"QuickSilver or AudioResearch" ? Cary pretty much kicks both their asses. AR - great for tube destruction, if you have too many tubes on your hands. As ugly as the worst solid-state gear. Quicksilver - their 8417 and some of the silver 60, silver 90 stuff might be ok. But overall, mostly all Fugly gear, and ho-hum sonically, from my experience. Cary CAD300sei or 805 will trounce both those brands.
-Ed
-Ed