@abnerjack , Congratulations on your purchase, those are nice little amps. Are these your first tube amps ? Generally people that are deep into tube gear will resell an amp with the stock tubes and keep their primo stuff, especially now with high prices. The Svetlana tubes that you have, do they have a “ Winged C “ emblem on them ? 10-15 years ago Svetlana made a line of these tubes in different sizes and they are outstanding in my not too humble opinion. 😆 The Winged C EL 34 fetches about $100 Ea today. Svetlana went on the make slightly different tubes after that. Russian tubes are generally good but the war with Ukraine has messed everything up. Your little amps are somewhat simple but offer great performance when tubed correctly and paired with the appropriate speakers. With your situation you’ll have to buy quads of power tubes to try tube rolling and that can be expensive. For example a quad of nos Mullard FX3 EL 34’s will run you $1.1K, and that’s a lot for a chance at better sound. Your amp can run different tubes from EL 34’s to KT 88’s. People like EL 34’s for their midrange magic but you might try some new production Gold Lion KT 88’s for more bass or even the KT 77’s. Just make sure the tube is compatible with your amp. I have a little Had Inspire that is stereo with an input, a rectifier, and 2 power tubes. I purchased about 8 pairs of power tubes to roll. Unfortunately for you needing a quad it would be nice to get it the second or third try. I have ZERO experience with the 12AD7 tube , but many here do. I’d contact Quicksilver and ask for advise stating what speakers you are running. Considering your amps are used , consider a fresh set of nos 12AD7’s too. Happy Listening, Mike B.
Do clothes make the man?
This post is directed at all you golden oldies out there who are old enough, or in a rare case, educated well enough to be aware of the question the title asks.
I bought a used set of Quicksilver Horn Mono amps looking for some tube magic for my efficient speakers. I was less than impressed by what I heard. Let's just say the sound was as flat as a day old Doctor Pepper.
I changed the clothes on these little amps by installing a new set of Chinese made Svetlana El34. Omg, I now have a new man in front of me. The sound is what I expected originally, but it was totally suppressed by the unbranded Viva Tubes it came with.
The moral of the story? The tubes make the amp like the clothes make the man. Be aware though that you can't get by with putting lipstick on a pig.
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@elliottbnewcombjr You are right of course. I should have said that they are unbranded and came in a Vivatubes box/sleeve. I don't have a tester. The replacements are are good right out of the box. I expect some improvement as they burn in. |
@buellrider97 Thank you sir. I have the Herron Audio preamp tube and it is superb. I also have the Rogue Audio Atlas Magnum power amp and it is pretty good, depending on which speakers I use. I was surprised how well it did with Magnepan 1.7. |
Wondering if the past owner swapped out the tubes and kept the better tubes as Quicksilver has a good reputation. Congratulations @abnerjack, glad you landed in a great place. |
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