FYI There is no "Upgraded" or "V2" Willsenton R8


Some have said the R8 had been upgraded so I contacted China hifi.

I just received this email from China Hifi:

 

The R8 tube amplifier has never launched an MKII version, and has kept its original model and performance parameters unchanged. The factory has not made any major adjustments to the performance and circuitry of the R8.

The performance and sound characteristics of the R8 amplifier remain original. The factory will not change the model without public notice. The MKII version circulating on the market is purely misinformation.

We will maintain communication with the factory. If there is indeed a major upgrade or revision of R8 in the future, we will notify you in time. Thank you for your understanding and support. If you still have any questions, you can contact us at any time.

Willsenton Audio Factory and China-hifi-Audio

chedga

Showing 3 responses by chenry

Hard for the company to ignore the web modders of this unit who have been doing and showing their work online, and who have given their reasons for their work. Willsenton has been trying to compete in the market as a full-featured product brand but they have unintentionally become a producer of a product base for an equipment modding community who tear the units down and replace stock components and rework the wiring scheme, then move on to tube rolling. I am sure that isn't where Willsenton wanted to be. This started with end users trying to fix real defects in the product.

 

 

Willsenton made improvements in component quality and resistor placement. The overall design as a KT88/EL34 push-pull octal tube design didn't change. The amp has been a successful product in its original production and will presumably continue with its un-announced improvements.

Companies are not required to create named editions of products, which should be obvious.

Good luck with that claim. She pretty much did a Cook’s Tour of the amplifier showing the things that weren’t good quality and the components that were below spec. She has nothing to worry about on the issue of "libel," not least because her attention was drawn to the device when she was consulted on a remedy for a major failure of one unit which she identified the defect in design and created a solution to fix it, which then Willsenton implemented ("please tell the jury why, if it was OK already, as you say it was".) Willsenton then also improved the quality of the resistors and capacitors, some of which were under spec, and a choke, also under spec. She compared it to a Muzishare amp at the same price point, which is totally fair game for consumer review.

She isn’t offering engineering consulting services, so the point about professional credentials is moot. She is a skilled hobbyist AFAIK.

YT isn’t the only web venue where R8 modders are active, they are on AK, Reddit and probably other places I have not seen. I have seen other mods different from hers on YT as well.