Quicksilver amp owners

I owned the 90 watt Silver Monos for a few years. The good points, (compared to the solid state Mac amp that I was also using in the same system during the same period)were the crystal clear midrange, and the 3-d dimension of voices. The bad part was the plummy bass, and the obviously uneven frequency response. (I was using Spendor SP100 speakers)

Roxy's description is right on. I had a pr. of the KT88 monos and they had pretty much the same sound.

I also had the KT88 monos. I agree with the above, however, with Quad esl 63's
they were an excellent match. Still, subs were desirable (and difficult).

To get the Quickies to stand up and bark, I put in some good caps, polystyrene to be exact, upgraded the power cord over the cheap lamp cord which was rotting away, and they do a great job on bass now. The misperception is that the bass is loose. They need Winged C tubes or JJ tubes to have tight bass, and the mods. I used mil spec caps, but the RT by REL (michael percy) should do the trick. They are .22/600volt types. The most important factor in bass is the matched damping factor from speaker to amp. The bass is very firm and tight on my Maggie 3.6 now. Jallen

Also own KT88 Mono's -remember all the 88's are at least 13-14 years old .Mine were remarkably good sounding even with pretty sad valves in 'em. Once re-tubed (MP's of JJ Kt-88's ),NOS 12FQ7's and Chinese 5AR4's - they are simply wonderful. Bass performance does not have the control or slam of a high current SS amp - but it sure is a lot better ( more extension - better detail/control)than any of the Dynaco St-70's , the Marantz 8B or the Citation II I owned years ago.And the Quickies voice range will leave you smilin , HF performance is very accurate and at the same time very non-fatiguing. I use a couple of pairs of Paradigm Studio 20's and yeah -matching amps to speakers is always a issue.

Thanks for all the chiming in.

I picked up a pair of Quicksilver Mid mono's from eBay and I'll report what I think about them. The're coming in FEDEX today.
Thanks

I've owned the 8417s and the V4s. They were mighty fine amps. One thing you will notice that is that many QS owners seem to be pretty loyal to the brand, among other reasons they tend not to breakdown.

Update

I really like Quicksilver mid monos a lot. Careful matching is required with these though.



They are not the type of gear to hook up to any ol equipment and hastily judge.

The Quickies need the right partners,more so than most any other amps I've owned.

I'm only just learning about tube amps and their considerations,about a year into it.



These amps are fool friendly in that bias is a no brain-er.(Whew!!)



I'm trying preamps with them now,I own an Accuphase c-200 solid state pre,hooked it up and the sound was awful,that was hard to believe since both are great pieces,synergy rules in high end.



Then,I used my Minimax tube preamp and then thing got really good,but the bass is a little subdued with these large bookshelf speakers I use,but I run a sub anyway.



I would like the mid bass to have a little more attack. Attack is there don't get me wrong.The system did have more, with some different speaker I used,some large vintage Marantz HD770's,The Quicks hated the Dynaudios I have.



I'm spoiled with the memory of the King Kong on steroid attack of the Accuphase P-300 SS amp I own, It's left a scar on my memory. So I have to be realistic...



I'm in the middle of a Quicksilver line stage purchase,I'm counting on their good rep and synergy to rule,BUT I might find the EE minimax to be better,so it's a gamble. I don't want to get rid of my speaker (Speakerlab Das 3's circa 199? ) there is no specs for the Speakerlabs, I should get them measured,so I know what I'm dealing with,they're like a B&W 602 s3, but better.
I might even get rid of my pet speakers for the Quickies sake,which would be a big deal to me. But well see....







The highs are the smoothest I have heard,but the detail is there right along with the smoothness,very seductive. Great texture! I would say they are detailed/smooth and musical amps,that need to be partnered just so. Once this happens I sure I will be rewarded well for my patients and efforts.



My power tubes are newer EH Fat Bottles,I pretty much go EH all the way as they really seem to open the sound up,great tubes.



Anyway,lots more could be said.I'll report more later.

maybe I need to get some Horns....?



Happy Easter!

mid monos quicksilvers ,what cabling is the best to put them together with triangle antal?

i just bought a pair of mid monos. according to mike sanders, they work well with electrostatics. regarding cap changes, why not use an oil filled caps ?

i also received advice about substituting gold lion kt 88 in lieu of el 34s. has anyone used kt 88 with that amp ?

I have a quad of Gold Lion KT88 re-issue. I did not like them in a KT-88 power amp I own.I'm going to roll them in the mid monos and I'll repert back. These amps take all kinds of power tubes, I'm using the the EH fat bottles now and they are wonderful.

i won't come near an electro harmonix tube. they are the worst tubes i have ever heard. i have spoken to two manufacturers who won't use them in their designs. they are lean and mean.

why did you dislike the kt 88 gold lion reissues ??

They sounded lean and mean,no kidding.

Even after a 60 hours break in, most likely the amp and tubes didnt jive well together,I just put them in the Quicksilvers,to early to have much to say. I did notice some more power. Not as edgy and lean as with the ASL.
Could be they need a couple hundred hours break in too.
What newer tubes do you prefer?

just purchased the M100,uses KT88,love the sound especially the mid range,very open and seductive the highs are very smooth, bass is tight and deep, love the sound,use to run Belles 350A ref SS awesome amp, but it was just too powerful for my condo, Question: besides the KT88 witch other tubes are compatible with this amps, and witch brand should I try; also drivers, and rectifiers tubes witch are the best you have try:

Pulled out the KT-88's and tried some SED El-34's.

Much better voices,this is a great tube for the Quickies.

Richness now, that was missing with Lions,everything else great too.
Nice dynamics as well. 3D liquid sound.
These will stay in for awhile...

Wow, these are fun amps! I can use all my power tubes I have bought for other amps I've had/tried. No waste.

Every tube I tried with the Quicksilvers sounds good,some just better,no bummers though.

i don't like current production tubes. i do like mullard el 34s. perhaps, the original gold lion kt88 would be better, as opposed to the replacement.

what about my suggestion for replacing the caps and resistors, as well ?

I know nothing about replacing parts,I do have some PIO caps in my ASL 1003DT integrated and its a keeper.

I personally don't think the Quicksilvers lack, so I wouldn't change anything.
Maybe talk to Mike about oil caps,I would be interested in hearing his response.

You think he would have experimented with them in his designs.

You might want to try the NOS Siemens EL34s from RAM Labs. They are much better than current production according to most listeners. They are also very long lasting. I use them in my RM9 SE amp and preferred them to the KT88 Reissues with my speakers. I'm not sure how hard QS is on tubes, depends on bias setting as well, but these Siemens are expected at least 10,000 hours on my amp - that is a lot of listening.

hi pubul57:

what is the cost of the siemens tubes ? what has been your experience with them, as to differences with respect to other el34s.

i am inclined to put in some oil filled caps.

I had a pair of 8417's back in the day and used them to drive three different speakers. They performed ridiculously well with all three.

A very efficient, midfi klipsch
The Martin Logan CLS
The Genesis III.

The quicksilver 8417 handled all of these load well, the last two being pretty demanding of an amp, especially the CLS. Great sound in all cases though. IIRC they held bias pretty well. I also have the full preamp and can say that all Quicksilver products are top value. Simple, reliable, no-nonsense.

I think I got back most of my original investment when I sold them about 12 years later, as well.

Update

I'm now using the Gold Lion KT-88's to great effect with the mid monos,I'm not using the minimax pre anymore, but my Accuphase solid state C-200 preamp, it all sound wonderfull together. Just not with the minimax pre,go figure...?

I too have midmonos. I have been using KT66 GL for 2 years. Thinking of using KT88's....how did they turn out down the road? I used KT88 in some minimites and they sounded terrible so I am a bit hesitant also now I am using a solid state pre....so, maybe
Thanks
T

I'm considering QS. Has anyone tried pairing the preamp with a solid state amp? What happened? Which pairings were good?

@hilde45 I’m using the line stage preamp with an Odyssey Khartago amplifier. They sound great together.

@tonydennison
I too have midmonos. I have been using KT66 GL for 2 years. Thinking of using KT88’s....how did they turn out down the road? I used KT88 in some minimites and they sounded terrible so I am a bit hesitant also now I am using a solid state pre....so, maybe
Thanks
T

To: tonydennison,
Passing along a note from another Quicksilver MiniMite owner who avoided KT88s for his MiniMite amps with direction from the factory designer / company owner, Mike Sanders. I do know the latest MidMonos ARE designed to accommodate KT88s and everything from EL34s to KT150s. Choose your preference. You can always call the factory and ask first hand :) and you’ll get an answer. http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/midi-mono/

What works best for MiniMites is not the same for MidMonos.  GL KT88s are nice in Mid Monos, but ask Mike. 

-------------------------------------------------
Reference:

Quote, AudioReview (QS MiniMites)
"Mike Sanders the owner/designer answered the telephone at 8am and gave me advice on what to order. I was initially going to try the much more expensive kt88 or kt90 tubes, however he said even though they would work, the Mini Mites were designed around the el34 tubes so those would work the best although the kt77 and 6l6 tubes would also work extremely well. Based on my limited experimenting the KT77’s provides the best bass while the el34’s provides the most magical midrange." Unquote.









,

@mcgarick

Quicksilver amp owners

Hello
Would/can anyone here describe the "Quicksilver" sound so to speak.
No dealers in my area.
Thanks

@hilde45
Old thread but good fun. Newest member of the QS club can tell ya, now after some good burn-in on his recently new QS Linestage and Mono 60s.  Maybe he will chime in... received a note tonight and think he indicated something descriptive like "quite lovely".  :) 

My observations are based on the 8417 model which I would characterize as smooth and muted on the top (this was, at least representative of listening sessions between intervals when the amps would blow-up, LOL).  Suited for classical music lovers and not much else.  

The 8417 Triode amp was made over 28 years ago. Discontinued. Made only two years from 1990-1992. Some folks still using them. Several new amps since then. 

Back to the original OP over a decade ago.

Well, they sure respond well sonically to different vintage -and- modern input tube changes. Interconnect changes too for that matter. Nice.

After rotating my vintage input/driver 12xxx tubes (RCA, Sylvania, Tungsram, Mullard "Blackburn", loaner Brimar, CIFT, and others... did some experimentation, re-issues, and now some new stuff for grins.

Tried recent 2020 version of the PSVANE 12AU7-T "Treasure" MKII input tubes and quite surprised at the results. With some burn in, nice midrange, even wider sound stage, retained detail without being edgy, added fullness. Tone and texture coming through more than anticipated.  Another option for those wanting to tuck away the rare vintage tubes and simply listen.  Nice sounding, actually.