WILLSENTON R300 SET 300b

[essrand]

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.

Could it be that using a non-tube-friendly speakers have caused these problems?
I remember a post in some other site where the distributor for Shindo was imploring a user not to use his 20W tube amp with a Harbeth because he opined that it would damage the tube amp. Meanwhile your tube amp is only 8W.

 

[muralimmreddy]

Could it be that using a non-tube-friendly speakers have caused these problems?
I remember a post in some other site where the distributor for Shindo was imploring a user not to use his 20W tube amp with a Harbeth because he opined that it would damage the tube amp. Meanwhile your tube amp is only 8W.

No. Harbeths and LS3/5a I have both are are easy load on the amp with no impedence swings (called resistive load I think) and tube amps are very popular with British speakers with bbc pedigree

 

[corElement]

It's too bad you're so far away from me. Would have been awesome to have a shootout between homegrown Lyrita audio 2a3 and this 300b. I find myself enjoying Virens 2 stage 3 watt 2a3 more than my solid state amp at much higher price points where it comes to quality of sound and enjoyment of listening.

 

[muralimmreddy]

It's too bad you're so far away from me. Would have been awesome to have a shootout between homegrown Lyrita audio 2a3 and this 300b.

Interesting you made that comment for my music preferences I am hooked to SET amps, can't go back to solid state either. Setting up a purist chain with R2R non DAC + no feedback SET + no crossover open baffle, in the process ended up with some misadventures Trying to get a time tested good tube amps in india (at least for me ) was very difficult, hence went the route of Chinese amps. After learning lesson that one has to be careful on choosing tube amps, came back looking for what is domestically available.

I got lyrita DHT pre with dave slagle autoformer built for me. I am using Lyrita pre with this 300B amp as poweramp. So far Lyrita pre seems to pretty good at some point might consider lyrita 2A3 or GM70 power amp.

 

[coaltrain]

@muralimmreddy
This popped up for me on YouTube. Hoping you may find an easy fix for your amp.

 

[muralimmreddy]

This popped up for me on YouTube. Hoping you may find an easy fix for your amp.

Yes , planning to try the rectifier swap fix. Hoping to fix two remaining problems, rectifier arcing, and DC leak that cause loud pop on start.

On a different note, sonically this amp is decent. Recently i paired it in all Audionote chain with high sensitivity speakers, its was pretty close to the presentation of Audio Note OTO SE , though laked bit of refinement in comparison

 

[Hari Iyer]

Damage to tube amps only happens if there is a mismatch in the rated impedance between the amps and speakers or the speakers being driven have a crazy impedance plot, particularly on the two ends.

I have driven my tube amp even at 1 ohm speaker load for hours together with no issues. My current load is 3 ohms.

 

[Sai_Sathish]

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

Hi murali
I have Dali oberon 5 which is 88db @6ohms. I'm curious to know Whether this 8w is enough to drive my speaker. Can we expect bass grunt and dynamics. Awaiting for ur reply.

 

[muralimmreddy]

Hi murali
I have Dali oberon 5 which is 88db @6ohms. I'm curious to know Whether this 8w is enough to drive my speaker. Can we expect bass grunt and dynamics. Awaiting for ur reply.

Hi Satish,

It will drive well at moderate levels. 300B has good low end but may not be as tight as solid state. I would suggest go with willsenton push pull if you are not set on SET amps only. Also have not personally found stock tubes are good so you may have to replace to get good results. All things considered r8 might be better options with el34 tube rolling option.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Hi murali
I have Dali oberon 5 which is 88db @6ohms. I'm curious to know Whether this 8w is enough to drive my speaker. Can we expect bass grunt and dynamics. Awaiting for ur reply.

Hi Satish..as Murali said above, 8 watts might not be enough for 88 db speakers, unless it is a very near field setup. The most powerful SET's top off at 22 watts if Iam not wrong. So you might find that push-pull EL34's as suggested might be a better fit with your speakers. Some amps come with the option of Triode or ultralinear operation in these push-pull amps. The triode operation seems to sound a little more organic to my ears. So this might be something you want to consider. All the best

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

With tube amps, it’s actually dependent on the impedance curve of your speakers. A 95dB rated speakers but with a poor impedance curve may sound very lean compared to just 88dB speakers but with linear impedance curve, both driven by SE tube amps.

Speakers sensitivity ratings without actual impedance curves make no meaning when you are looking at driving them from a tube amp.

Just to pump out more power, PP tube amps sound not much different than SS. Better to stay put with some excellent SS gear. Aniket makes some…

Having tried high power class A and equivalently high powered PP tube amps with KT-88 and KT-120, I agree with your observation. It would be better to go with a SS class A amp than with tubes if high power is a requirement. The tube magic to my ears really starts at EL34 and improves as we go lower in power, though I've never heard the holy grail 2A3's at 2 watts.

Edit : I edited to add that the Conrad Johnson KT tubed amps are a completely different kettle of fish though. The older ones are much sought after, as they can do both power and tube magic at the same time apparently.

 

[shuv]

Veering off topic slightly, if I may..

Noob question. Do tube amplifiers usually only shine with high sensitivity speakers? Conversely, SS amplifiers don't gel with high sensitivity speakers? I had called up the Klipsch distributor. A gentleman said that though many clients start off with SS gear, they shift to tubes eventually.

Then, how do we define high and low sensitivity?

@yogibear You mentioned impedance curves. The manual usually mentions a fixed unit. Or nominal/minimum. How do we interpret that?

Sorry for the queries.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

Do tube amplifiers only shine with high sensitivity speakers. No. It’s a big fallacy. Try driving an 88dB BS with excellent impedance curve from an SE tube amp and you would find yourself in musical heaven.

Impedance curves are the frequency vs change in resistance of your speakers that any amp would see. For tube amps to deliver good constant power to the speakers, it should be as linear as possible.

Reason: Whatever impedance load the secondary of output transformers gets from the speakers, it gets reflected to primary and hence changes the efficiency of the power tubes accordingly both in terms of power delivery and distortion figures. It’s a dynamic change over musical spectrum and must be maintained within limits to bring out the best out of tube amps.

A well mated SE tube amp can bring out staggering representation just at 1 watt driving a 89dB speaker.

In my books, Holy Grail doesn’t even start from 2A3….

I've seen a few posts from you regarding tube amps so you might know about them, if you know then could please let me know how much power is the maximum one can expect from a tube amp while retaining it's "tube sound".

 

[muralimmreddy]

Veering off topic slightly, if I may..

Noob question. Do tube amplifiers usually only shine with high sensitivity speakers? Conversely, SS amplifiers don't gel with high sensitivity speakers? I had called up the Klipsch distributor. A gentleman said that though many clients start off with SS gear, they shift to tubes eventuall

Try reading this eloquent article

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0703/

I have tried SET amps high sensitivity Klipsch etc. There is no sure guarantee that they will always work. This willsenton r300 does not have tube magic it did not pair well with 94db rp600m

Strangely it paired lovely with highly insentive 83db but easy load 15 ohm falcon acoustic LS3/5w connected to 16ohm tap.

Ultimately audiogods have to bless you to good system energy. Such is this hobby

 

[reignofchaos]

Edit : I edited to add that the Conrad Johnson KT tubed amps are a completely different kettle of fish though. The older ones are much sought after, as they can do both power and tube magic at the same time apparently.

Have one of these. They are just on another level. Doesn't feel like a PP amp at all. In fact someone who uses uber expensive SET monos thought it was a SET when he heard it .

Edit: Unfortunately even these aren't enough to drive my 85 dB ATCs. But works incredibly well with the Blumenhofer Big Fun 17.

 

[muralimmreddy]

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0703/

I was fortunate to have read this steve deckert article, just when starting stereo hobby (transitioning from head phones) and serendipity ended up with Metrum R2r nos dac, el34 SET amp with zero feedback and Klipsh horns. (a virgin signal path ) it was magic. Long time i am pursing the tube amps. recently accidently tried the post card sized class-D fosi audio, its so simple and minimal circuit design like that of SET amps and has that purity, blown away with it, and has balls to drive spekers well

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Have one of these. They are just on another level. Doesn't feel like a PP amp at all. In fact someone who uses uber expensive SET monos thought it was a SET when he heard it .

Those are some lovely keepers for life ...congratulations

 

[reignofchaos]

Those are some lovely keepers for life ...congratulations

Absolutely! Now I am looking for an equally good CJ premier series preamp.

@muralimmreddy : I got a fosi too for shits and giggles. I was shocked how good it is for the 7000 odd one pays for it. It is way way better than the entry level class AB amps of yesteryear.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

@muralimmreddy : I got a fosi too for shits and giggles. I was shocked how good it is for the 7000 odd one pays for it. It is way way better than the entry level class AB amps of yesteryear.

Murali was just the brand ambassador fosi needed. Iam getting one too.

Dont want to miss out on the real audiophile cred the fosi brings. I can always add later " bought a fosi for shits and giggles, but it shut me up"

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

Target 7 wpc SE. That’s more than enough.

Interesting. Thanks for the answer. Looks like no tube amps for me, only pre.