So I bought the Willsenton R-800i

Careful with the tube rolling!! I started with the Willsenton 300i 845, great amp for the money, and now have three SE tube amps and a hybrid tube pre w/ class AB power output AND have amassed a collection of over 300 tubes for the four amps!   i run Klipsch Forte IIIs and Focal 926s with the Willsenton and a Klipsch 12in 300 watt sub wired off the speaker terminals.  The Forte’s love the Willsenton, but only at 9 o’clock max on volume pot, I can get the Focals to 10 o’clock.  Clearly there is serious umph and headroom with the Willsenton’s 23 wpc. I believe the 805 is north of 40 wpc.

Replaced the 300b with new production Gold Lions 300bX, much smoother, more detail and greater linearity up and down the frequency spectrum.  Replaced the 845s with Shuguang 845B, same result, more detail, warmth and greater soundstage. Great upgrades for the money, although I wouldn’t call the Gold Lions cheap at $450/pair.  The Shuguangs were about $250 plus shipping.  Likely won’t be purchasing new or old WEs or vintage RCAs, just way too $$.  

BTW china-hifi told me stock tubes are LinLia hifi series. Not bad, but not great.  The stock 6sn7s are actually 6H8C Novisbirisk, and the 12ax7 is a JJ from the the old Check Tesla factory in Slovenia.  

Now, on to the pre-stage; 12AX7 i agree the Tele’s are great tubes, have both ribbed and smooth plate, smooth plate definitely superior, smoother, more detail and greater soundstage.  IMO however the Amperex Holland Bugle Boy beats the Teles with more air, detail and soundstage hight, not cheap but you should try and find one of these.  Also have Blackburn Mullards, RFTs, Russian and Chinese Gold Lions, GE, RCA, anf Raytheon black plate.  Bugles #1, Tele #2, and Mullard #3.

You should also look at trying a12AT7, lower gain but like I’ve experienced, the Willsenton has tons of headroom.  Have Teles, Mullards, Bugle Boys, Sylvania, Brimar, Westinghouse and a real sleeper, RCA black plate, think I paid $15 for it. Warm, smooth, a little rolled off on the top but a beautiful sounding tube.

On to the 6SN7, have Sylvania's, Tung Sols, Russian Fotons (cheap great all rounders), Raytheons, GEs, RCAs. CBS Hytron’s, GTs, GTAs, and GTBs.  By far the best are the Sylvania GTs from early 50s, two hole or three. Bass, mids, treble extension and clarity.  Next would be the Tung Sol GTAWs, followed by Sylvania and Tung Sol GTB FAA issues. The Tung Sols are a little more gritty, the Sylvania’s a touch warmer  Sleepers are the Hytron GTs from 1954, a superb linear tube with great tonality. 
 

Rectifierers do make a difference due to differences in voltage drop and how the amp (and rest of tubes) react to various DC voltages.  I’m fond of the Svetlana 5U4C black plate (over the gray plate), followed by the RCA smooth black plate.  Also try a 5AR4, Mullard ($$) or another great option is the new issue Gold Lion.  You’ll find the speed of mids and bass tighter with the 5AR4, less rolled off high end.  

Obviously personal preference, type of music, your room, and heck, even your mood can dictate what sounds best on any given day.  Early mornings with my Inspire KT88 running St Pete Svets and Anouar Brahem through the Klipsch (no sub) vs an evening with a glass of wine (left bank all the way), Klipsch and Joss Stone or CSNY vs a stiff bourbon, Jason Aldean and the Focals blaring Night Train are all different, but equally wonderful! 

Music can stir the soul, happy listening! 

Cheers, 

Hi,

I have two of VEB Rohrenwerk Neuhaus GDR NOS ECC83s, very similar to the RFTs, same collective ownership as RFT back in the day of communist East Germany. They are noisy in my Willsenton, with higher hum coming from the Forte's which are 99dB.  I believe the Cornwall's are 102 dB so I'd think you'd get even higher noise with RFTs.  They sound a lot like the stock JJ 12AX7, a bit "hard," not as warm or engaging as some of the other NOS 9 pins, e.g., Tele, Amperex, Mullard, RCA, etc.  I also have a set of VEB and RFT EL34s for another small SET amp, and they sound excellent, as good as Tesla's but not as sweet as St. Pete Svetlana EL34s. 

Don't know if you've experienced the hum issue with your Willsenton.  It's not a ground loop, I've troubleshot that, not the issue.  The hum is volume independent (adjusting up or down doesn't impact hum level).  I've played with the hum adjuster, put a DC filter on the power cord (to avoid DC looping back to the power transformer), experimented with lifting the ground, etc, etc and still have a bit of hum at idle regardless of the tube compliment.  It's basically the mechanical transformer noise making its way to the speakers.  China-hifi said it is normal with the amp.  Some 12AX7s are louder than others, and the 12AT7s are quieter overall.

My Dennis Had Inspire KT88 Firebottle has zero hum coming from the Klipsch, so I know it's possible to build a dead quite amp (requires much higher quality transformers, i.e., more expensive).  The Inspire is a different build than the Willsenton (completely by hand, no PCB board, custom wound transformers and highest quality caps and resistors) and only has 10 wpc.  I've read numerous places that the bigger, stronger the amp, the more mechanical noise it will generate. 

Anyway, I found the VEBs humming too much for my taste.  The 12AT7's hum less across the board due to lower gain, 60 mu vs 100 with 12AX7;'s.  That being said, the Telefunken smooth plate AX7 is very quite, as is the Amperex BB, the Mullard and the Russian Gold Lion 12AX7 (which BTW can act as a great reference tube, I've found the entire Gold Lion series to be very clear, clean and crisp, and linear with excellent bass that is tight.  I have a set of KT88s, KT77s for the Inspire, and 300b's and the 12AX7 for the Willsenton).

The RFTs are cheaper, but I would encourage you to save up and go for the Amperex Bugle Boy 12AX7 or 12AT7 (make sure you get Holland build, not France or GB), you'll get low noise (hum), very clear, clean and crisp highs with extended soundstage (more height), AND good bass with warm mids.  The BB is just a bit "brighter" up top than the Tele smooth plate, meaning more detail, cleaner treble extension.  Subtle but distinctive.  

And yes my Svet 5U4C  BP "pops" a little purple blue color/light on top when fired up, looks really cool and I've read it is normal, nothing to worry about, doesn't mean tube is on it's way out or anything.  I also have the gray plate version of the Svet, and it doesn't "pop" on turn on.  I also have a set of Svet 6550s for the Inspire that glow blue when warmed up for 30 mins or so...very cool look.  Also normal and doesn't mean anything.  None of the Gold Lions or any other tube for that matter glow blue in the Willsenton, but boy do the 845s get hot!  I added a slim, quite fan that sits nicely on top of the transformer and tube cage to keep my AC bill down!

Regards

Have already contacted China HiFi, here’s their response, “ Vacuum tube power amplifier and transistor power amplifier are different.  It's normal thatr hear the huming within 1-1.5m.”   So…I believe it is a function of quality of parts, particularly the transformers, and implementation, i.e., the build.  I’ve read the transformers are potted so not viable to upgrade with a mod.  

I have about 700 hours on my 300i, and it’s gotten slightly worse with time on the amp.  It’s much more noticeable with the 99 dB Klipsch Forte’s than the 92 dB Focal’s.  I think it would be unacceptable with LaScalas.  Yes, we’re beginning to migrate from really good mid-fi to more resolving, and expensive hi-fi!  That being said, I’m happy with the Willsenton with its noise floor vs price.  A high end build with much better parts would likely run $10k-$20k, depending on manufacturer.  It comes down to system synergy, the 300i has enough headroom to push 85-90 dB speakers with ease, that would be one solution.  Also with lower gain 12AT7s, I’ve found the hum isn’t noticeable at my seating position even between tracks.  Roll in a noisy high gain 12AX7 and the hum returns.  

As much as I hate to admit, Klipsch Heritage series may not be the best match for the Willsenton 300i.  My Inspire KT88 is a match with the Klipsch , dead silent! Problem is Dennis only builds a dozen or less amps a year. At the moment he has a 300b SET on ebay for $4,250, it won’t last long, maybe 48 hours. 

Anyway, glad I bought the Willsenton, great soundstage, deep bass, warm mids and crystal clear treble with the right pre stage tubes.  Sitting here right now listening with low level volume, a touch of boost at certain frequencies with a Klark Teknik DN360 studio equalizer and loving the mellow yet articulate sound emanating from the Focals.  

Cheers