’m not alone in how I feel about this. I’m in the UK, I’m 53 and I’ve grown up with solid state amplifiers, mainly due to the cost-to-power ratio and also that valves had a rather snobby elitist reputation. So many of the amplifiers I’ve either owned or read reviews of have stated that “this amp sounds like a valve amp”. This is why I cannot be alone in thinking, is this the time to get one?(valve amp). The only problem is trying to get your hands on one! Good work.

Great review and introduction to tube amplifiers. My first piece of HiFi gear was a Heathkit SA-2 integrated amp that my uncle gave me back in the summer of 1972 (during the Japanese "receiver wars") since then, I've always tried to have a vacuum tube component in my system. I have to say that the majority of Chinese made tubes are pretty bad, you can buy Sovteks, JJs, even brand new Mullards at a reasonable price and they are far better than the Chinese tubes. I'm going to send a link of this review to my friend Ned (who works at a High End Audio store here in Connecticut).

Excellent review. Covered all the bases. Give credit when it deserves it.!

Clear Excellent review and explanation! My next venture will be addition of a Tube amp.

Great review Tarun. Good mix of technical and real world review. I would to know how this amp compares to other similarly priced amps and how it compares to the R800. Keep up the good work love your channel

No nonsense terrific revieuw...that is what people need.....very fine job..thanks

I was waiting for this review and Tarun, you didn't disappoint. Learning that this amp performed well at mid to low volume was music to my ears. (Did I say that?) Of all the gear you've reviewed this was the one I have anticipated the most since you announced it. Oddly, after you introduced me to the Amphion Argon 1s - I did some research and decided that the 3S might be a better choice. Now you say you will review the 3S soon so once again - I anticipate (therefore I Am). Your reviews are outstanding. (I am an ex film guy and your camera work is excellent)

Great review. I own a Primaluna EVO 400i, well below McIntosh but above this amp, with 8 EL34. Having 8 means less hard work for the same volume. You echo my sentiments on triode (acoustic) or ultra linear (complex rock), but on the EVO the EL34 sounds more musical than the KT88. Experimenten with different tube types (rolling) is a great addition to the hobby and the radiating glow of the tubes reminds me of the radiating warmth of an old aga.

Great content great video I am definitely going to look into this amplifier

Hey Tarun. I’ve been intrigued by this amp since this review so I finally ordered the updated version today. I haven’t had a valve amp since my Audio Innovations series 200 in the 90’s. Looking forward to it arriving 👊🏻🎵😎🎶

Wow a great find. A very easy to appreciate review.

Outstanding detailed review!

Thank you for a really well explained review. I have been looking at stepping to a full tube amplifier. This may fit the bill. Christmas is coming.

As always, so elegant.

Excellent review, thank-you Tarun. This is a well finished amplifier which will drive many speakers due to its ultra-linear pentode push-pull output stage and fixed bias which will maximise power output for the chosen valves (tubes). I'd love to hear one. I agree that pentodes in triode mode are not the same as a direct heated single triode like the 300b. It does seem something of a bargain though. The 300b monoblock power amp *kits* (with a few upgrade parts) I built for my son topped two grand (and a weekend with a soldering iron).

I want to thank you for reminding me about the switch on the back. I just re tube the R8 with Gold Lion KT88. I paired the R8 with KLH 5 speakers. The 5 can be a little bright. In ultra linea mode the sound Is just wonderful. I have also paired the R8 with Tekton double impact se with Psvane EL34 they sound amazing.This is just a great Integrated amplifier. If you are thinking about buying the R8 Young Lee of China Hi Fi audio is a honest person. It's a long wait to get it and I don't think you'll get a warranty. The cost of shipping R8 back to China is it worth it. Great review thank you

Excellent videos! Awesome explanation of a tube amplifier! I want valves!

Thanks for another excellent review of a very interesting item. It certainly looks like this amp can punch way above its price point and its beautiful too. My first job was a production engineer for cathod ray tubes, i was mainly making military head up displays, but we still made old valves back then. Cathodes, annodes and tubes were once filling my life, and it was pleasent to remember when tubes were king, so thanks for that. My only concern then is that manufacturing in this country simply cant compete with china for value. I recently bought some wharfdale evo 4.4's, which are incredible value and can happilly compete with speakers from £2k to £2.5k despite being only £1.2k. How? 'Made in China' Thanks again.

Great review! I agree 100% with your review about this amplifier.

Stunning looking never looked at tubes really before may have changed my mind.

Tarun, great review. Thanks very much. What would really be great is if you could do a review of the Willsenton R800i. It is a 300B amp, I think. It has not been reviewed very much or very well by anyone that I know of. I would be very interested in that. I purchased the Boyuurange A50 Mk3 300B amp which Steve Guttenberg reviewed and liked. I bought it on Amazon in the US for less than $800 USD and it is fantastic. A screaming bargain! This is the amp that got me into the tube camp! - at least for one of my two systems. 😀

Excellent presentation. Thank you.

Great review! New subscriber here, still on the fence about this tube amp but after your review I think I’m sold, now I have to think of a reason to justify to my wife about this purchase.

Nice review I enjoy your videos .

Very informative review, thank you!

Great stuff, Tarun!

There's an awful lot of good Chinese hi-fi available now. I went for the Doge 10 tube amp after Thomas & Stereo's stellar review and crossed my fingers. I shouldn't have worried. It is very good and has also been a victim of rave YT review. Out of stock almost instantly and very difficult for a small company to keep up with demand. I just noticed tonight that it's gone up in price from $1299 when I bought it to $1850. I'm still testing this with passive Buchardt S300 speakers against the Buchardt A500s. Very different propositions. Passive set up has a wider and deeper soundstage. Beautiful for more delicate, vocal acoustic tracks. The A500 dynamics absolutely kick ass as you know, but with a more reined in soundstage. I'd really like to try a different tuning with the A500s but the latest batch have had problems with wisa/firmware so new tunings can't be applied yet. But fair play to Mads Buchardt. Our 45 day trial will only start when we can update the tunings, and I've already had them for about a month. Oh and of course, tubes do look beautiful through the prism of a glass of whisky or wine when relaxing in the dark. Aesthetics count!

Greetings from Toronto, Canada. I purchased my first tube intergrated amp (R8) a few months ago and I'm completely delighted with it's performance. I'm enjoying your channel, Tarun. Thanks for the great content.

Tarun, Steven again very well done, you should be a teacher. Very well explained but I think most people don't understand the difference between A/C and DC, plus the difference in P/F. P/F is a big factor that only an engineer will understand.. Many variables as usual, tube load, bias, lines, but that's why I build my monos. Power supply is critical, I usually run 5x times stated need. Superb results, I spent 4k building my 6H30 Monos, Lundahl transformers if that gives you an idea. Keep up the good work. 👍

For those of you in the U.K. Lee at China Hifi has just informed me that he has appointed a partner to deal with warranty claims in the U.K. Snow Audio Repairs Fareham Hampshire PO16 0SW UK

Terence, thank you so much for your review. You are one of my "go to guys" on audio/speaker reviews. So, i watched your review of Willsenton R8 & Jay's review of the Willsenton R800i. I was impressed with both reviews. In fact i sold my PS Audio M700's thinking i was ready to pull the trigger on 800i. However, the deeper i dug i started to find thinks about the 800i type A amp. such as the bass is not all that great, it will heat up the room or if you roll the tubes on the 800i it's about $800.00-$900.00 for both 300b or other PSVANE tubes. Very expensive upgrade/s so one has to be able to fully commit to this path/avenue. Or, don't start with a class A tube amp. if you never owned a tube amp. Try AB tube amps. first such as the R8. So, i am stuck now. As an afterthought i may go with Pass Labs XA25 Demo. if the price is right then maybe get into an R8 and roll the tubes. Any thoughts?

Hi! Tarun....Well what can I tell you, spoke to you regarding the Triangle Genese Trio possible crossover upgrade, thinking they should sound better. Also I bought a DIY from the Troels Gravesen speaker kit that sounded okay but should of been better. Components used Bel Canto evo 200.2 power amp and Parasound P5 pre...also tried the very nice Peachtree Nova150 Int amp .. Esound moded platinum cd-e5 cd player. and the result was Nah! Went back to my initial love of tube amplifiers to try the Willsenton R8....it was like a total transformation....I agree with everything you noted in your review. Both set of loudspeakers just sound so good, The Triangle G Trio you reviewed matches up very well...( both around the 90db efficiency ) the soundstage and placement of intruments were very evident, I could go on! Yes in Triode mod with the EL34's rolls off the top end. The R8 may not be top end gear but it gets you a long way there. So happy that I have ordered a matched quad set of Svetlana 6550c SED " winged C " tubes which I believe will elevate the R8 even further.... thought I would let you know.., thanks again Alain

Thank you for the real review. There are are lots of reviews out there for this amp. They are all glowing, bigger than life reviews. So thank you for the real, non-advertising review. I would love to get a tube amp back in my system. Someday, someday. Would love to hear your take on the feliks audio arioso or raven audio amps.

Great video Tarun. I am using a Luxman KMQ7 tube amplifier build in 1966. For musicality and sound stage it is far better than my Sony STRDA5500ES, although the Sony is fantastic when listening to SACD's, much greater detail. I look forward to the day when I will upgrade my tube amplifier. Out of curiosity, PS Audio have a BHK signature amplifier which combines solid state and a valve stage. I would love for you to have the opportunity to listen to that and get our opinion.

I love mine. I have been using it for about 6 months. I purchased the kt88s and preferred them but they only lasted 5 months of nearly daily use and abuse. Then 1 tube started humming ringing and showing signs of failure. Tried the TS EL34 and agree they are weak,and lacking, esp in low end. Mids and vocals sound sharp though. And tv sounds best. Then tried the EH 6550. Loved the 6550, all around solid, but by far best electric guitar reproduction.kt88 still had more power, wider sound stage , and much more holographic feel. I have rolled in nos JAN 6188, by Phillips to replace the 6sL7 and it was positive. I found the 6sl7 the hardest to replace, trying other nos tubes in this position, like the Sylvania black bottle vt229 and always noticing a loss in sound quality/sharpness. I think the OEM ones must be good. Oh, I opted for the 6sn7 factory upgrade, Psvane 181-tii. Well worth it upon comparison to nos tubes. Much more clarity and holographic, and better sound stage. Two things to note. The pre input has some kind of funky wiring going on that doesn't actually circumvent the pre tubes and in my opinion never sounded that great with a preamp. And the power buffer tube (center 6sn7) seems to have a effect on the sound which I don't understand. Replacing the PS vein CV 181 with a Sylvania NOS in this position deepened the bass response and rolled off a bit of annoying high range. Louder? Idk what you're looking for, I have JBL aquarius 1s hooked to mine (slightly modded and power hungry) which ask for about 50w, and are fairly low sensitivity,I think around 87db. I don't think I've ever taken the volume over half and I like it loud.

Another terrific review

Another great review. Nice touch incorporating a lesson in valve tech. I was particularly interested in review as I was hoping it might have some pointer on matching speakers with a 1963 25W per channel Lux push pull amp as I’m looking to upgrade from a pair of Triangle Comete’s. Would go for a pair of ProAc Response 1SC but would hesitate at the 86 dB sensitivity and they have been superseded by the DB1’s.

Awesome review!

26 kg! woof....! That is hefty. Brilliant description of tube amplification and setting expectations for using a tube amp..

Talk to China HiFi about a Cayin CS-55A or similar. It's more refined than the R8. Mine's paired with the Triangle Genese Trio. Keep up the excellent reviews!

I had watched many review videos on the R8 but wanted to watch yours since you provide better description and comments on the sound quality and comparison to other products. This was no exception. Was the KT88 Willsenton brand? I wonder what it would sound like with the optional Psvane tubes? Thanks for a great review!

As has been said already, a great and accurate review Tarun. I love my R8 paired with any of my bookies or floor standers. I think with tube rolling the 6SL7 and KT88 tubes with a good matched pair/Quad I think you might just be putting those mono blocks up for sale. :) Like Thomas said it's an amp with plenty of MSG that you can't help loving. You'll miss it when it's gone, just warning you :):):) Great sounding amp for the money.

Knocked it out of the park as usual, Tarun. The correct number of amplifiers is one more than you currently have. Therefore, no need to sell the Exposure combo. 😊

Indeed. A superb review.

Another super well explained review Tarun. Next up a headhead with the Doge 10?!

Might want to try some good high-end tubes. Power and preamplifier. May be surprised and get more refinement . I would be very interested. Thanks for the great review

Now we KNOW that you love this unit! In your excitement you apologetically slipped out your first 4 letter word at 14:46. 🤭. Be careful. We don’t want you slipping into Zeos Pantera territory 😁. Great review.

Hi, thank you for another outstanding review. I was wondering if you thought there was any extra refinement potential in changing the preamp tubes? As I understand it - and correct me if I'm wrong - rolling preamp tubes can have a greater impact on the sound than even the power tubes.

Hi Tarun, wow, what an interesting piece and at an alluring price! I`ve only dabbled once with a tube amp and that was a Steinhart made in South Africa, I did not like it at all and it was too much of an unknown quantity for me to start playing around with it so I sold it. I think the Chinese HiFi market is one to keep an eye on, but its the branding that just lets down all the efforts that have gone into the product - Nobsound, Little Bear, Willsenton - just not very well thought out names in my opinion that kind of make you look elsewhere.

Tube amplifiers are actually quite easy to build by an an electronic hobbyist. The thing though is that a tube amplifier like this will cost much more than GBP1000,- if you would build it your self and that is almost never the case with most other brands of tube amplifier. So the question is, how do they do it? In any case very impressive for the resulting sound. Thanks for sharing your experiences of this amplifier with us.

Great review thanks, maybe a little more comparison with Hegel 95 and 160 would be welcome

Hi Tarun. I have always wanted to give a tube amp a go but was always worried about the running costs, as I use my amp for the TV sound as well as for my hifi. I would also worry about how hot they would get because of the high usage. I do love the warmer sound of a tube amp. You could tame the bass with a speaker with less bass such as Focal aria 926. Like all amps it's what you partner with them that determines the sound you want. Nice review yet again my friend.

its nice you like my new willsenton R8 amp,great review

Hello my British friend! You’ve got a very fine channel! So, on the other side of the pond, America, I’m using the R8 to drive Martin Logan Summits. They’re a 4 ohm load, and I get 85dB at about the 11 o’clock volume dial position. You’ve not heard the R8 until you’ve heard it driving electrostatic speakers. Does anyone own electrostatic speakers in your area? Enjoy!

It sounds tempting. And a good explanation of how tubs work. I think maybe I'm buying one! :)