Bottlehead is a good example for illustration. They are inexpensive and thus a low barrier of entry for budget buyers. Although low cost, they are consistently well designed and engineered. They are good candidates for upgrading to better quality parts due to their solid engineered foundation. They will definitely respond to higher quality capacitors/resistors/transformers/tubes etc. This amp makes the Heresy IV’s sound warm and humongous with that inner glow we can only get from a S.E.T. amp. I also have the upgraded tubes for extra. Best matched pair from factory of the The Psvane western electric 300b 1:1 replica tubes. Closest replica of the legendary 300b tubes ever made. I think mine worked a little bit less than that and the sound changed a lot, as often with new amps, especially when the tubes have to work a few tens of hours before giving the best. Guitar amps have been around for roughly 70 years now, having first appeared during the 1930s. The earliest amps had very poor high treble and bass responses. This was improved over time, as amps became better developed. During the ‘60s, the guitar amp greatly evolved to where it is today when guitarists of that era experimented with deliberately overloading their amp to create Distortion. From that point on, most amps were provided with preamp distortion controls. Playing with distortion has since become an important part of Electric guitar playing

In general, the type of capacitor is more important than brand. From cheapest (and least good) to best: metallized insulator, film and foil, air gap, vacuum. There is a good discussion of this in 'Art of Electronics. I know what you mean about chasing the dragon. However, I'm 74 and retired. Listening to music and trying gear is my hobby. At least, that is what I tell myself when the dragon appears Tonight the Willsenton is really starting to open up. A new amplifier, new tubes and a new modulation cable, that's a lot and takes a little time. Ibought a Wells Audio Innamorata SS amp earlier this year -- by far the greatest SS I have ever had, and by memory I thought it might be more revealing than the Kootenai. I swapped them recently and it took just a few moments to realize the Kootenai was much better Having owned this amp for the past 6 months with lots of tube rollings I finally settled with the Gold Lion 300b power tubes since I find them very natural 3 dimensional and balanced sounding with this amp. The Gold Lion 300b are quite affordable too.The Shuguang Treasure CV181 have been in place on the Willsenton for two weeks and everything is going very well! I think they are really wonderful. If I want more to make it even better I could thrown in some better tubes. Western Electric 300B anyone? Yes, I have some on the way to test with it. NOS 6SN7? Yes Sir! This comment particularly stands out because this was my immediate reaction to placing a 300b SET into my system the very first time. The sound quality and presentation was more tactile, authentic and certainly more engaement emotionally. Once the unit settles in and I pair it with a more appropriate speaker, I will get a feel for areas that I might like to make some changes (caps, resistors, tubes). And truth be told, my gut has me feeling that any of those changes will only yield slight potential increases in sound. All too often people overstate the effects of changing parts. I’ve heard positive differences in swapping parts and I’ve heard negative differences in changing parts to boutique parts. It’s a recipe, season to taste but it’s not as easy as you would hope. It shows that synergy is key. With an amp like the Hi-Fi Rose RA180 the Cardas are a Godsend, as they warm up that amps forward nature. So match the cables to the system, always! They DO make a difference if you have a well setup system and space. Some cables are made to sound warm and fat, others with a more detail focus. Some are made to sound more expansive and ethereal. I preferred the Blue Heaven as they are faster and focus less on the mid bass and are more even handed through the range.

For its price it is unheard of to find something like this, something this special. It’s hand wired, it’s hand made, it has a glossy paint finish, a beautiful silver metal faceplate, it is easy to bias, it uses the 300B tube which is known for its midrange reproduction of the human voice. It comes with a metal remote and even a painted tube cage, and the paint job is automotive quality. It is silent as a mouse and has no hum, buzzing or hiss. The amplifier circuit, if perfect, does nothing more than regulate the power supply. If the power supply has poor phase and impedance, it passed on to the next component. Sequential components alter the preceding and this is why a really great component may get so-so response in one reviewer's system and sterling accolades in another. These amps are usually the definition of what most people expect a tube amp to sound like.That is a good thing as long as the speakers have synergy well with the amp. I had read that on another forum but it seems that Willsenton makes its amplifiers in the same factory as Cayin. There are many similarities. But there are also differences. We see clearly more components at Cayin and perhaps, some components more high-end. The Cayin also has a weight of 6 pounds more, probably transformers a little more imposing. If the Willsenton R300 has at least decent quality output transformers and power supply it should be okay. If good rather than merely decent quality then should be quite good sounding pairing.MUZISHARE X7 Upgraded version. Upgraded the internal coupling capacitor, is the designer to debug the custom-made silver film capacitor, relative to the classic version of the extension, control, density is better. Nice to know that you are off to such an impressive start. Given the type of music you are listening to I am not surprised. the amplifier is revealing more aliveness and naturalness. Certainly, makes for a more engaging listening experience. AC versus DC filament heating has been debated forever it seems. Some do argue that AC heating is more purist in approach (Require hum pots). However many/most of the highest regarded 300b amplifiers do choose to utilize DC heating (Do not require hum pots). As is typical for high end audio, there’s never 100% consensus on anything. With a Pass Labs XA 60.8 set of amps I hear some hiss from the AL5’s but no buzzing. With the Willsenton R8 I hear some hiss but no buzzing. With the R300 they are nearly silent which is crazy. Sure, there is some hiss when I am close as this is normal but at my seat I hear nothing. This is crazy for an all tube design as there is usually noise associated with tubes. There is some of the horn midrange honk going on when I compare them to the Deville’s but one thing is for sure, I have never heard the Heresy’s sound so full of life and Beauty.

You certainly have quite the amplifier stash. I wrote earlier that the Bottlehead tube products were although inexpensive they are well thought out engineered components. A price point is targeted and so the best quality parts can not be utilized. MUZISHARE X7 is an integrated Amplifier. This is also a Power Amplifier (there is a group pre-amp input), a Headphone amplifier and this is a amplifier for Phono player too, direct link your phono player to this amplifier to output to speakers. Lots of good info already post. Parts are not that expensive so have at it. If it was me, I would use the V-Cap ODAM as my first choice and see if that floats your boat. We use them exclusively in our designs. We have also use the copper Milflex with good results. One of the best comments above is space. Be sure to look at the size specs first to make sure things fit in. Audio Note and Nichicon capacitors are excellent and so are the non-magnetic Audio Note resistors. Things get a little pricey but if you doing the labor that is a cost savings there. Last especially for tube equipment, look for AC filter chokes and other chokes to replace capacitors, etc. All parts have sound but to me, chokes are a big benefit plus a lot cheap! If your amplifier has an active preamplifier stage then it’s likely to be the 6SN7 (A popular preamplifier choice). Great to hear Don is developing a 300b amp. I'm very interested in this amp and hope it comes to market.What really caught my attention in this Klipch review is the fact that Jay's has also tested many amplifiers, all of which are excellent, including the much more expensive and powerful Willsenton R800i. And yet, with these particular speakers in any case, it's the Willsenton R300 that he recommends. He calls it an exceptional match. Hi, Don Sachs here. First, this is not an attempt at advertising in any way. The amp whitestix refers to is now in the second prototype and there is no commercial product. Let’s begin with the fact that capacitors are among the most non-linear parts of any amplifier -- so any real improvement is worthwhile. I don’t know what the existing caps are so none of us have any basis to comment on the upgrade value specifically. Beautiful music emerged from the Devilles but at first I was concerned as the sound was much too warm. I was missing that treble energy. The bass and mids were big, full and expansive but the treble was rolled off. Hmmm. I realized I had my Cardas Clear Reflection and RCA Cables in. I removed those and replaced them with some (less expensive) Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cables and RCA cables. I wouldn’t recommend it. 85 db sensitivity and behaves as a 4 ohm speaker impedance load per Stereophile. You will not get near the true capability of what the 300b SET has to offer. This pairing favors neither the amplifier or the speakers. See below.