ThoFi Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 It looks like that all these YT reviewers aren’t trustworthy. They reviewed and hyped the Willsenton and they didn’t care about the design. And today it looks like that they continue and aren’t willing to learn… If you’re really interested and love HiFi you can’t ignore the faulty design of Willsenton. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CohibaJoe Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 22 hours ago, Crosscourt121 said: I’ve watched a couple of YouTube videos recently which mentioned or displayed R300. Tarun the British Audiophile reviewed some Quad standmounts with a R300 plus sitting on the rack behind. It was not mentioned in the ancillary equipment section. I suspect he will review it soon but will he mention issues around previous versions? Secondly Jay’s iyagi did a recent one on 5 speakers that he would buy again and mentioned the R300 as a suitable budget partnering amp. I thought that was interesting Those YouTubers that had reviewed the R300 "and this only pertains to the R300", British Audiophile, Jay’s iyagi, Hi-Fi Cave, Steve Huff Photo & HiFi, did they live, and I mean lived, with the R300 for months and months on end? How about opening up to show us the built quality and the Parts being used? How about using a Scope for measurements? (Thank You Skunkie Designs Electronics for showing us what the R300 was measuring and design flaws which is Very Scary). At least Willsenton reached out to you for redesign thoughts. And now you here that manufactures intimidating those reviewers to pull their video's or to be sued. So yes, I had replaced the Resistors, Caps, Films, Tube Sockets and added Test Points on the 300B for plate voltage as the Meter is useless. Skunkie was testing out "Better" Output transformers, so this will be interesting on what she measures, and if these change the measurements for the better. I have no regrets on the work I have done as the sound is Wider and Spacious then a stock R300. Does it preform or sound like my PrimaLuna..No, as the 300B tube has its own Magic. But I would not "Leave" the house when the unit is on for fear of "Red Plating" or something going Poof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoFi Posted April 28 Author Share Posted April 28 6 hours ago, CohibaJoe said: Those YouTubers that had reviewed the R300 "and this only pertains to the R300", British Audiophile, Jay’s iyagi, Hi-Fi Cave, Steve Huff Photo & HiFi, did they live, and I mean lived, with the R300 for months and months on end? How about opening up to show us the built quality and the Parts being used? How about using a Scope for measurements? (Thank You Skunkie Designs Electronics for showing us what the R300 was measuring and design flaws which is Very Scary). At least Willsenton reached out to you for redesign thoughts. And now you here that manufactures intimidating those reviewers to pull their video's or to be sued. So yes, I had replaced the Resistors, Caps, Films, Tube Sockets and added Test Points on the 300B for plate voltage as the Meter is useless. Skunkie was testing out "Better" Output transformers, so this will be interesting on what she measures, and if these change the measurements for the better. I have no regrets on the work I have done as the sound is Wider and Spacious then a stock R300. Does it preform or sound like my PrimaLuna..No, as the 300B tube has its own Magic. But I would not "Leave" the house when the unit is on for fear of "Red Plating" or something going Poof. Based on these YouTubers reviews I bought a Willsenton. That was stupid. I never thought that a company brings a product to the market that has design flaws and didn’t even meet the basic requirements for safety and reliability. So to me all the YouTubers are absolutely layman’s like me. I hope we learned our lesson. Countless new brands flood the market and been reviewed on YouTube and none of them care or are able to analyze the design. Nowadays these platforms are very helpful for manufacturers to promote there products… Another current story is when manufacturers fight against reviewers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoFi Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 I can’t believe it, the YouTuber Tarun „A British Audiophile“ reviewed the R300 plus and give it a highly recommended what a shame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 (edited) Has anyone had any experience with the updated R300 ( Plus model)?...Apparently they addressed some of the issues with the previous version ( supposedly has new (different) transformers, and other enhancements. Edited May 7 by MRJAZZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 On 08/09/2023 at 2:26 PM, Epitome said: To answer your question, The headphone section of this amp is not high quality. It will serve you better, to purchase or build your own seperate headphone amp, for sound improvement. As far as perfomance, with headphone section disengaged? Objectively: It will definately sound better, because of the poor grounding scheme layout. Which is affects the ouput transformers. Like the Willsenton R8, this amp also has questionable grounding issues, like the lack of safety ground to chassis, for starters. Subjectively: You'll be the judge. So if I understand you correctly, one just needs to remove the 5 wires (un- soder them) to the head phone module and that's it?... no need to re route anything, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoFi Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 I don’t think it’s wise to put money on Willsenton products. Too many questionable design decisions. Better look for a well designed amp on the used market. Just my personal opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 On 18/01/2024 at 12:06 AM, aperfectcircle said: Well this has been a fun 44 pages to read through over the last 24 hours after having taken delivery of an R300 two days ago! Thankfully, it seems, I was very lucky that the supplier (local in Vietnam not direct via China HiFi) no longer had any of the older models in stock and ordered in the newer Plus model for me - so it seems (touch wood) that I’ve dodged at least some bullets. Very happy otherwise, as the sound with my Cornwall IV is lovely and I actually prefer it over my previous PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP integrated running KT120s. Obviously there are still some design issues so this is not a perfect amp, from what I’ve read, but the sound is nice and I’m quite content (for now) and hope that the rectifier and OT changes mean decent reliability - at least until I get the itch to part with further cash to upgrade to something else. How's your experience been with the new Ultra version of the R300B?. . Any issues since you received it in January? Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 On 11/02/2024 at 1:50 PM, cshawnb said: I have the new R300 Plus model, and while it has those two film caps there, mine are not the Willsenton branded film caps. Your version is def older given it still has the 220uF/450v cap on the power board. It’s was changed to 100uF/500v in the Plus model. How are you enjoying your new Ultra version of the Willsenton R300B?.... Any issues so far? Thanks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cshawnb Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 On 3/5/2024 at 1:49 PM, ThoFi said: I can’t believe it, the YouTuber Tarun „A British Audiophile“ reviewed the R300 plus and give it a highly recommended what a shame The plus corrected the faults of the first model. His review is right on. It’s a bargain for a 300b amp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cshawnb Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 1 hour ago, MRJAZZ said: How are you enjoying your new Ultra version of the Willsenton R300B?.... Any issues so far? Thanks.... No issues whatsoever. Works perfectly. I upgraded all the tubes, including PSVANE WE300B set. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 21 minutes ago, cshawnb said: No issues whatsoever. Works perfectly. I upgraded all the tubes, including PSVANE WE300B set. What speakers are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cshawnb Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 41 minutes ago, MRJAZZ said: What speakers are you using? I’m using NHT Absolute towers from 2012. 87dB sens. They do very well with the R300. I have a new set of speakers arriving in a week, the UMU-191M backloaded horn speakers from Hasehiro Audio in Japan, 97dB sens/50watt. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aperfectcircle Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 3 hours ago, MRJAZZ said: How's your experience been with the new Ultra version of the R300B?. . Any issues since you received it in January? Thanks... It’s been great, no issues no complaints. Still running all stock tubes and the sound is marvellous. No regrets here at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoFi Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 Does anyone opened and analyzed the R300 plus? Can we trust a company that isn’t able to design a proper amp by themselves? Have a look at all the former R300 versions. It looks like they have no clue how to make a reliable and safe amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CohibaJoe Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 2 hours ago, cshawnb said: The plus corrected the faults of the first model. His review is right on. It’s a bargain for a 300b amp. Oh really? Has he opened up the output transformers? Let’s see the scope measurements. What about any changes that may have been corrected or not on the power supply circuits. The Brit is no different then the other reviewers on YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoFi Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 13 minutes ago, CohibaJoe said: Oh really? Has he opened up the output transformers? Let’s see the scope measurements. What about any changes that may have been corrected or not on the power supply circuits. The Brit is no different then the other reviewers on YouTube. Absolutely agree! No one knows about the inside of the R300 plus. If anyone has it would be great to see the information… And yes, now after the R300 plus review it is clear that the Brit is no different and also not trustworthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 32 minutes ago, ThoFi said: Absolutely agree! No one knows about the inside of the R300 plus. If anyone has it would be great to see the information… And yes, now after the R300 plus review it is clear that the Brit is no different and also not trustworthy. A recent R300 B Ultra owner posted this pic....does it indicate anything regarding improving the R300? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Someone previously posted that de-sodering the 5 wires to the headphone module the Amp should sound better. My question is after de-sodering those 5 wires, do you have to re- route any other wires, or by just removing those five connections, your good to go?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoFi Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 2 hours ago, MRJAZZ said: A recent R300 B Ultra owner posted this pic....does it indicate anything regarding improving the R300? impossible to say. At the previous R300 you will find multiple versions. Refer to Skunkie the R300 has in general a questionable layout. why to the risk and buy it? if something is wrong you have no service. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 FYI, if purchased thru Amazon, in the US, Willsenton has service available. Anyway, hopefully the Ultra version will prove to be more reliable..... By the way, when you listen to Your early production R300B, what's your opinion on the sound quality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoFi Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 (edited) 30 minutes ago, MRJAZZ said: FYI, if purchased thru Amazon, in the US, Willsenton has service available. Anyway, hopefully the Ultra version will prove to be more reliable..... By the way, when you listen to Your early production R300B, what's your opinion on the sound quality? Ah, ok. In Austria we are not able to buy it via Amazon. My impressions are that the R300 has rich, full sound with a little boomy bass. Maybe V curve trough the frequency bandwidth. I bought a second hand Fezz Audio Mira Ceti 300B. The Fezz has a much more balanced sound and better controlled bass. Have a look at the thread Edited May 10 by ThoFi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Has anyone been able to determine if the bias meter on the Willsenton R300 B is accurate?...ie: at 12 position it sets the correct bias?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CohibaJoe Posted Sunday at 07:13 PM Share Posted Sunday at 07:13 PM On 10/05/2024 at 12:47 PM, MRJAZZ said: Has anyone been able to determine if the bias meter on the Willsenton R300 B is accurate?...ie: at 12 position it sets the correct bias?. It's a gimmick at best. This is what I did to BIAS for Tuberolling. When you adjust with a MM, I am running around 395Vs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJAZZ Posted Sunday at 07:36 PM Share Posted Sunday at 07:36 PM Do you recall when you set your MM for 395 V, what the Willsenton meter registered ( 11.. 12... 1... position, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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