WILLSENTON R300 SET 300b

[muralimmreddy]

Any one has this new 300B set amp from Willsenton? or any tube aficionado can share opinion on the tubes , rectifier, transformers etc used?

Willsenton R300 PLUS Single-ended Integrated 300B tube amplifier& Power amp, China-hifi-Audio Tube Amplifier online store, Willsenton, Boyuurange Reisong, SoundArtist, Muzishare, Yaqin audiophile valve amp, hi-fi Cables

China-hifi-Audio online store Willsenton R300 PLUS Single-ended Integrated 300B tube amplifier& Power amp - Willsenton R300 PLUS Tube Amplifier 300B*2 Single-ended Class A Integrated Amplifier & Power Amplifier & Headphones amp All in One 100% Brand New Declaration All items are guaranteed...

www.china-hifi-audio.com

Two 5U4G vacuum tubes are used for high-voltage rectification. 1pcs of 6SL7 and 2pcs of 6SN7 vacuum tubes are used for the voltage amplifier and preamp stage.
The power amplifier stage uses two Willsenton custom-made 300B vacuum tubes for single-end Class A power amplification.

Negative feedback circuit design

Thanks

 

[arj]

You might have seen the You tube reviews ?

Steve Huffman has done a good review

 

[muralimmreddy]

You might have seen the You tube reviews ?

Steve Huffman has done a good review

Yes, there are pretty good reviews coming in.

this is another

I went ahead and made a purchase expecting to reach me this week.

 

[arj]

Congratulations. looking forward to hear your ownership review !

 

[fLUX]

Yes, there are pretty good reviews coming in.

this is another

I went ahead and made a purchase expecting to reach me this week.

Congrats, is it a direct purchase or have someone hand carrying the same ?

 

[muralimmreddy]

Congrats, is it a direct purchase or have someone hand carrying the same ?

Unfortunately had to order from china hifi directly. @magma please bring this and the beast r800 to your offerings

 

[magma]

The 300 is a very sweet sounding amp

The issue is the wattage
15 w in linear

Problem is
The stupid audiophile craze of having more watts

People just don't seem to digest that 15 watts is enough for decently sensitive speakers everyine wants more !!

I don't know how many takers will.be there if i get it
(The 2nd R8 lot is in the way though with the upgraded kt88 tubes )



Murali


Be weary about the new stupid BIS norms (issued a couple months ago )


THOUGH this product is out of purview
( Since it doesn't have wifi and Bluetooth )

Some customs guys unnecessarily act difficult
And club it in BIS

 

[mbhangui]

Be weary about the new stupid BIS norms (issued a couple months ago )


THOUGH this product is out of purview
( Since it doesn't have wifi and Bluetooth )

Some customs guys unnecessarily act difficult
And club it in BIS

Hi magma, is this stupid BIS norms voltage related?

 

[magma]

No
They are power related
Wifi related
Bluetooth protocol related
High watt products ( those in pro audio )

That voltage thing is on the cards though but not yet passed

The government recently passed a fatwa that modular
Universal sockets are not allowed to be sold

This is the reason that universal sockets
UK , US that unjversla Crabtree type wall socket we had is disappearing from the market

They have asked manufa tures and importers only to sell the 6amp andn16 amp
Indian universal

This is a completely stupid fatwa
Because it doesn't apply to external multiplug travel sockets like MX and belkin etc
And this doesn't apply to industrial as.well
So hypocritical

Applies
Only to the direct conceal wall sockets
Home use

What exactly are they trying to do ?
Dissuade us from getting imported products with imported pin plugs

Wft are hotels supposed to do who cater to foreigner
Hospitals


The electrical association
Has filed a countersuit against the government in this regard
But for now the fatwa applies

 

[DB1989]

What exactly are they trying to do ?
Dissuade us from getting imported products with imported pin plugs

Exactly. Mandatory BIS Quality Control Orders come within the ambit of what is known as a "technical barrier to trade" or TBT measures.

They're often at the behest of local industries and needless to say, Ill thought out.

The electrical association
Has filed a countersuit against the government in this regard
But for now the fatwa applies

It'll be difficult to overcome once imposed. The time to file objections is when the Draft of the Quality Control Orders are notified - approximately 3 to 6 months are given for objections to be filed.

The problem is a lack of collective effort and awareness on the part of the user industry to take action in time.

 

[Nitin K]

No
They are power related
Wifi related
Bluetooth protocol related
High watt products ( those in pro audio )

That voltage thing is on the cards though but not yet passed

The government recently passed a fatwa that modular
Universal sockets are not allowed to be sold

This is the reason that universal sockets
UK , US that unjversla Crabtree type wall socket we had is disappearing from the market

They have asked manufa tures and importers only to sell the 6amp andn16 amp
Indian universal

This is a completely stupid fatwa
Because it doesn't apply to external multiplug travel sockets like MX and belkin etc
And this doesn't apply to industrial as.well
So hypocritical

Applies
Only to the direct conceal wall sockets
Home use

What exactly are they trying to do ?
Dissuade us from getting imported products with imported pin plugs

Wft are hotels supposed to do who cater to foreigner
Hospitals


The electrical association
Has filed a countersuit against the government in this regard
But for now the fatwa applies

Our round pin plugs seems to be one of the most worst thought of designs which does not fit into the sockets properly a lot of times . The exposed round sockets are dangerous to kids besides dust going inside.
Infact the multisocket system is such a convenience.

 

[muralimmreddy]

After a month wait finally Willsenton r300b arrived yesterday. It's unbelievable how good the craftsmanship is for the price. It's damn heavy at 25KG. Its huge amp.

Pairing it with a loaner Harbeth SHL5 which are 86DB, that 8 watts are driving the speakers with authority. Low end is amazingly good.

Little disappointed that I am not getting midrange sweetness (could be speakers as well) need to give some time for tubes to settle in.

Overall great 300B SET amp for the price.

 

[heliumflight]

Is 8 watts sufficient to drive Harbeth?

 

[coaltrain]

After a month wait finally Willsenton r300b arrived yesterday. It's unbelievable how good the craftsmanship is for the price. It's damn heavy at 25KG. Its huge amp.

Pairing it with a loaner Harbeth SHL5 which are 86DB, that 8 watts are driving the speakers with authority. Low end is amazingly good.

Little disappointed that I am not getting midrange sweetness (could be speakers as well) need to give some time for tubes to settle in.

Overall great 300B SET amp for the price.

View attachment 73960View attachment 73959

Gorgeous!
Do post your listening impressions once the amp has settled in.
Also, trust you have re-seated the tubes and calibrated the bias? That would take care of any jolts they may have experienced on the way over to you.
Happy listening!

 

[muralimmreddy]

Is 8 watts sufficient to drive Harbeth?

Yes. Its class A 8 watts. Gets plenty loud by 10am position

Gorgeous!
Do post your listening impressions once the amp has settled in.

Sure will do.

Also, trust you have re-seated the tubes and calibrated the bias? That would take care of any jolts they may have experienced on the way over to you.
Happy listening!

Thanks for reminding. I just did biasing.

 

[drlowmu]

After a month wait finally Willsenton r300b arrived yesterday. It's unbelievable how good the craftsmanship is for the price. It's damn heavy at 25KG. Its huge amp.

Pairing it with a loaner Harbeth SHL5 which are 86DB, that 8 watts are driving the speakers with authority. Low end is amazingly good.

Little disappointed that I am not getting midrange sweetness (could be speakers as well) need to give some time for tubes to settle in.

Overall great 300B SET amp for the price.

View attachment 73960View attachment 73959

Pretty looking !!. The amps dead-center middle input tube should have been positioned two inches forward, to get that most sensitive input stage farther away from the power supply fields, happening in the rectifier tubes. RCA input jacks, also should be center top-plate front positioned.

You need 100 Hours as a minimum, to as many as 800 hours, to fully break in such an amplifier.

I like those dual 5U4GBs, something I went to in 1989 and again use from 2019 going forward. Tip, try out Russian Electro Harmonix 5U4GBs.

I wish I would have seen this thread earlier. I would have advised you to consider a LAB 12 300B amp from Athens, Greece. ( see Steve Guttenberg and Herb Reichert on-line videos ). It is cost - effective, a simpler circuit - a two stage amp. One less stage outplays three tube stage tube amps when all else is equally well executed. Well, just give your's some break in time now.

Tube rolling will help some, but only after break in !!! Replacing all plate and cathode resistors, with same value Roderstein MK8s, from Michael Percy in the USA, should greatly help that amp's sonics. ( timbre and purity-wise ). Also below deck, cut-out all tie wraps, discard them, and spread wires 1/8th an inch or more from each other. That will sound somewhat nicer.

Can you post the amp's schematic for us who are so inclined?? If not provided, DO get one now, for servicing the amp locally n future years.

You could make up the 9.52 feet long speaker wires from HFV's M22759 Speaker Cable Thread. These have not been bested, so far in A-Bs !!! While you are at it, make the 300B amp's power cord wires 9.52 feet m22759/11/12 also, as it will sound perhaps about one to three percent nicer also. A triode tube amp such as a 300B can be a direct access to the music device. Have fun listening.

Jeff

 

[muralimmreddy]

In my conscience i can not think of selling this amp. So after owning this amp for 6 months i can say its junk. Had too many problems, tube arcing of rectifier, loud pops etc. Turns out both stock rectifier and 6sl7 are faulty was offered to replace for free. Even after replacing still have issues. Initially thought i must have gotten lemon, but it does look a like junk from the measurements

Really surprised at glowing reviews from all the popular reviewers.

 

[Nitin K]

In my conscience i can not think of selling this amp. So after owning this amp for 6 months i can say its junk. Had too many problems, tube arcing of rectifier, loud pops etc. Turns out both stock rectifier and 6sl7 are faulty was offered to replace for free. Even after replacing still have issues. Initially thought i must have gotten lemon, but it does look a like junk from the measurements

Really surprised at glowing reviews from all the popular reviewers.

This amp has glowing (pun intended) reviews from so many youtubers. Really hard to trust most of the reviews out there especially when a demo or availability is not possible.

 

[arj]

In my conscience i can not think of selling this amp. So after owning this amp for 6 months i can say its junk. Had too many problems, tube arcing of rectifier, loud pops etc. Turns out both stock rectifier and 6sl7 are faulty was offered to replace for free. Even after replacing still have issues. Initially thought i must have gotten lemon, but it does look a like junk from the measurements

Really surprised at glowing reviews from all the popular reviewers.

is it just this piece or any other owners who feel the same as well ?

 

[muralimmreddy]

is it just this piece or any other owners who feel the same as well ?

Mine was from the very first units. So not sure if they may have fixed it recently or my unit may be bad.

Generally I suspect components may have been too compromised to keep the price low.

I am not technically adept but from the problems i have seen and email troubleshooting done (BTW china hifi provided excellent support FWIW) there may be basic design issues as well

Those iron used are useless….

So are many used by other China made amps. They are not even guitar worthy….

Even the coupling caps they use are fake. And that’s pretty sad move to make quick bucks out of cheap production spin-offs.

Personally I can not generalize all china amps are bad. I purchased a el34 SET NFB amp from alixpress for below 20K 4 years back out of curiosity to pair with horn speakers. That was one extraordinary amp which opened me to the world of SET amps. when paired with Ahuja OB (that you helped me build) I get the what the fuss is about full rangers and SET amps with no feedback