To be clear, these were the two design issues Scott found with the R800i:
• The lack of bypass caps on the shared plate voltage nodes (major)
• Lack of enough filtration for hum (minor)
The mods Scott performed were (in addition to the design issues):
• Upgraded caps (VCap ODAM)
• Upgraded resistors to 1% values (from ~3% with stock)
• Lowered bias so it was within range to be adjusted (had wandered out of spec)
Amp sounds better than ever IMO, but these issues should be made known. Lots of talk on the R8 (re: Skunkie Designs), less on the R800i.
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I should also add that the Cayin A88T is the quietest tube product I have ever encountered, that goes for amps and preamps alike. Thing was dead, dead quiet. Can’t even say that about some solid state preamps I’ve owned.
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I have no experience with the Cayin or the Line Magnetic, but I do own an R800i that I’ve had modified by Scott Frankland (had a 300B tube blow and the amp wouldn’t biasing correctly). Here’s a cut and paste of a post I made on StereoNet:
"Sent my amp to Scott Frankland (https://scottfrankland.com/) to give it a look over since I had a 300B tube blow and it wouldn’t bias properly. For any unfamiliar with Scott, he’s the "F" in the old MFA preamps including the Luminescense and the Reference, both of which have cult-like status with some. In short, he’s a very experienced circuit designer/tech.
He is upgrading the caps to VCap ODAMs and we switched out a bunch of resistors.
He also saw there was a design issue...there are no bypass caps on the plate voltage nodes near the tubes. Scott said since the two channels share the same nodes, it’s especially important that these nodes are bypassed."
Scott also added more capactiance to help battle hum, as he thought what was there wasn't enough. I do really like the R800i and consider it a keeper as I’m kinda over going down the new gear rabbit hole ATM. The R800i is in a different league than the R8, and I liked my R8.
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Completely agree with @helomech. I still own a Cayin A88T Mk II that I purchased around 2007. It sounds great, built like a tank and responds well to upgrading the preamp tubes. I rotate the Cayin into my system with a Luxman integrated.
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Can’t speak for LM or Willsenton, but Cayins are indeed excellent. In fact I wouldn’t hesitate to pit Cayin performance against the likes of VAC and Audio Research.
I had an original Cayin A88T that was built in 2006. I was at least its second owner—owned it for about 6 years between 2017 and 2023. It never gave me any issues other than a failed preamp tube, and is/was built like a tank.
The Rogue Cronus Dark is also around your price range and sounds excellent.
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My experience with LM was positive. But I owned the LM-88IA. Build quality is very good. When I was ready to move on, it sold quickly and made room for a Raven Osprey which was awesome but obviously more $$$
ive now moved on to SS based on speaker choice but I really enjoyed the Osprey.
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My gut feeling and limited experience tells me that whatever amp brand one settles on, it’s imperative you have at best a reliable warranty or at least find a repair facility in advance of purchase who can gets parts, schematics and can fix it.
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I have an older Cayin A-50T Integrated. Never had any issues with it. Similar listening tastes and it sounds really good with a pair of vintage JBL L200’s.
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I owned a Line Magnetic 518ia a few years ago. While it was a great sounding amp, when I bypassed the preamp section with a TVC, the performance was greatly improved. So as is usually the case with most preamps and integrated amps, the ALPs pot is a bottleneck.
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+1 on Line Magnetics brand of Amps
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Line Magnetics has a good reputation
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I own the Willsenton R800i (805) and all I can say is that I can’t imagine going back to solid state. It’s my first tube amp and apart from this one I have basically zero listening experience regarding other tube amps. I’d love to A/B it with others to really know how the Willsenton performs, but that has not happened yet.
When it came out reviewers said that it is performing well above its price, but you know how to take excited youtubers’ opinions.
And whenever I had to go back to my entry-level Rotel and also when a friend left me his 15K SS-amp for a while I found myself pining for the sound of my amp.
My speakers are Cornwall IVs.
Not sure if that helps, but if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask.
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It seems many people in this hobby are skilled in electronics either by profession or hobbyist experience so doing the Skunkie mods is well within their capabilities. Unfortunately, I wouldn't trust myself with a soldering iron anywhere near any of these rigs. Nonetheless, I enjoy reading about your experiences and thank you for the information.
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@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.
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I’ve owned a Willsenton R800i 845 for over two years now. I upgraded all the tubes w fancy NOS in preamp section and better new issue tubes in 300b and 845. It sounds fantastic driving Klipsch Forte IIIs, Heresy IIs, and Focal Aria 926, all high sensitivity. I’ve rolled in a Cary Audio 300SEI and Dennis Had Inspire KT-88 as well as a vintage Crown DC300A in the main rig. The Willsenton definitely held its own and outshines the others in PRAT, bass control and treble extension. The Cary Audio bests it with vocal midrange, as to be expected with 300b output tubes. Never had any issues with it. The 805 or 845 will drive your JBLs with ease.
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OP
Don Better in Ohio. He has steered me to some fine equipment.
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Thanks. Are you happy with your R8? Anything interesting about the sound or build quality?
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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.
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Thanks for the feedback. Who was the dealewr?
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I have only had a Line magnetic 216i and not the others. I had see a lady technician on YouTube who stated a Willsenton amp has a design flaw that is critical. She offered a fix but I don’t recall which model. Skunkie Designs. I went with a US dealer who stated LM Audio would back any part or design failures and I had a transformer fail after about 5 years that the company fixed. I wouldn’t buy from a Chinese dealer.
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