VTL ST-85 vs Quicksilver Silver sixty

I have owned the older 60 watters and also the Silver 90. I have heard the Silver 60 in a dealer showroom. Best midrange I have heard at any price. High's are slightly rolled and bass can be a little thick, but you can work around this by properly matching with cables, speakers, preamp, etc. Older Quicksilvers are biased high and tubes may not last as long, but once you hear them you probably won't care. My impression is VTL has a "faster" more transparent sound, but can sound too forward with the wrong speakers. Which is better will depend on other equipment and taste.

Hi E974,
Before buying another amp, I would consider the following.
As much as I like Harmonic Tech and MIT cables (I personally use them, but I am currently using all solid state stuff), I am not sure you have the best match in a speaker cable for your amp. If you bought your VTL from a dealer, I would ask them what they recommend for speaker cables. With the Quicksilvers, I used a very open and revealing speaker cable (Aural Symphonics, Kimber or XLO). I also used either Audioquest or Music Meter interconnects between preamp and amp. MIT and Harmonic Tech are good cables to use from your CD player as they will tame a rough high end. If you do not have a good dealer to work with, you may want to contact the Cable Company for suggestions. Try before you buy, if at all possible, as it sounds like you just need to fine tune a little. I think you might also benefit from adding a dac to your Pioneer cd player. If it is not a good transport, you will need a jitter reduction device.
However, you should be able to get a used jitter reduction device and dac for under $1k fairly easily today. Search the archives for recommendations.