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Quicksilver V4 or Silver 88 advice needed.....

I've compared an older first generation Quicksilver V4 (green LED power switch) and a Quicksilver Silver 70 (blue Led) and am looking to get the best of both worlds....

1. Love the drive and bottom end on the older V4...the drive is simply amazing with my Vandersteen 2ce Sig II speakers.

2. Love the midrange on the Silver 70. It's liquid 3-D.

What combines these two?

....the newer Quicksilver V4 (blue led with newer transformer) or the Silver 88?

Any advice appreciated from the experts out there! Thank you in advance.

Best
Theron
Baltimore
128x128theron_day
gmuffley
132 posts
 
If you can get by on the 80 watts of the Silver 88, it will control cone woofers better. It has the lowest output impedance and the highest damping factor of any Quicksilver amp (or compared to the vast majority of tube amps period). It can drive difficult loads. If you need more than 80 watts, go for the V4s--you can't go wrong with either.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
I agree with John. Adding a Vandersteen 2W does amazing things to the sound and I don't mean just in the bass. It opens up the 2Ce like you wouldn't believe and makes your amp sound like it has twice as much power.

If you ask Sanders he will tell you its hard to argue with 4 output tubes, although experience tells me "less is more" and there is something special about amplifiers with fewer output devices.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
I agree with John. When you say "2.0 for now" does that mean you might at the subs later? Or is that just out of the question? It is hard to argue with 4 output tubes when they provide enough power for a particular speaker - 80 watts seems like alot of power to me, if the amp has enough current to drive impedance dips into the 4 ohm range, an issue with most tube amps. Not sure anyone on the planet knows more about Quicksilver/Vandersteen than John (Audio Connection).
theron_day's avatar
theron_day OP
20 posts
 
I meant to say 2.0 for the long run. :)

Theron
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Not having heard the Silver 88, but just read the description on his site, it would seem that if the 88s do have the lowest about impedance (higest damping)that the 88s should give you controlled bass (for a tube amp)with a lot of purity that comes from the simpler output stage. There is something to fewer tubes making for better sound IF you can get enough power, and I think 80 watts of tube power is plenty of power for your application, I doubt you could hear any meaningful difference between 80 and 120 watts.
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