Tubes Asylum

Posted by GaryB on September 10, 1999 at 04:58:12:

In Reply to: Any opinions on the Quicksilver 8417 Monos? posted by Frank P on September 10, 1999 at 02:32:55:

I've got a pair of these amps and they have what some would call a classic tube sound. Wonderful midrange, but not the last word in transparency and a little soft on the high end. Unlike classic tubes, they have surprisingly good bass. In an old Stereophile review, Sam Tellig says they work well with Quad ESL-63s. I haven't compared them to a CJ amp.
A few things to watch out for. 8417s are hard to find and the quicksilvers are picky about which ones you use. Sylvanias are best. Others are sometimes unstable in terms of setting bias. The amp also runs too much capacitance for the 5AR4 rectifiers, so these sometimes die prematurely. A GZ-37 is a good replacement that will be more reliable. Triode electronics has suggestions on how to fix all of these things if you are handy with a soldering iron. They can be reached at http://www.triodeel.com
Finally, I am thinking about selling my amps if anyone is interested. Please contact me via email.