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Quicksilver V4 w/ Vandersteen 5 A

I am considering pairing the V4 w/ my 5A speakers. I have heard them in a dealers showroom driving the 5A and was quite impressed. I was wondering if any of you have had any experience in going from a formiddable ( o.k. - more expensive ) tube amp to the V4 or made any comparisons of the V4 against such competitors as BAT, VAC, or CJ ... I am also taking the Mcintosh 2102 seriously as another option. I am looking for reliability, which I feel confident I would get in both the Mcintosh and the Quicksilver lines. My priorities also include a gorgeous natural midrange tonality, harmonic texture and a wide /deep soundstage. Thanks in advance for your opinions.
fjn04
zargon's avatar
zargon
453 posts
 
Many 5A owners are using ARC, and Richard uses ARC in his demo room at CES. Their amps would meet all of your requirements.
jeffreybehr's avatar
jeffreybehr
805 posts
 
Read this review... http://www.10audio.com/quicksilver_v4.htm ... and then buy these... http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstube&1137912849&item ...since they sound even better than originals. Less expensive too. (Yes, of course, they're mine.)

For output tubes I was next going to try the Penta/Shuguang KT88SC, here... http://www.pentalaboratories.com/product.asp?dept%5Fid=5020&pf%5Fid=KT88SC+SHUGUANG . They're getting quite a positive reputation on the Tubes Asylum... http://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/tv.pl?forum=tubes&s=U . They're a bargain at $22 each, too, but not so much at their matched proces. Of course, with their very-easy-to-use individual bias adjustments, bias-matched tubes are NOT REQUIRED in the V4, and because of Mike Sanders' ingenious and careful application of negative feedback in the amp, gain-matched tubes are not even a benefit.

I love the sound of the V4s driving the MR and treble of my Eminent Tech. 8s. They had lots of the harmonic richness (that sounds more like real music) that my 50-Watt SETs, ASL 805s, do. But then I figured out how do drive the ET8s so that the ASLs had enough power, so I'm using them again. Try the V4s; I expect you'll love 'em.
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mikej
172 posts
 
Hi Fjn04, I've been able to do several comparisons with V4s on Model 5s. I can always set up another on 5As, but the outcome will be the same. For RELIABLE tube amps, I can only recommend the Quicksilver. For better sound than the V-4s you should consider a new BEL 1001 Mk V. Yes, it's solid state, but you won't miss the tubes. It's the same price and will handily out perform V-4s. If you want to spend more money you can only buy "different" from there IMHO.
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