BAT vs. Quicksilver

Bombaywalla,
No question, the Quicksilver products are outstanding. If you're anything like me, discovering such a reversal of impressions is pretty exciting.

Elb, I have used the Quicksilver IC's and speaker cables for coming up on two years. The speaker cables are simply absent in the chain, meaning they do not cloud or color the music. I've tried several other brands, all costing the same or more, and they were all less transparent/lively than the Quicksilver.

The IC's are very good as well, though I find them to sound most pure when used with the Quicksilver amps. I have found other IC's more to my liking with other brand amplifiers. Probably no big suprise there, as the cables are likely voiced with the Quicksilver products.

I have used both cables with their lowest priced amps (Mini Monos), as well as their highest priced amps (Triodes), and find them to be an excellent performer at a very reasonable price.
The IC's are $90/meter. For pure silver, that is cheap! The speaker cables are $340/4' pair, also quite reasonable IMO.
Hope that helps.

Howard

I have never used the Bat amps, but have owned Quicksilver gear and can speak a little bit about the company. My amplifier experience was with Quicksilver' first amp, the MX-190. This amp was in the 160 watt range, big chassis, had a cult following, etc. Although I purchased the amp used, and had the amp for years, there was never a problem of any kind. The amp was ultra reliable, and through steady use imparted a Rock-of-Gilbrator-like sense of problem-free behavior. With regard to their later amps, I’ve heard from users that their amps shared the rock-steady reliability that my amp had.

The sonics were exceptional for their time. In fact, when I got the bug to upgrade, I discovered that the MX-190 performed better sonically than many of the highly thought of amps that I considered. Note in testimony to my MX-190 and to Quicksilver, I sold my used Quickie back to the person who originally sold the amp to me! I’ve only heard of that happening with Quad speakers.

An essential item to me with regard to audio gear is the company that makes the gear. What is the value in owning an amp if it is unreliable or if the vendor does not fix your amp in a resonable amount of time if there is a problem, or if the company ignores you if you have a question? Relative to those categories, some vendors are significantly better than others. Mike Sanders and Quicksilver provide some of the best customer service in the industry. In short, if you audition the Quickies of your choice and are pleased with the sound, I would not hesitate to purchase them.

Re. the 6c33c tube. I like the tube, but that means I like how some amps sound that use this tube--it is not just the tube that defines the sound nor reliblilty of an amp. In some amps that use this tube, the sound is more organic and realistic than I've experienced with other amps. As Justin_time mentioned, the sockets used in some amps that have 6c33c's require replacing periodically. This is not a tube issue; it is a design issue. I known of an amp that required the sockets to be replaced on a regular basis seemingly because the amp was designed with bias levels that were unreasonable. Whereas my amps from Joule Electra, with an obviously much more thought out design, were biased at a more reasonable level and the sockets never required replacement.

On that note (Tubes108), we had a 6C33C tube that was bad when we purchased the Quickie Triodes. We are the second owners of the amps. Mike Sanders informed me that he now uses bias stabilizers so that the tubes stay more easily within the proper bias range, thus lasting even longer. It takes about 30 seconds to bias all four. When I replaced the tube, I asked Mike if the socket should be replaced as well--I also had heard that some amps require this--and he said, "Well, I sure would expect that the socket would last a lot longer than the tube." As you might guess, I did not replace the socket.
Enjoy!

Howard

Another option worth exploring if you can afford are the cj premier 350 SS amp. This is a great sounding amp with that tube like mids and highs and SS bipolar bass to control the woofers. sounds great with rock and electronic music.
try to listen to one, I think you will be surprised.

Having had an episode with an amplifier company that embodied customer service at its worst, I have to tip my hat to the point Tubes108 makes.

You are not just buying the amplifier, but the company. Making sure you form a relationship with a company that offers good customer service pays dividends not always thought of at the time of purchase. Thankfully, the reputations of both Quicksilver (over a VERY long time) and BAT are quite good, so there should be no worries here.