BAT vs. Quicksilver

The Quicksilver Triode monoblocks run a 12AX7 and a 12BH7 tube, so it cost me about $150 total for NOS versions of both types. A quad of 6C33C tubes can be had for under $80, so retubing these amps is a pittance when compared to the pricing of the NOS versions of other power tubes, including a nice quad of Golden Lion KT88's, which will set you back a pretty penny. Don't get me wrong. I'm not one to flinch at spending the money on NOS tubes, as we do have a pair of WE300B's, as well as a couple pairs of NOS Svetlana 2A3's from the 50's. But as long as we're talking the cost of re-tubing, along with the expected rate of failure, the Triodes are downright cheap in that regard.

You might want to write to member Jordi about his experience with Quicksilver. I believe he's had only one tube blow--ever--and he's been using Quicksilver since the mid 80's. He has also used them with a variety of speakers. I don't know if he listens to much rock music, but he'll tell you.

The Triodes and the V4's can certainly rock. But if that's all I listened to, I'd opt for the AA hybrid because it captures the heart of tubes, and the kick of SS.
And I am NOT a fan of SS, just to put that recommendation into context.

Everybody have a great weekend, especially you Daddies out there.

Howard

I guess I should chime in here too. I had the Quicksilver Triodes for a while on my Quad 988 system, and I wasn't super jazzed. I thought they were a bit forward in the mids, not very delicate when it came to resolution. That being said, I've heard them sound awesome in Lamm amplifiers (Lammmmm... Yummmmmmm...). I would go with the flexibility.

I'm curious - can the Quicksilvers run in Triode? Can they be modified with a switch to do so?

I meant- can the Quicksilver V4's run in triode!

Hey Peter - I do know Mike did a bunch of experimenting and built several prototypes of different designs in Triode form back in the late 90's I think it was. That EL34 amp I had of his was one of those triode prototypes from that period and of course the SET amps I have. I think he made many versions of the EL34 as I've seen several come up on occasion both here and on Audiogon. They were built on his early 8417 chasis as I recall. That amp sounded great. I sold it to a local guy who I've sold several things too - we should go take a listen to it sometime, he's a nice fellow. Used to be a regular at those Seattle Audio Society meetings you've been to. Anyway, you should pose that question to Mike Sanders to see if he did experiment with putting the V4's into triode. I do know Mike is personally not a big fan of Triode because of the second order harmonic distortions. I believe the 6C33C was the only triode design he's actually put into production.

Marco

I agree with Albertporter about the BATs. Great design, and great sound I might add, but you are stuck with 6C33C-B tubes (me too). And they run so darn hot in the BATs you may think your house is on fire. But you know that. What you may not know is that the 6C33C-B sockets may have to be replaced once in a while partly because of the heat.

On the positive side, the BAT sound is not such a bad thing to be stuck with. It's a bit dark but you can tweak it with the two 6SN7 input tubes. You can have lots of fun with Sylvania, Tung-Sol, RCA, CBS NOS for not too much money (except for the Mullards). Even the inexpensive Electro-Harmonix with gold pins don't sound bad either.

One huge advantage of the Russian 6SN7 and the 6C33C-B tubes is that they can be bought inexpensively (from Europe) if you do not care to match them--BAT says it's not necessary thanks to the auto-biasing circuitry. For three hundred dollars, you can have two new sets of 6C33C-B plus two new sets of 6SN7 Sovtek which should last you for quite a while. If you're afaraid the single source of 6C33C-B may dry up, you can buy 100 (!) of them at about $8-10 each. Your BAT will turn to dust first before you run out of tubes. If you insist on matching the 6C33C-B, they cost about $160 for a matched set of four or $300 from BAT.

Converting the BAT VK-60 from stereo to mono is a snap. There is a kit (4 wires and a jumper cable) that BAT sells for $50 which you should have had already if your amp was converted from mono to stereo before. You open the back of the amp (Torx wrench T10), stick the jumper in (there is only one place it can go) and solder the 4 wire across the LR outputs and you're done!

Check carefully. With a new tube amp comes new a sound--that's a good thing--and a new set of problems--not such a good thing. Get the whole story for each amp before buying, not just the pros but also the cons.

Good luck.

PS: Two BATs are better than one, or was it two heads?