Tarheel

Yes Mark... after that review you may want to subsribe. Got the magazine Saturday.....couldn't wait to get it home and read the JuicyMusic review immediately. Great review..Art seemed equally impressed with Mark as with the product! Interesting that the color of the face plate was so controversial....90%hated it..10%loved it! Would like to hear and see one. BTW...another writer at Stereophyle, John Marks, hangs out at Audioasylum frequently. Extremely knowledgeable about recording. Traded emails awhile back about the release of Miles Davis "Kind Of Blue" from archives'. Chuck

Welcome aboard Lech.....absolutely stunning monoblocks! I bet they sound as good as they look. Do you listen to LPs or CDs? As I recall.... I ordered my cartridge (Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood) from a seller in Sweden....a seller on Audiogon that went by the name "Highendbroker". Again.....Welcome! Chuck

Thanks for the reply William. I still have not decided on tubes for the monos. Its not like you can go listen to them side by side in your amps. I think I will retube the Quicksilver Audio Full Fuction Preamp first and go with the original tubes from Quicksilver for $109/set. I see you have some Cornwall IIIs coming or have they arrived? Let us know how they sound with the horn monos. Chuck

Talked with Quicksilver Audio....Suggested that I ask for low bias voltage if I go to KT-88s. Said that the Tesla KT-88s sound particularly good but again I should order the low bias matched pairs. $120 a matched pair....ouch! Thank you to all responded as I am indeed a novice. Chuck

Thanks for the help guys. I posed the question and then went out of town before I got your answers. I would really like to try the 88s but I don't here anyone saying to do it. WPM, Since you have the horn monos have you tried the 88s or 90s? I certainly don't want to damage the equipment but the self biasing feature was a selling point to me when I bought the amps. I will email Mike at Quicksilver before I make a move. Craig on another subject..... you suggested I move my cabinets out from the wall 8'' to increase the bass for my LaScalas. How does that work since the woofers fire to the front? Chuck

Thanks Seti ..........Would like to see the list. His grandfather!!! Now I feel old. Chuck

Thanks for the info Dave. Yes....a tidy some for that day. Chuck

My Quicksilver Audio horn monos have the original EL-34 tubes. Has anyone tried different tubes such as the "Winged C" KT-88? Any improvement? Chuck

Luther, Don and I have heard your tape and Travis' tape. Don and I have heard each others tape as well(prior to sending to you and Travis).If you have not exchanged with Travis then do so at your conveinence. Then return the tapes to the owner. Hope this clears it up a bit Chuck

You are correct! The SX-1980 (built in 1980 of course) was the last of the great 70's era power receivers and probably the most coveted. They still sell for easily over a grand in NM condition. They are huge and put out 270 watts RMS. My Kenwood KR9600 weighs in at about 65 lbs so at 90 lbs, the Pioneer is enormous! A high school buddy of mine still uses his and it still sounds great (for SS that is[]). Does anyone remember what the retail price was for the SX-1280 and the SX-1980? I saw a 1280 go for $585 on ebay with 41 bids recently. The bid got up to over $700 as I recall and I guess the over exuberant bidder withdrew his bid. What a control center these recievers are with several phono settings and tape to tape duplication with the push of a toggle switch. The only styling item that looked a little strange to me was the slide settings for marking radio stations. Chuck

Travis, Luther's tape is in the mail to you. Don and I switched twice so the order is different but will work out the same. Both of your tapes were fantastic, good selections and great recording. Thanks, Chuck

Glad you only have several. Generally speaking early cds were dreadfull even in the 90s. That is one reason vinyl returned to popularity. Then came 20bit and 24bit processing and things changed for the better. I am at the point of culling all the old cds out of my storage and leaving only the ones produced with the newer technology usually after year 2000. Thats probably means disgarding 150 cds for me. The good news is that some of the digitally remastered cds even fom the 50s sound great (Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis). Haven't heard sacd but my tubed Jolida sounds great to my ears. Chuck

make that LaScala. Tarheel

Thanks oldbuckster......I would like to have another room to set up the SX-1280 to power my equally vintage McIntosh ML-1Cs. They were reconed and had new surrounds installed two years ago. I also refinished the cabinets at that time. I know they would not sound nearly as good as the LaScallas but it would be nice to take a listen. Tarheel

The afternoon began with cocktails on the patio under a perfect carolina blue sky. It was the first day of the year with just a hint of fall in the air providing welcome relief from the oppressive humidity that we are known for here in southeastern NC. Later the evening news and then dinner. Retreating to the northeast corner of the house also known as the music room, I was followed by Kate, my 12 year old Lab, who after circling three times settled on the perfect spot for a concert. Tonight there was no indicision. Sonny Rollins would open with "Without A Song-The 911 Concert" and Bruce Springsteen would close with "The Rising". I pushed the magic button on the Quicksilver preamp that commanded the two switched horn monos to come to life. Obediently the EL-34s started to glow as the tubed Jolida patiently waited its turn. I allowed a three minute warm up before I put in the first cd. After track three Sonny acknowledged the warm reponse from the audience with the following words. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen you are very kind to us tonight and we appreciate it. Ladies and gentlemen we are here tonight and we all must remember music is one of the most beautifull things in life. We must try to keep the music alive some kind of way and maybe music can help......I don't know but we have to try something these days". Sonny played his heart out for all six cuts of the cd. A pause for a refill for me and a reload for the cd player. Then it was Bruce's turn. The words from "Empty Sky" and "The Rising" were so powerfull today more than ever. "I want a kiss from your lips, I want an eye for an eye, I woke up this morning to an empty sky". A great evening with a chance to reflect with two of my favorites. Thanks Sonny and Bruce for keeping the music alive. Tarheel

I own one of those behemoths, a Pioneer SX-1280, 185 wpc, that I bought new sometime in the early/mid 70s. I have gone to tube gear so it is not used regularly now. It is in mint condition without a nick, scratch or dent. It is a very attractive reciever with the massive cooling fins, silver front plate and walnut cabinet. The Pioneer is a backbreaker to move and I am amazed that it has survived three moves with nary a scratch. Go to "Tarheels LaScallas" post a couple of pages back and look on the right speaker for a look.

Chuck, Your tape arrived today, in perfect shape, I am hoping to listen to at least part of it this evening. Travis Hope you like it. Chuck This tape is great, I am starting pass no. 2 Travis Thanks Travis, That is a fine looking deck! Tandberg I assume? I would like to hear it and the story on it. Are you the original owner? What vintage? Chuck Sorry, I went to another pc and can clearly see it is a Tandberg and a fine one at that. Chuck

Chuck, Your tape arrived today, in perfect shape, I am hoping to listen to at least part of it this evening. Travis Hope you like it. Chuck This tape is great, I am starting pass no. 2 Travis Thanks Travis, That is a fine looking deck! Tandberg I assume? I would like to hear it and the story on it. Are you the original owner? What vintage? Chuck

Okay....then stock tubes it is for the preamp. May start a thread monday about tubes for the horn monos. I hear the 88s give a boost to the bass but I would like to hear what others have to say who have made the swap. Thanks for your imput. Signing off til monday

Thanks Duke, I see we also have the same cd player.....stock or modified? Have you retubed the preamp? . well, ...I have been meaning to re-tube mine, who knows how many hours are on the tubes the original owner never did .recall... but, small signal tubes oughta last 10,000 hours .. mine are still quiet, no microphonic's, hiss, hum ... i was weighing wether to order them from Quicksilver, due to the 800 volt B+ supply in that baby .... JD 100 ... swapped in some old GE (amperex ) i had hanging around since the '70's.... a little tighter than the stock tubes, but not really much different Thats the equivalent of 3 hours a day for ten years! Still....I sometimes hear a slight hum. Any reason to get concerned? I talked with Mike Sanders some time ago about tube rolling with the thought in mind about winged "C" KT-88s for the horn monos but he didn't have a strong opinion about whether the change would be worthwhile. We didn't discuss the preamp though I will probably go to him for the tube replacement package when that time comes. Think there is any tweaking to do with other tubes on the preamp?

Quicksilver Full Function Preamp #504......

Chuck, Your tape arrived today, in perfect shape, I am hoping to listen to at least part of it this evening. Travis Travis, I will do a compilation next time. Diana Krall no matter how beautiful gets tiring after a whole side. I think side two (Art Blakey) is a bit livelier. The tape was so easy to make. I hit program on the Jolida remote, chose the selections and let er rip. Hope you like it. Chuck

Oldbuckster, The room was an idea I had for a long time but reentering the world of hifi forced me to make a move. I kept buying all this old equipment off ebay with no place to put it. Now I don't know I how I did without it. Chuck