Tube Integrated Under 1,500

shtinkydog

I have had a great experience with Line Magnetic. I bought a LM 216 integrated tube amp from my dealer who stated that LM Audio is 100% behind their products. He told me ARC cannot say that. I played the 216 alot for 5 years until a transformer went bad. I took it to my dealer who sent it in for repair at LM Audio distributer and gave me a LM Audio SET amp to use as a loaner. Once returned my amp sounded great again. Glennewdick is impressed with sound and build and sound quality of his Wilsenton R8.

What has your experience been with Wilsenton?

@2psyop I've never heard the Wilsenton R8, but I did give one a very good look over, even picked it up (literally) and that was about the only thing that impressed me about it.  It was heavy as hell.   I saw a few rusted pieces around the tube assemblies, for lack of a better word.  The knobs/switches felt clunky, loose.  The tubes looked dirty, almost as if they were picked out of trash can.  Not kidding.   They were branded "Wilsenton".  It just felt cheap.  I didn't go any further as to actually listen to it.  My whole impression was based on its look/feel and just turned me off. Then I moved on. 

I have a Jolida Fusion 6802 I picked up a couple years ago for $1599. I like it a lot but have no other experience with tube amps. Maybe you could find a used Jolida,

My experience with the Willsenton R8 is totally different than what shtinkydog encountered. A friend of mine asked me to buy an R8 for him and have it delivered to my home. This was to prevent the bark, bite, and beatin' he might get from the wife.

I ordered it through Amazon for a no-hassle return and have been listening to it now going on two weeks. I am impressed with how quickly the order arrived, the packing materials, the build quality, and the sound. I have Wilson Audio Sabrina speakers in a medium size room. The Wilsons are 4 ohm on efficiency and 87 dB on the sensitivity, and I listen mostly to jazz. In triode operation it had no problems at all. I have had many amplifiers over the years and this one held its own quite well. The music power of each note caught my attention. I switched to ultra linear only for a few minutes. It sounded more forward and lit up but since triode sounded so good I switched back.

I will be delivering his R8 to him in a few days, and I have to say it gives me pause to even consider getting one of my own. This is a great value looking at it from my experience.

Rogue Sphinx V3 at $1800. Had it for two years now, lovely integrated that is extremely musical and not fussy. I will look at Rogue again if I ever decide to get another pre/amp.