[nlitworld]

Yup the stock tubes are junk. Just using them for break in. I have some Gold Lion KT88s and some EL34s to play around with. Going to be replacing the coupling caps, and at some point, replacing the transformers. Probably a few other mods as well.

Try the Psvane EL34PH tubes in there. Open, airy big clear sound but with no bite like the Gold Lion KT77.

[Tyson]

Try the Psvane EL34PH tubes in there. Open, airy big clear sound but with no bite like the Gold Lion KT77.

Those are my choice for a modern EL34, too.  Psvane makes good tubes.  Reliable, too. 

[mkrawcz]

The R8 was fun while it lasted. Something went wrong inside with one of the channels so I’m returning it rather than mess with it. I’m going to try the Muzishare X7 for the same price in Amazon. It actually looks like a much better design, using better parts, better transformers, and even has a balanced input. The drawback is it won’t take EL34 tubes like the R8, but that’s ok. I like the KT88s.

[mkrawcz]

Muzishare X7. Literally just got it and fired it up. Straight away, this is a better amp across the board than the Willlsenton R8. This thing is the real deal. I’m not even sure I have the mod it other than tubes and it’s not even broken in. We will see just how good it gets.

[js1955]

Muzishare X7. Literally just got it and fired it up. Straight away, this is a better amp across the board than the Willlsenton R8. This thing is the real deal. I’m not even sure I have the mod it other than tubes and it’s not even broken in. We will see just how good it gets.

FWIW, Skunkie Designs has nothing good to say about the R8.   Matter of fact, she pretty much thinks it's junk.  Says the X7 uses  much better quality parts and superior build, and she much prefers it at the same price point.

Direct comparison of both here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjGefU2qB-0

If you search "willsenton" on her channel you will get much more detail on her views about the R8.  She covers it in several videos.

[mkrawcz]

FWIW, Skunkie Designs has nothing good to say about the R8.   Matter of fact, she pretty much thinks it's junk.  Says the X7 uses  much better quality parts and superior build, and she much prefers it at the same price point.

Direct comparison of both here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjGefU2qB-0

If you search "willsenton" on her channel you will get much more detail on her views about the R8.  She covers it in several videos.

A lot of her issues were with older runs of the R8, but yea, it still has issues and mine was broken. The Muzishare is a way better design. 

[js1955]

Glad it's working for ya!     

[mkrawcz]

Swapped out the coupling caps on the Muzishare X7 for Duelund JDM copper foils. Now this amp really sings.

[nlitworld]

Swapped out the coupling caps on the Muzishare X7 for Duelund JDM copper foils. Now this amp really sings.

That's awesome!  If you want to up the clarity a bit more, KLE RCA and Binding Posts. I swear by that mod it's so easy and effective. Even the basic Copper Harmony ones up the game compared to whatever stock ones are on there.

[mkrawcz]

That's awesome!  If you want to up the clarity a bit more, KLE RCA and Binding Posts. I swear by that mod it's so easy and effective. Even the basic Copper Harmony ones up the game compared to whatever stock ones are on there.

Thanks for the suggestion! I may change out the posts at some point. I just decided that I needed to order the ANK Audio EL34 kit with C-Core transformers. So that is using up the funds for now. I think that amp with Duelund Copper caps will be really good.

[nlitworld]

I just decided that I needed to order the ANK Audio EL34 kit with C-Core transformers. I think that amp with Duelund Copper caps will be really good.

That'll be a great build. I'm halfway done shopping parts for a Tubes4HiFi EL84 build (same circuit as ANK) so I know the need for prioritizing funds on better projects. It's a tough life we have... 

[mkrawcz]

Just got this ANK El34 up and running and I’m really impressed. Need to let it break in for a while but I can tell this one will be hard to top of all the amps I’ve tried.