Jump to content

Quicksilver or Decware amp?


JRS94

Recommended Posts

16 hours ago, Steve. said:

The Quicksilver Horn Mono and Mid Monos are huge value propositions.   I have a pair of Mid Monos that I just took out of service.  Amazing amps for the money.  Either amp is fantastic.  The only negative about the Horn Mono is it's screw down speaker terminals .    The price of either new is a bargain and used Quicksilver is among the best values in used gear you will ever find.  Built like a tank, super reliable.... safe bets 

Ok so no banana plug? Will spades work?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, michaelwjones said:

 

While this is probably the designer's way of keeping the connections simple & cost effective, as well as steering us to use bare wires, I also found it annoying when I want to trade out speakers. I bought a pair of these "banana adapters" on fleabay for about $12. They work perfectly.

 

As to the Horn amps themselves; dead quiet on my LSIIs. You have to spend three times their cost to get more resolution. No transformer noise, either. They have one design parameter: to power high efficiency horn speakers.  Stereophile concluded:

 

The Quicksilver Horn Mono is very much my kind of amplifier: a solid, no-nonsense product singularly lacking in quirkiness, with design principles that involve no extravagant or controversial claims. Intended primarily for use with high-sensitivity loudspeakers—a purpose for which it is eminently suited—the Horn Mono can also work well with speakers of just slightly higher than normal sensitivity. 

Although the Horn Mono doesn't offer the ultimate in every parameter of sonic performance, its presentation is always convincing in musical terms. I recommend it especially for audiophiles who can just stretch their budget to go for a pair of Avantgardes or other expensive horns

 

https://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/581/index.html

 

My experience tracks with that.

 

And with only 3 tubes per amp its not terribly expensive to swap tubes from EL34s to KT88s. either.

 

They have no WAF, by the way.

 

 

terminal adapters.jpeg

Lol I had to look up WAF. Good one 😃

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, michaelwjones said:

Small spades or bare wire if you don't use adapters like I posted earlier. It's an old school terminal strip.

Good to know, too bad I recently bought some expensive Furutech bananas and spades...

Anyway, I'm still undecided on what to do. I think I'll try them but I have to wait for paypal to unlock my acount, that's another story.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, fourdogslong said:

Good to know, too bad I recently bought some expensive Furutech bananas and spades...

 

Furutech spades are exceptional quality , wait till you try them , then post a review 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

AFAIK they have had posts that accept banana plugs for at least 20 years.

I had a pair of Mid Monos a couple of years ago, nice amps.

Mike recommends using spades.

See picture.

http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/horn-mono-amp/

 

Picture from a Stereophile review 2002

https://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/581/index.html

 

quickpa1702.jpg

 

Edited by 82 Cornwalls
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/24/2022 at 8:38 PM, OO1 said:

Furutech spades are exceptional quality , wait till you try them , then post a review 

I used the Furutech gold plated copper small spades for my vintage La Scalas, just a few terminals at a time vs all at once.

I replaced the tin spades for the tweeter and mid horn connections, and got a nice little boost in signal and presence. The sonic difference was more pronounced with the woofer. Changing the spades in the bass bin produced more gain, but changing the crossover to bass bin terminals in the top changed the overall sound of the speakers for the better. Everything was suddenly balanced with more presence and gain.

My Mid Monos with KT150s approve.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...