$1298 for this? Willsenton R300 B Plus!! Review!!!

[@NemoPropaganda]

Hey guys, China-Hifi reached out and mentioned they totally don't mind if anyone wants to order from Amazon to take advantage of easier returns if there is any potential worry that you may not enjoy the amp, here are the links to Amazon: Blue/Silver: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CRB9C9KF All Black: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09P57GDTB

[@BlackScorpio-np3yu]

I have Cayin A845 Pro 25 Anniversary Edition and I am tempted to buy this Williston R300 Plus for my (92db at 4ohms, as it is not at 8ohms, so I don't know if this 92db has big sensitivity) ProAc D100. What do you think?

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@BlackScorpio-np3yu I'm not familiar with Proac speakers.

[@BlackScorpio-np3yu]

I was asked about being 92db at 4ohm

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@BlackScorpio-np3yu the willseonton can handle either 4 or 8 ohm loads and for low power tube amps like 10 watts or less I think any speaker above 90dB should be a great match but without actually having the speaker in my home or seeing an impedance graph I can't be 100% sure so I am speaking generally that those two should be a good combination.

[@BlackScorpio-np3yu]

@NemoPropaganda thanks. I don't know why this guy, says Willsenton is trash: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKjZeJdpm6x0o9k

[@arliecrumpler3213]

I have owned mine for 2 1/2 years and absolutely love it. I bought mine directly from China Hifi and saved about $350 compared to Amazon. I put in some NOS RCA and Phillips JAN tubes along with LinLai 300b tubes and it sounds fantastic. It blows away my Cambridge AXR 85. I have it paired with Klipsch Forte 2 speakers (refurbished with ALK crossovers). You definitely need high sensitivity speakers. It gets loud enough to run you out of my 20x30 living room. I typically have the volume knob at 8:00 depending on the source. At 10:00 it starts getting loud. At 12:00, it will run you out of the room. It actually sounds better at louder volumes than my 85 watt Cambridge.

[@NemoPropaganda]

Hi bro, I see this is your first time commenting on my work, heads up I don't care to talk about other content creators or their opinions. You are correct about possible revisions, the China brands are known to make quick and often quiet revisions to fix issues that arise, they certainly could get a little better about mentioning these changes to help boost buyer confidence but it is pretty cool that many China brands are quick to update or modify something to fix any issue. This current version should not have any of the known issues previous models had, mine too is absolutely flawless and I really love it!!

[@arliecrumpler3213]

I deleted the other reference and limited my comments to my personal experience.😊​@@NemoPropaganda

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@arliecrumpler3213 wow, I didn't expect that but I really appreciate the flexibility!!

[@arliecrumpler3213]

I'm a retired Navy Chief and a retired elementary school teacher. At 66 years old, following rules and policies are part of my nature. The edit was easy and respectful of your concerns. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and giving honest reviews.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@arliecrumpler3213 God bless, what a refreshing take! Have a beautiful Sunday good sir!

[@robertwang7825]

Willsenton makes great tube amps. I have the 50W class A Willsenton R800i , I rolled it with PSVane top tubes, it is amazing and very stable, used it for more than 1 year. It works with most spkrs in a smallish room. It sells for US1500 but the tubes costs US1800 lol. Worth every penny.

[@zombielandiii2711]

Can you please share some differences? I'm looking to buy one of them (r8, r300, r800i). I have Q Acoustics Concept 300 but are somewhat difficult load at 84 db. Thanks for any help.

[@robertwang7825]

@ My Kefs LS50 Meta is also 84dB sensitive. First the R800i is class A to max power 50W. The others are not. Second you can roll the tubes as you go along and there are many choices n prices ( esp Chinese brands PSVane, Lin Lai etc. ). Third if your listening area is not large ( say 6M x 4M ) and you listen to music at 65dB - 85dB then it is fine. Fourth class A tube amps can handle difficult loads any day but if you play at almost max power output every time then your power tubes 805 and 300B will wear out faster than normal. Fifth once you have listened to class A amp it’s hard to go back to AB or D ( I had a SimAudio 70W class AB - not even close ). And if you enjoy jazz, voice , ambient , rock and not hard rock at high volume, then you will enjoy this amp very much. It weighs 95 lbs so it’s a beast of an amp. It is very well constructed. That’s my opinion.

[@robertwang7825]

@ Forgot , tube amps have a big soundstage, good depth and imaging , a lot of micro details and enough bass punch. If you like late night listening, you will appreciate what class A is all about. And it is neutral.

[@zombielandiii2711]

@@robertwang7825 Thanks for the answer, much appreciated!. So do you recommend the 805 version of the R800i?

[@robertwang7825]

@ R800i to buy , choose the 805 tube version , which outputs 50W class A

[@digitalmaximus]

Thank you nemo. Nice review. Looking forward to new Choco EMEI vs R300 B

[@carlbrown3634]

Very good review Nemo! Thanks for sharing.

[@villicana4731]

I own most of their machines, and they all sound very good. I use the 800i series to easily drive my Spendor Classic 100 and Jean Maurer 320E. I own some other tube amplifiers myself, and they are all very nice. Recently, after upgrading my power system, I invited some friends for a blind listening test. The power supply is PS Audio PowerPlant 15, DAC is Holo Audio May, cables are FURUTECH flagship (7n copper), and speakers are Jean Maurer 320E. Can you guess the result? Over 90% of friends thought the Willsenton 800i sounded better, with both sound detail and dynamic range being very good. Personally, I don't like to research other people's product design solutions because it's meaningless - I'm just a user, and in the end, I enjoy this product with my ears, not by looking at its circuit design with my eyes. 😊

[@NemoPropaganda]

wooo you have a great system!! I have the Spendor Classic 3/1 in for review and I freaking love it!!!!!!!

[@villicana4731]

@@NemoPropaganda I heard that Triode EVOLUTION was tuned/calibrated using the Classic 100 and Classic 1/2.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@villicana4731 oh man, that's a big dollar amp!

[@villicana4731]

@@NemoPropaganda Yes, this is not cheap.

[@slowestrider4918]

Thank you for comparing the Willsenton R300B to the Billie Amp. The Musizhare X9 is similar to the R300B, except it has phone input and $500 more expensive.8W is more than enough for the CW IV + REL HT1508. The Billie Amp II was on my list to replace the now malfunctioned ARC LS2 in my B system. That system is currently directly connected to the Parasound A21 with Eversolo master edition. When I decided to buy the Billie amp II, it sold out. I am waiting for the new edition III which is supposedly better. It would be great if you have a chance to review and compare it the version II. TIA.

[@NemoPropaganda]

Hi bro, if a new billie comes out I will try to review it :)

[@slowestrider4918]

@@NemoPropaganda Awesome! Thank you.

[@2HatHudders]

I bought the Willsenton R8 under 1k a few years back. Incredible valve amp. Not heard this particular amp.

[@JR-ho5qm]

You are pumping out the content! We definitely appreciate it thanks you!

[@fletchermunson6225]

I once owned a Muzishare integrated tube amp with that same blue color on the transformers. Stunning. My first thought was I wanted a car that color. I'd recommend tube rolling for an improvement in sound. In order to keep the cost down, a moderate priced tube like the PSVane Horizon would be interesting. Cheap Russian tubes I'd skip. Old stock original tubes would be great but you will double the price of the amp.

[@quma001]

Nice. If this amp already sounds that good with less-than-optimal speakers, one can imagine how it will perform with large, efficient standmount speakers in the 92db+ range.

[@NemoPropaganda]

oh yeah, 92dB+ will be no problem for any low power class a amp :)

[@marcusmcmurray77]

Great review!

[@geoffreydebrito7934]

It's true, my 8 watt integrated tube amp drives my 90db SPL - 8 ohm Triangle bookshelves just fine. When I hook it up to my 92db - 8 ohm single driver open baffles, the volume knob is set about a quarter of the way up and I'm hitting 85db peaks and that's in a 700 sq ft room.

[@theklipschcave3389]

But Thomas is running EL 34 tubes. The Willsenton 300B has the 300 B tubes. Two different ampsystems? Shoukdn't we compare two 300?

[@NemoPropaganda]

no, people want to see comparisons to other stuff I have.

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

Beautiful look. I would like to audition. Pluses are the sound, tube rolling (sounds like fun) and warmth. Concerns are the heat, lack of bass control and replacing tubes (beyond rolling). As a bass head my speakers need the power and control. I’m sure an audition will happen. Thanks for the passion, helps turn thoughts into action.

[@NemoPropaganda]

if you're a bass head and like things louder I know Willsenton makes more powerful models that other people seem to like but i have not personally heard them. But you might be best served with solid state, the CHoco is a good solid state alternative that has a ton more power, it does a lot of the tube stuff like holographics and really great SQ but has the power to support a bass head :)

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

@@NemoPropaganda thanks I have Rotel separates now with the SS A/B amp putting out 200 WPC into 8 ohms. Plenty of power but I love trying out new equipment. It’s a great part of the hobby. It’s funny I just had a discussion with my daughter about this. Her boss is talking to her about bass and treble in their office system and she couldn’t care less. I told her to have him call me. She doesn’t want that to happen. She knows We’d end up talking for hours about our old guy music and stereo equipment. Worlds collide. Don’t cross the streams.

[@aceofspades6667]

Seems pretty legit for the price.. I do enjoy the 300b sound especially on something like Zu.

[@steveb1148]

Ive owned mine for 3 months and love it. You can’t turn it on because there’s too much heat in your face and you would sweat on camera? Are you joking? You just don’twant to be bothered. It gets warm…..but you should have turned it on and taken some video that way. The heat output is not going to heat a room…. Suck it up man! The amp blew me away. For the money? Wow. I bought on Amazon simply for the return policy. I can’t imagine trying to return to chinahifi - I am keeping it for sure.

[@NemoPropaganda]

man some of you guys will complain about literally anything, I bet your fun at parties...

[@liamporter1137]

Great review.

[@chrislj2890]

I just found that China-Hifi-Audio now has a warranty repair facility in the U.S. which is great. But I think most people would be better off getting the amp from Amazon, especially if you have their VISA card that has 5% cash back. With them you don't have a long wait worrying about potential shipping damage. I have the R8 (revised) and think it's a better choice. It can use either KT88, EL34, or 6550 power tubes which is beneficial for tube rolling while the other just takes 300B tubes which are limited and more expensive.

[@NemoPropaganda]

I'm not enough into tubes to really have an opinion but I guess it's just like anything else where some people may prefer the 300b sound :)

[@chrislj2890]

@@NemoPropaganda Agreed, but to be truthful I've never heard 300B tubes so my opinion has to be based on things other than the sound quality. If I heard one I might like it better than what I have so I will stay away from them. My wife's patience can only go so far, lol.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@chrislj2890 this made me geniunely laugh out loud :) you're telling me she doesn't want a bunch of 60+ lb delicate amplifiers laying around the house that get ripping hot when used and crank up the electricity bill? She doesn't want random drawers in the kitchen filled with tubes? How unreasonable of that woman!! Joking of course :)

[@chrislj2890]

@@NemoPropaganda Yeah, we live in a small house and I have two systems with two solid state amps, two tube amps, two turntables, two cassette decks, three streamers, three pair of speakers and a subwoofer. She doesn't understand how necessary it all is. 😊

[@onionknight9431]

Please do more reviews on amps and preamps.

[@NemoPropaganda]

hi bro, I don't review pre amps too often or power amps but I usually do a few integrated amps, just depends whats going on and what I'm curious about at the time.

[@zombielandiii2711]

Hi Nemo, i purchased the Choco sound Emei by your recommendation and you just mentioned it in the video. Can you please share some sound differences or some sort of quick comparison? By the way i emailed Alvin at Kinki Studios and confirmed me that my Choco has the upgraded version, so one less expense to make. He confirmed that all Chocos from 2024 have the updated version. On a side note (and somewhat embarrassing one), as im on search for a tube amp, the other night i connected a forgotten little Fosi t20 "tube amp" to my Q Acoustics Concept 300 and Heco Auroras connected to my Musician Pegasus 2 just to hear it and just for fun. The thing ls after the first 15 minutes, I forgot what i was doing, and got lost in the music for more than two hours. I just stopped to listen to "microdetails", "soundstage ", etc etc and I'm fact had a great time. It was just funny when I realized that I was using that "combo" haha. Experiences like this sometimes puts some weird perspectives about all of this we love as a hobby.

[@NemoPropaganda]

The CHoco is a considerable step up, it offers similar holographics and a similar tonal character with much more separation and resolution. Of course, tremendously more power also. The willsenton sound great for its price but the CHoco is worth every penny more that it costs.

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

Premiers in 13 hours. Tom Petty was right, the waiting is the hardest part.

[@350125GOW]

R.i.p.

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

Thanks for the video. The pictures of the blue alone make the wait worthwhile. Rock on!

[@bengleason508]

Thanks Nemo!

[@PennStacker]

Is there a way to run a powered subwoofer? Is there a pre out?

[@NemoPropaganda]

there is no pre-out. You would have to use a subwoofer with high level input like REL T7x or you can add a preout using the method I discuss in this video, it's very cheap and easy to do: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qILIipewbNt-p7Msi=VBcouKYvJGmKMzlL

[@middleearthltd]

Shut out to SE tube amplifiers I live in a .5 to 8 watt world The lowest power amp is 3 watts I DIY my speakers and using full range single drivers at 90 db plus works well Get to 110 db with Pro drivers is the sweet spot but the crossover, even at 500 hz, cannot equal full range single drivers with quarter wave cabinets in my opinion

[@PaulMaison]

Linton Heritage would pair well with the 300B

[@remyvermunt8623]

What kind of speakers do you connect to sth like this?

[@NemoPropaganda]

anything with an easy impedance graph and higher sensitivity like Fritz Carbon, Focal Aria, Zu DWX, Triangle Comete 40th etc....

[@2HatHudders]

What sub would you recommend with this amp? Apparently the bass is a touch slower and bloomy? Much like other valve amps.

[@NemoPropaganda]

it's very difficult to recommend a sub without knowing your budget, room size, and intended usage.

[@2HatHudders]

@@NemoPropaganda I was thinking more in terms of bass texture from the sub. My budget? Price appropriate to the amp and medium sized room. But if there's an unlimited budget option, I'll look at that too lol

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@2HatHudders in that case REL classic 98 is the easy choice if you wish to build on the existing characteristics :)

[@craigcarter-ml6wf]

Any reason why the rel t/9 wouldn't be a good match or rythmik f12. By the way, love your reviews!

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@craigcarter-ml6wf the OP wants a sub that matches the natural tonality of the R300, the Classic 98 is a sub REL designed that's intentionally designed to trade speed for tone & texture, much like the natural voicing of this amp, the OP wishes to add more of the same instead of changing it, it's his personal choice. Other customers may wish to have a tighter & quickers sound so they would choose the F12 or T9X, everyone always has a choice of going all in on the natural sound their gear has or changing it with something different. OP chose to go all in.

[@VictorEnnis-n1w]

Hey pal. Another terrific video as usual. I have perhaps a silly question. As I live about 30 miles outside of Los Angeles I find that 85 percent of the year the last thing I want is to heat up my room. I’ve always been curious to buy a tube amp but dont want to purchase a portable heater in the same transaction. Do all tube amps run hot and it’s just the nature of the beast? Are some worse than others? And how hot did you find this one to be ? My home studio is about 12’ X 16’. Appreciate you my brother. Have an awesome day.

[@Waderunner626]

You might want to checkout tube preamps. You could connect it to a class AB or class D amplifier to get some of the tub goodness without as much heat

[@NemoPropaganda]

Hi bro, straight up truth, tubes run HOT, how hot? Using a laser thermo I've temped them around 300+ F on the tubes themselves and 140 F on the case. I'm in socal too so I totally get what you mean, regardless of brand every full tube amp I've personally had here runs hot like this, it's in their nature. I'm sure there are some brands with unique circuits that run cooler but 140+ F case temp is kind of normal from my experience and 300+ F radiating off the tubes is hot, it's not as hot as a space heater by any means but my rooms temps go up about 1-2 F when runninga a tube amp hard. I suggest you find your warmth and holographics a different way like an R2R dac or warmer speakers :) For what it's worth many amps run hot regardless of topology so depending on what you have you may not always be generating more heat running tubes. Some of the class D stuff can run super hot too so don't assume those are cool running by default either :) If you want to keep things running cool high sensitivity speakers will be your friend, try and go for 89dB+

[@gaborozorai3714]

A tube will not work unless certain parts in it get red hot but small bottle tubes will put out less heat than large ones. The relatively tiny EL84's can sound great but a single pair can only do 3 wpc. Beautiful with really high efficiency speakers. For wider compatibility you need 2 pairs in push-pull configuration with 1# wpc. Still less heat generated than 300B's with the necessary pre and driver tubes.

[@GentielioGaming]

What about the Pathos? Can you still remember it's sound?

[@NemoPropaganda]

I've reviewed more than one Pathos and I remember them well.

[@GentielioGaming]

@@NemoPropaganda I guess compared to the one closest to the price range to the Willsenton 300 B plus.

[@NemoPropaganda]

​@@GentielioGaming I'm not comparing a handmade italian class AB tube hybrid with a 130w/channel and costing $3400 to a $1300 tube class A with 8w/channel. I appreciate your curiousity but this question does not make any sense.

[@jungtarcph]

Bi amp a speaker with this one n MT section and a class D on the Bass

[@NemoPropaganda]

you're a mad man but I respect it!

[@jamesbrotherton5487]

Would make a nice winter amp. I'd have to get black though, those Cowboy colors are not for me.

[@NemoPropaganda]

lololol, you're speaking facts, I don't even watch football much but from the few times i have immidiately I pictured the cowboys jersey and you're 100% right

[@thomasfi1275]

I owned the Willsenton R300. What a disaster. It fried 2 sets of Rectifier tubes and in the end 1 set of 300b tubes. This amp has major design flaws with the power supply. Tried to get support from China HiFi. A nightmare and no solution.

[@NemoPropaganda]

that's a bummer, all issues have since been resolved on the current batch. Sometimes being an early adopter doesn't work out, bummer you had that experience.

[@thomasfi1275]

@@NemoPropagandaA good company must do it right from the start. Impossible to trust such companies.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@thomasfi1275i don’t think that’s a fair statement. Tototas new Tundra is having catastrophic engine failure. I don’t think you’d say you can’t trust Toyota now. This is common in hifi and other hobbies regardless of the price point.

[@thomasfi1275]

@@NemoPropaganda Thats a different story. Willsenton make design failures and don’t know the basics. (Check the web and YT) They released several versions of the R300. No service in Europe and sending back to China is no option. More than 1 year of troubles is enough. That’s my honest personal user experience.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@thomasfi1275 I hear ya, as a customer your customer feedback is valid, I too would have been frustrated if that was my experience. What amp did you end up getting instead?

[@listentalk6977]

Can’t recommend Willsenton amps. I own the R300 and R8. The R300 2 300B tube red plating. The R8 has hiss and hum noise… Quality and reliability of these amps are very poor. Also difficult service.

[@NemoPropaganda]

transformer hum & hiss can happen to any amp, bummer you experienced that, mine was silent as the grave!

[@SavageListener]

The Black Ice Audio FX10H is $799 from USA with 12wpc. It's the only tube amp I've owned, so i haven't compared to other tube amps but I own an Accuphase E380 solid state and the Fx10h sounds amazing in comparison.

[@NemoPropaganda]

the look of that kind of reminds me of Jolida. Looks nice!

[@kamadeva1]

@@NemoPropaganda Black Ice is what Jolida became. Same people.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@kamadeva1 oh that makes sense, it's such a unique look, I really like their style :)

[@MasterofPlay7]

can you see the singer standing in front of you with the holographic imaging? like with body not just pinpoint like a head

[@NemoPropaganda]

be careful asking reviewers about center imaging, if someone has room treatment (like I do) we will almost always have great center imaging. It's as simple as having absorbtion at the first reflection points. Add that and even a $300 amp and $99 speakers will show you the singer in the middle of the room almost perfectly, of course some somgs are naturally more diffuse and some songs are more focused.

[@MasterofPlay7]

@@NemoPropaganda like i believe some amp/dac would show pinpoint like the head flowing without a body, but i heard tube amps usually show a statue/figure instead

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@MasterofPlay7 ehhh, I don't know about that, a lot of this hobby is psychological though, I've heard 1 million dollar systems and I've never felt there was an actual person in front of me. How are mind envisions the sound may be a little personal in some ways.

[@MasterofPlay7]

@@NemoPropaganda so what's in the system? How would you describe the soundstage?

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@MasterofPlay7 it was Wilson Alexandria XLF paired with NAIM statement Monoblocks and about $75k worth of cables, I don't know what the source was or power conditioning but it was pretty intense. The sense of scale and effortlessness were the stand out attributes as well as the supremely expansive sound and powerful bass that seemed to come out of nowhere. But those wilsons are like 600+ lbs each so no surprise :)

[@Inlinefour-m9j]

Really? Tell us a little about the output trannies then, on this glorious amp...?

[@NemoPropaganda]

bro I don't care about your tranny obsession, leave me out of it. Most people keep that stuff private but you do you.