New to the thread but not the Willsenton 800i. My amplifier creates no noticeable hum at what I consider normal listening volumes. My normal listening volume? Loud enough that you could, but wouldn't want to have a conversation. It would require some yelling.
I've rolled a few tubes in mine but I do want to say that this amplifier from the factory has a pretty good tube set in it. I think most would be 100% happy with how it sounds doing absolutely nothing to it. I also want to say that I purchased mine through China HiFi. Living in Boston, MA in the United States, DHL delivered the amplifier in 3 days after it was shipped!!! It took China HiFi 2 days to get it out the door. Outstanding!! The double boxing and packing materials were very well thought out and I'm not sure what else they could of done to safely ship it. Mine made it to my door safely.
Back to rolling tubes. I have bolstered the midrange, added some definition to the high end and didn't hurt the low end at all. I based my selections off of recommendations because this being my first tube amp I do not come from a place of experience. The 12AX7 is now a Telefunken ECC83 EK, I changed the 274B but never noticed any audible difference with the tube I tried. The 805A I installed a set of Linlai Gold Elite E-805 and the 300B, I tried both a WE300B by Psvane and Genelex Gold Lion match set. I settled with the Genelex tube because the additional $450 for the WE300Bs weren't worth the extra $$$. Though they both sounded differently I liked them both differently. And last but not least I installed a set of Shuguang Cv-181 Black Treasures in the 6SN7 spots. This may be the biggest improvement of anything.
Listening to voice forward recordings like Diana Krall's, When I look into your eyes, You feel her breath on the microphone. The holographic staging of the instruments is so defined. The realism of the piano as it plays from left to right across the room and cymbals that feel like you could reach out and mute them. It's very impressive. But them to spin Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower, listening to Eye of the Eagle and Bridge of Sighs, it just blows me away how well it handles the 70s style rock guitar and Robin's almost horse voice then settles down to the heavy bass riff to end Eye of the eagle. The beginning of Bridge of sighs showing off it's holographic strengths ringing around you. Again, strong baselines, great rock guitar riffs and Robin's voice just showcased as not all amplifiers can. The songs never sounding muddy or straining. Somehow throwing all that music at you but not being tiring. Displaying details out of the albums I didn't hear before.
And all this through a set of 87db KEF R3 Meta and an SVS Micro 3000 sub. It's a fantastic tube amp!