Hi RachaelW, You are correct about Thomas liking it hot on top. He's a big fan of Focal and it's Beryllium tweeter. I know personally the Be tweeter sound having owned the Focal Sopra 3's for a couple years. As addicting as it might sound with certain types of music, that Be tweeter can be fatiguing for long listening sessions. And as much as I loved the mids and low freq response of the Sopras, I found myself trying to tame that Be tweeter with cabling and room treatments. Ultimately I missed the Living Voice speakers I'd owned for a number of years and it's sweet midrange and decided to return to an old friend. You're also right about the 4 ohm versus 8 ohm tap choice with changes in cabling. The all-copper Triode Wire Labs cabling I'm now using definitely warms the overall presentation versus the sliver based cabling I was using when I first got the R800i. (the LV speakers are so revealing of upstream components). I also need to let the tubes break in fully (especially the Taks) before making a choice on the preferred binding post. In the meantime I'll just leave it on the 4 ohm tap. As they say, it's tough to catch a falling knife.
Congrats on your new purchase! You've got a wealth of owners in this Forum to guide you in getting your new R800i sounding it's best.
Congratulations. All I can say, that while the R8 (without mods) is brilliant value for the money, I'm sure you will be even more pleased with the R800i.
Let me know your progress, specifically after the Taks are totally run in. It is a bit of a pain that they take so long. I would describe them as having fabulous bass (especially for a 300B tube, which are more known for their wonderful midrange). Anyway, the midrange is beautifully smooth, but without sacrificing dynamics or clarity (this sounds almost hypocritical, but once they are run in, you'll understand what I mean), while the top end is very expressive, but sweet sounding. The top end is also never harsh or fatiguing.
Beware all who doubt Rachael's experience and wisdom! I've replaced my Sylvania NOS VT231s with new TungSol 6ns7GTBs and the sound has become much brighter, much less "warm", as she predicted. I'm not sure that I prefer it. I'd like something in the middle. But the point is made: everything depends on the synergy among the tubes, not the tube's individual sounds. I'm now thinking that instead of getting the Genelex Gold Lion 300bs I should have waited a year or two, and saved up for some Taks. Oh this age when instant gratification doesn't come soon enough! But then, I might not survive another year or two...
LOL. Thank you for that. I only report what I personally hear, and even though my description of the sound might sometimes be a bit alien due to the terminology I use at times, I certainly do not make stuff up, lol. In other words, if I make a comment about a particular tube, it's because I actually own it. For example, I generally find GE NOS tubes (specifically the 6SN7GTB) to be a bit grainy in the top end and a bit thin in the midrange, and yet the circa 60s GE 12AX7 has a really nice sound with absolutely no graininess, a very nice midrange, and quite good bass - in fact, this tube, for the money, is a bit of a sleeper in my view - yes, I do own both tubes. Of course, it doesn't beat my beloved Telefunken smooth-plates, but its sound signature may be more agreeable to many people - what I mean here, is that different tubes have a specific tone. For example, Sylvania tubes definitely have a "house" sound, meaning that all Sylvanias have a similar tone. Beware though. Philips bought Sylvania in 1981 (so that Philips could acquire a lucrative military contract, or so the story goes), and in 1982, the factory was refurbished, and from then on, the Sylvania house sound disappeared forever. Not that Philips are bad tubes. Far from it. They are generally excellent. You also need to remember that Phillips owned Mullard in the U.K., and some Mullard (Blackburn) tubes have become famous for their beautiful sound. So, there is a lot to learn, but I will never pretend to know all the history. Some of it is quite complicated, while other tube history has been completely lost over time. Anyway David, enough of my ramblings. You could try the NOS version of the TS tube, which DOES have a little more warmth than the current production version, but is not as warm as the Sylvania. This TS tube may be your audio nirvana. As you stated in respect to tube synergy, this is more important than the sound of any individual tube, but a lot of experimentation in the form of tube rolling is necessary in order to arrive at just the right synergy, which, of course, also needs to match your own personal sound preference.
BREAKING NEWS: I've been reviewing the Organic Audio speaker cables recently, and wish to report that these cables are very good indeed. Three of the best cables that I own are the Nordost Blue Heaven, the Cardas Clear, and the QED Reference XT40, and have found that the Organic Audio cable is better than all of these cables. The sound is a little more open with excellent clarity. At first, the bass appeared to be lacking, but after many hours, what I can report is that it's one of those cables that only produces bass if it exists in the recording - with great texture and tone too. The midrange is not full or thin (somewhere in the middle), and very detailed, while the top end is amazing - also highly detailed, but never harsh. CONCLUSION: Compared to other cables I've tried, this cable is what I would describe as very accurate or neutral to the source. This allows you to totally rely on the tubes to acquire the sound you are after, more so than the other cables mentioned above. Not that the others are bad cables. They are excellent as well, but the Organics suit my tube selection and speakers more than any other cable I've heard thus far.
I had Cardas Clear speaker cables and power cords. They certainly don’t live up to the hype. Even after sufficient burn in, the sound wasn’t neutral. Tipped up in the midrange and high end, yet still not fully detailed and definitely not musical.
I'd say that I would have to agree with you 100%. Cardas are overpriced for the performance they offer. Out of the cables I mentioned, I liked the Nordost Blue Heaven the most, the QEDs second. BUT, I really do like these Organic Audio cables. They sounded a bit top heavy, bass shy, to begin with, but once they had run in, the sound balanced out, and as I wrote, they are the best speaker cables I've heard so far. Ultimately, if I had to describe the one thing that I like about them the most, it's their clarity throughout the entire frequency range. No warmth, no harshness, and no smoothing of the audio - usually caused by time domain smearing within the cable.
For the 800i owners.... I'm wondering if the R8 does not have fuses linked to the power tubes, thus creating an issue if a wiper on a bias pot gets stuck wide open. Skunkie Designs added a resistor to an R8 to cure that problem. The 800i, though, does have fuses on the 805 power tubes. So maybe all is ok on that end.
Let's hope so. Still, it would be great if Skunkie does a video on the R800i. I think people have already mentioned the R800i in some of her R8 comments, so this might convince her to check it out.
This is somewhat off-topic, but I'd appreciate some advice. Some time ago, eager to buy an entry-level tube amp, I bought an Onix/Melody SP3 amplifier. 38 watts, push-pull, with 12 AX7s, 12AU7s, 6922s and a quartet of 5881s. I was pretty impressed with it until something went wrong, I moved from the US to the UK, bought Schiit Ragnarok 2 and a Hegel 190 and finally the R800i. I paid quite a lot to have the Melody/Onix repaired in London, but it looks as if I've been ripped off, since it worked for a while and then collapsed work, and the guy damaged a transformer cover. It got good reviews at the time, and I see Melody is still a well-respected (Australian!) company. Should I throw more money after getting it back into shape as a back-up for the R800i, or just let it go?
David that really depends on what's wrong with your Melody amp? Also I assume the tech either rewired it or put in a new power transformer to do 240v?
I don't really know what's wrong. And I don't trust the person I hired to repair them. I'm sure he didn't replace the transformers. But perhaps he did...
Hi David, Of course, I cannot say what the repairer actually replaced or repaired, but the amp certainly received good reviews back in the day. It would appear that their latest offering is the SP3 EVO, although this model is only rated at 25 Watts RMS per channel, whereas the original SP3 from 2004/2005 was, as you said, rated at 38 Watts RMS per channel. I would say, at a guess, that the EVO version is still a push/pull design. To be honest, I had never heard of the company - probably because, at the time, I was heavily committed to solid state designs. Still, it would appear that Melody designed/engineered the amp, while AV123 in China manufactured it, and released it as the Onix SP3. Of course, whether it was known by this name in all markets goes beyond my research. New model - SP3 EVO: https://www.melodyhifi.com.au/#contactus Original model - SP3: https://www.classaaudio.com.au/integrated-amplifier/2376-melody-sp3-vacuum-tube-amplifier.html Review of the Onix SP3 from a 2005 review: Onix SP3 Integrated Tube Amplifier - HighFidelityReview - Hi-Fi systems, DVD-Audio and SACD reviews It is a beautiful looking amplifier. I suppose, at least part of the reason is that I love Art Deco design - although this also gets a mention in the review. If you are still keen to get the amp back up and running, I would contact Melody directly, and ask them if they have authorised resellers/repairers in the U.K. If they do, once you find out how much it will cost to repair, then decide as to whether it's worth it. Personally, I would endeavour to have it fixed just because of the design - providing it is still in reasonably good condition. Hopefully, you may still be able to get a replacement transformer cover.
Hi again David, I should have mentioned this as well. I believe that your SP3 was designed to drive the 5881 tubes pretty much to their theoretical maximum, while the EVO version took on a more conservative approach and didn't drive the power tubes anywhere near as hard. This, and the front panel, may be the principle differences between the SP3 and the SP3 EVO models. Also, pushing the tubes as much as the SP3 did, could be the reason why it prematurely died in the first place. My research shows that, in general terms, the 5881 tube in a push/pull design, can put out approximately (in round figures), 25 Watts RMS. It's a relative of the 6L6, which is a highly regarded tube.
Thanks very much for your characteristically thorough and informed responses! I love the design of the SP3 too! One of the reasons I bought it. I'm scared of trying it in case it damages my Harbeths. But approaching Melody themselves is an excellent idea. Thanks. I'll report back.
So recently my 300Bs developed a hum. I noticed it at some point but could ignore it until I couldn´t anymore – it´s really noticeable and spoils listening to music when my attention is magnetically drawn to it during quiet parts, between songs or when nothing is playing at all. I rolled all tubes, checked the cables and found that the hum only appears with the Elrog ER300Bs in place. The stock ones play almost dead quiet. But is it really the tube´s fault? I´m not sure. The thing is that the hum appears on both channels evenly. The amp´s hum balancer has an effect on its volume but I can´t use it to turn it down to an ok level. I got in touch with the manufacturer of the tubes and he acknowledges that the tubes are very susceptible to „unclean electrical heating supply“. But does that suddenly appear? Because for the first couple of months the tubes were playing beautifully. Did the repair I recently had done have an effect? I wish I could tell, I´m such an amateur. Unfortunately there´s no one with a 300B-amp around here so I can test the tubes in another system. I could send them to where I bought them for testing or ask the repair guy again for help. I´not sure what´s the best option.
Hi Christian, First off, I own the R8 and the R800i, and I've never had a hum problem, regardless what tubes I've used. As you may know, Skunkie Designs (YouTube channel) did have a lot to criticise about how the R8 was being earthed, with multiple areas which could cause a hum problem via earth loops. Thankfully, she offered solutions to this problem by simplifying how the earths are wired inside the amp. Apparently, some people have had a problem with hum in their R8, although I haven't heard of anyone complaining about the R800i, or at least, they have been able to get rid of any hum by adjusting the hum pots. It's a pity you haven't got a third pair of 300Bs, so you could try them, although having said this, it would be quite unusual (and very coincidental) for both Elrog tubes to begin humming at the same time if it was a tube problem. In my humble opinion, it is more likely to be an amp or house wiring problem, whereby the Elrogs, in particular, are more sensitive to hum than the stock tubes. So, my question is, "Have there been any changes to either your house wiring, OR, have you plugged something into a wall socket recently (which is on the same AC line) as your Hi-Fi equipment?"
Thanks, like always, for the reply. Your comment made me have a look at the other electronic equipment using the same line. After unplugging it all except for the amp and changing the plug as well the hum unfortunately remained. I´m inclined to think that it´s an internal problem. Probably I´ll ask the repair guy to have a look at it again, hoping he can solve it. On a more positive note: I found some Sylvania VT-231s for a very competetive price. They should be here soon. One more reason to get the amp in shape.
So, the Svetlana Winged C 5U3C black plates have arrived from the Ukraine a week earlier than anticipated. Now I can see what this "golden boy" rectifier is all about There's no question this NOS winged C black plate shines when compared to the Svetlana 5U4C gray plate I've been using. No comparison... it's as if the top had been lifted off with extended highs and more definition all around. It's only been in the R800i for a couple hours and already it's a "clear" winner over the gray plate. I'm not sure how many rectifier tubes RachaelW demo'd in her R800i before declaring this Black Plate the winner, but I thank her for her diligence. I've only got 50 hours of break-in time on the Taks, and a couple hours on this 5U3C, so it'll be along journey before everything breaks in nicely. Fun times!
DanaMac, can I ask where you got your Svetlana Winged C 5U3C black plates? I've just checked and see that I have grey plates. They have made a great difference, so I can't imagine how much better black plates could be...
Does anyone have any experience with the Willsenton 300b amplifier? It sound remarkable from the reviews...
