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After reading the Stereophile review of the Quicksilver Horn Monoblocks used with the Paradigm Studio Reference 20 speakers, I am thinking about getting into tubes. I have these speakers and an NAD amp and preamp. I use an NAD CD player and an AR ES-1 with Grado Platinum. I would like to keep the NAD preamp and replace the amp.
Follow Ups:
There's a pair of VTL Compact 100's for sale on Audiogon right now for
$1150. I have the newer MB-125's and they are excellent amps for the money--powerful and tight with a midrange to die for.
steve
I really like the Quicksilver Mini-mites. I have retubed them with the Russian kt 66, and they are clear, balanced, beautifically musical.They have plenty of slam for 25 watts,and probably have pretty good tube life. The Svetlana kt88s are also nice and complex. Anyone try the EH KT88?
if you are talking used, i have and use a pair of vtl delux 120's combined with paradign studio 100's. i think they cost about 1,000-1,500 used. these amps can be run in triode mode. they use 807 tubes, and they have a very clear sound.the paradign's seem to have good imaging and the vtls compliment that with the same. it's a good and interesting sound together.
i can't offer any comparisons with other monoblocks, so i can only say this sounds good together.
i disagree with the other poster who wants to steer away from the issue of amps. the amp is vital to a system, in my opinion.
Improvements at the beginning of the audio chain (turntable, cd player, preamp)will cause far greater improvements per buck than a change in amp or speakers. If you listen to a lot of vinyl, get a turntable; for $1500 you could get a used VPI or Sota AND a decent tube preamp. This will give sound so much better than a $1500 amp would it is difficult to describe. The new amp would just reveal flaws upstream. The Grado is a great cartridge... that sells for a little less than a good used AR ES1. I'm not trying to be rude; I would just recommend a long look at the harmony of components and not go for the glitz with a shiny new pair of tube amps. I did that... many, many times and was continually frustrated. Chris
$750 per mono will do you a rough pair of MC amps or a real nice set of Dyanco's with some left over. Go for the upstream stuff first. Good signal generation is usually the better way, no matter the primary source. Leave the amps 'til last. I could not believe the improvement a $160 pile of parts made when I turned them into a linestage with no tone controls.
regards,
Douglas
ps. Stay away form programing if you don't want to be frustrated. took me 2 1/2 hr to find a missing minus sign in a Fortran code I was working with today. Oh well, it isn't due 'til Tuesday and it is finished now....guess I'll be able to do some soldering.
I darn near went with some Quicksilvers MiniMites myself when I put some Altec A-7s in the livingroom. I ended up going with a used Rogue 88 (about the same price after you drop in a fresh set of KT-88s in the Rogue), just for the versatility of having either 35 watts triode or 60 watts ultralinear at your disposal.As it turns out, the 35 in triode is more than enough power, and sometimes I wish I went with the MiniMites. I still don't understand what the added value is in the Horn Mono Amplifier for the extra $600 over the MiniMites. I don't think that reduced gain arguement holds up for my 97 db Altecs. Mebbe its true for the 106 db models.
Anyway, another monoblock to consider are the VTL Tiny Triodes (50 pentode, 25 triode) which list at $1500. Although not a monoblock, you should be able to pick up a new Rogue 88 for $1500 or less if you shop around. There are reviews for both at Audioreview.com.
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