Cayin, Line Magnetic, and Willsenton with 805 Feedback

I have the Willsenton R8, the model modified in the series on Skunkie Designs Electronics Youtube channel. The "critical" mod is a bias board pot resistor bypass to prevent a potentiometer wiper failure leaving the circuit wide open and causing the power tubes to red-plate and cause further downstream damage to the output transformers. The R8 is a KT88 push-pull design. The R800i is a SET design IIRC with an 805 triode transmitter tube as the power tube, one per channel. Willsenton makes two variants, the other using an 845 tube with slightly lower power output.

@bannon

I am happy with the R8, but it is not the amp I bought (AMZ). I did about 3/4 of the Skunkie mods, upgrading the signal path capacitors and resistors and swapping out the stock choke. I left the mains voltage switch stock and same for the headphone jack, all of which Skunkie deleted, and I didn't bother rerouting the tube heater wiring. I swapped out all of the tubes for PSVane matched power tubes (KT88), higher-grade PSVane for the 6SN7 drivers and voltage regulator and NOS RCA 5691s for the stock 6SL7s in the preamp. The sound was never bad, but there was a noticeable improvement in detail with the better tubes. The power output with the R8 makes the use of the amplifier possible with several of my less sensitive speakers, something a SET amp would not do as well. For the money, it is a very good tube amp. I have not heard the Muzishare X7 which I have heard is very good and not needing mods.Since the Skunkie vids, Willsenton has made unannounced upgrades  to the bias boards and offers tube upgrades on order (upcharge).  Skunkie has gone further to swap out the output transformers for high-grade Japanese transformers. To me, the R8 is a great budget tube amp, and remains so as long as you keep the upgrades in check, but if you are going to buy the amp then do all the mods and change out the transformers, you are 3/4ths the way to a clean used Audio Research i/50 which is a much better amp.