who’s heard quicksilver horn mono amps?

[edmjm]

from the reviews I’m reading these should be a match made in heaven for heritage speakers. does anyone have or had these & what’s your impressions. (sound, reliability)

I have custom built cornwalls (kappa woofers, faital horn/a55g driver, fastrac hf horn/b&c de 120 driver & super b crossovers with rike audio s caps

strictly digital using modded musical paradise dac2

[TubeHiFiNut]

I've listened to the Quicksilver Horn Monos in my home on Klipsch La Scalas, Lowther PM2A/Medallions, JBL 4430s and JBL 4425s.

 

Personally, I think they are wonderful amps and that you would have to spend a lot more money to get better sound.

 

Just my opinion.

[veloceleste]

Although I've never listened to a Quicksilver product, I have only read and heard wonderful things about their products which leads me to this:

http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/integrated-amplifier/

 

I'm intrigued by this but can't find any reviews.  If I go go back to Forte III, this amp will be on my very short list.

I apologize if this seems like a semi- hijack of your topic but thought it may tie in. 

[Tarheel]

I have had them for maybe 10 years.  Very quiet at idle and you can roll all kinds of tubes.  I've used EL-34, KT-77, and 6550s.  Used them with LS/Altec speakers and now with RP-280Fs.  Very competitively priced new and Mike Sanders will answer the phone when you have questions.

[edmjm]

with the greatly reduced gain is preamp selection a bit tricky? I see the quicksilver pre is designed for this but I wonder with only a pair of 6dj8’s it would seem to be little more than a buffer (please correct me if I’m wrong.) I know nothing about pre amps, I’ve always had intergrated amps

[Tarheel]

I use an ancient Quicksilver Audio Full Function pre.  Only on phono do I have to turn the volume dial up. All other sources are pretty standard gain.

[richieb]

 

--- owned them, twice. Typical sound from push pull EL34 tube amps. Really no better, no worse. Yes they are quiet but no more so than several other tube amps I've owned and yes they are a good value.

[TubeHiFiNut]

4 hours ago, edmjm said:

with the greatly reduced gain is preamp selection a bit tricky? I see the quicksilver pre is designed for this but I wonder with only a pair of 6dj8’s it would seem to be little more than a buffer (please correct me if I’m wrong.) I know nothing about pre amps, I’ve always had intergrated amps

 

The current Quicksilver Line Stage Preamp uses one 12AT7 per channel and has plenty of gain to drive the Horn Monos. Got to hear this combo driving Belles at a friend's home. Sounded good.

 

Regarding reviews, Stereophile reviewed the Horn Mono back in the early 2000s (IIRC).

 

@Tarheel - Good point about being able to call and ask the designer any questions.

[fourdogslong]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and recent owner of a pair of Cornwall IV, great speakers!

 

I have a Primaluna EVO 400 now, I like it but I feel like it might be too much amp for these speakers. I get a small buzz and that annoys me even though it's only present when the room is quiet with no music playing.

 

So I'm looking at options but I don't want to spend crazy amount of money just to feel proud if you know what I mean.

The Horn Mono Amp seems interesting, has anybody compared it to a Primaluna?

 

What difference could I expect?

 

[the real Duke Spinner]

All of Mike Sanders products are superb

I have owned the PreAmp many years

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 7/22/2018 at 7:21 PM, Tarheel said:

I use an ancient Quicksilver Audio Full Function pre.  Only on phono do I have to turn the volume dial up. All other sources are pretty standard gain.

Had my FF pre many, many years incredible quality.  

The P.S. could run an amp

 

 

 

 

 

 

[captainbeefheart]

The only thing that makes the amp "special" for efficient speakers is the extremely low sensitivity. It just passes the buck to the source which needs a substantial amount of signal swing (4.5v peak) to drive the amp. There are better ways to reducing noise while still keeping sensitivity at the point where normal sources (1v) will drive the amp to full power.

 

As for the preamp meant to drive them, it uses a 12AT7 which is not the most linear tube since it's design was for HF/VHF frequency converter in radios. There are much better sounding tubes out there, why anyone would choose a 12AT7 is beyond me.

[Steve.]

You can not go wrong with those amps, or anything made by Quicksilver 

[fourdogslong]

On 10/21/2022 at 1:26 PM, captainbeefheart said:

The only thing that makes the amp "special" for efficient speakers is the extremely low sensitivity. It just passes the buck to the source which needs a substantial amount of signal swing (4.5v peak) to drive the amp. There are better ways to reducing noise while still keeping sensitivity at the point where normal sources (1v) will drive the amp to full power.

 

As for the preamp meant to drive them, it uses a 12AT7 which is not the most linear tube since it's design was for HF/VHF frequency converter in radios. There are much better sounding tubes out there, why anyone would choose a 12AT7 is beyond me.

Which amp would you recommend then? As I said earlier I have a Primaluna EVO 400 which is really well reviewed but with my Cornwall IV I find it a bit noisy, I like the sound but I'd prefer something silent in between songs.

[captainbeefheart]

2 hours ago, fourdogslong said:

Which amp would you recommend then? As I said earlier I have a Primaluna EVO 400 which is really well reviewed but with my Cornwall IV I find it a bit noisy, I like the sound but I'd prefer something silent in between songs.

 

Can you give a description of the noise with the EVO 400?

 

Is it hum (60Hz or 120Hz)?

 

Is it a crackling noise like frying bacon in a pan?

 

Or more of a white noise, kinda like when you have an radio tuned to a particular frequency that has no broadcast reception at that frequency and all you get is noise?

 

Are you using XLR or RCA inputs?

 

The amplifier S/N is spec'd at -93db which jives with my experience of it being silent on my La Scalas. There could be a couple issues going on with your amp. First if your noise is a hum type noise you could have a ground loop issue. Try hooking up an RCA cable to the input of the amplifier but do not connect a source, short the sleeve and tip of the connectors and turn the amplifier on, is the noise better or no difference? There could also be something not right within the amplifier causing excessive noise. I don't know if you have the capability but measure the output noise of the amplifier to compare to factory spec. The maximum noise measured should be around 240uV or .24mV.

 

For reference the Quicksilver Horn mono has a S/N ratio of -98db, really only a 5db difference which is why I don't think the Primaluna EVO is the issue, I put my money on something is not right which is causing the excessive noise to be heard between songs.

 

You have Cornwalls and I have La Scala's which are more efficient (105db/1watt), my maximum noise floor before I can hear noise from 1 meter away was around 5mV which is a S/N ratio of -73db(same output power as the EVO). I don't even think 5mV would be that audible from a listening position with Cornwalls but still if the EVO 400 was spec'd at -73db then yes I'd be recommending other amplifiers but it's not. It should easily be quiet enough for Cornwalls at only 240uV noise floor.

 

I'd at the very least see if a tech can confirm the noise output of the amplifier before proceeding, I know I personally wouldn't charge someone to check this as it would take all of 5 minutes and if the noise floor is not within spec then it works itself into a job for the tech.

[fourdogslong]

20 hours ago, captainbeefheart said:

 

Can you give a description of the noise with the EVO 400?

 

Is it hum (60Hz or 120Hz)?

 

Is it a crackling noise like frying bacon in a pan?

 

Or more of a white noise, kinda like when you have an radio tuned to a particular frequency that has no broadcast reception at that frequency and all you get is noise?

 

Are you using XLR or RCA inputs?

 

The amplifier S/N is spec'd at -93db which jives with my experience of it being silent on my La Scalas. There could be a couple issues going on with your amp. First if your noise is a hum type noise you could have a ground loop issue. Try hooking up an RCA cable to the input of the amplifier but do not connect a source, short the sleeve and tip of the connectors and turn the amplifier on, is the noise better or no difference? There could also be something not right within the amplifier causing excessive noise. I don't know if you have the capability but measure the output noise of the amplifier to compare to factory spec. The maximum noise measured should be around 240uV or .24mV.

 

For reference the Quicksilver Horn mono has a S/N ratio of -98db, really only a 5db difference which is why I don't think the Primaluna EVO is the issue, I put my money on something is not right which is causing the excessive noise to be heard between songs.

 

You have Cornwalls and I have La Scala's which are more efficient (105db/1watt), my maximum noise floor before I can hear noise from 1 meter away was around 5mV which is a S/N ratio of -73db(same output power as the EVO). I don't even think 5mV would be that audible from a listening position with Cornwalls but still if the EVO 400 was spec'd at -73db then yes I'd be recommending other amplifiers but it's not. It should easily be quiet enough for Cornwalls at only 240uV noise floor.

 

I'd at the very least see if a tech can confirm the noise output of the amplifier before proceeding, I know I personally wouldn't charge someone to check this as it would take all of 5 minutes and if the noise floor is not within spec then it works itself into a job for the tech.

Thank you for your detailed reply, I really appreciate it.

I have a good multimeter at home, I'm just not sure exactly how to measure noise floor with it, I will read about it and try it or if you have a second to explain how to do it that'd be great, that's a very good idea! 

EDIT: I just had a look at my multimeter and unfortunately I don't think it is sensitive enough, I only have 200ACV or 600ACV.

 

I am using the XLR input, the source feeding it is a RME ADI-2 DAC FS. The noise is the same with or without anything plugged into it. Should I still try with a shorted RCA?

 

As for the nature of the noise, it seems to be a 60Hz hum with harmonics, I only hear the low 60hz is I put my head close to the woofer.

What I hear from the listening position is mostly midrange "electrical noise" so it might be 120hz. It's a constant buzz, no crackling, no static or anything like that. Comes from both channels equally.

If I remove the 12AU7 tubes it dissapears completely. V10 and V13 seem to have the most effect. That leads me to believe the noise comes from the driver stage, not from the power tubes.

 

Thanks again for the very informative post.

Edited October 25, 2022 by fourdogslong