Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.

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A_shah

Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« on: 4 Apr 2018, 05:21 am »
Hello ! as full disclosure I am just a satisfied customer , with no stake in anything beyond having paid for this beautiful set of 60 watt mono amps. I had auditioned more than a dozen Amps some SS most tube amps to go with my my newly acquired Daedalus Speakers , and my Don Sach's DS-2 pre-amp  ( 3 DAC 's) I already have a wonderful sounding SS from Klaus Bunge one of his Kismet Stereo amps.custom made for me !  high power high current , so the search was for a tube amp for the 97 db efficient  Daedalus Poseidon my research come up with a few good names, one of them happens to be Close by in Stockton CA. about a 30 Min's. drive from me.
Well I got two amps from QuickSilver one pair of Mid Mono's and the next day his dealer called me and told me that Mark Sanders has a new 60 watt amp for me to  try out if I wanted So I did ! Both amps were very good to my surprise, this gentleman has been in the business of designing amps for along time and knows his stuff I did not find any wooliness or lack of clarity with  these new amps , they were crisp , quite and the QS-60 mono's  with the PS Audio Directstream  sounded very close to 19.5 K European integrated amp that I still have on Loan , Daedalus Speakers have a wide sound stage due to their offset Tweeters but man or man the detail, the clarity and Huge  Sound Stage  and i heard things on my Cd's & Streaming that I had not heard in the past ! 

it  just blew me away and I had to have these amps , and so I did get them , So I think my quest for a new tube amp is over for some time ! thought I'd share this     







FullRangeMan

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Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #1 on: 4 Apr 2018, 05:34 am »
Wow very great hand solder inside :thumb:
This welder was very smart, he use the legs of the own components to solder in the terminal, saving wiring, solder and less an joint and less an electrical transition.
Congratulations.

Emil

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #2 on: 4 Apr 2018, 11:33 am »
Congrats.
Expect years and years of trouble free listening.

I have a pair of Quicksilver 300B that must be at least 20 years old. Not even a hiccup

mav52

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #3 on: 4 Apr 2018, 01:54 pm »
I've owned a number of Marks amps and pre-amps.  I just wish he would move that ac connection to a rear.    I've been looking at the new Integrated amp for my office.

Mike B.

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #4 on: 4 Apr 2018, 02:04 pm »
I have owned a pair of Silver 90 monos for a number of years. I no longer use them but remember enjoying many hours of music through them.

Mr.Retro

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Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #5 on: 4 Apr 2018, 02:50 pm »
Nicely done!  Those are great looking amps.  Simple circuits, point to point wiring, quality parts, its all good.  I'm a big fan of Mikes work.  My son in Va. has the mid mono's, loves them.  I (Chicago) have the horn mono's with of course an all horn system.  They are not only outstanding from a musical point of view they are exceptionally quiet.  Enjoy your Quicksilvers!

seikosha

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Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #6 on: 4 Apr 2018, 07:03 pm »
I'm another happy Quicksilver owner.  I've had the Horn Monos for a year now and am still absolutely thrilled with them.  What's the tube compliment on those?

seikosha

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Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #7 on: 4 Apr 2018, 07:08 pm »
I just wish he would move that ac connection to a rear.

I agree...I'm guessing he's got a good reason he did it that way though.

sebrof

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #8 on: 4 Apr 2018, 09:28 pm »
I agree...I'm guessing he's got a good reason he did it that way though.
Actually the AC is at the rear.
What you really want him to do is move the speaker connections from the front to the rear (next to the incoming AC).

I always assumed that he did that to be more direct: AC at the rear where it enters, speakers at the front where the Output Transformers are located. The way he has it the two never need to be close to each other, thereby avoiding any interference.

I have M60 monoblocks, made in 1996, and they keep on chugging.

mav52

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #9 on: 4 Apr 2018, 11:53 pm »
Actually the AC is at the rear.
What you really want him to do is move the speaker connections from the front to the rear (next to the incoming AC).

I always assumed that he did that to be more direct: AC at the rear where it enters, speakers at the front where the Output Transformers are located. The way he has it the two never need to be close to each other, thereby avoiding any interference.

I have M60 monoblocks, made in 1996, and they keep on chugging.

I should have clarified my statement. On my mid-mono's its not in the rear per say its on a side with all the other power items,. fuse, power switch.   I sent Mark a email and he said that he's considering it for that amp (mid-monos) once the old chassis run out.  I do his gear.

OzarkTom

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #10 on: 5 Apr 2018, 12:05 am »
I sold Quicksilver back in the early 80's. The company has been around a long time. It was also great back then. :thumb:

A_shah

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #11 on: 5 Apr 2018, 12:18 am »
Thank you all for your good wishes !

 A friend of mine just called Mike and asked him to make him one , He was told to wait a couple of months until the production model are made I am" guessing" he just had  this one chrome  chassis made sometimes in the past  and decided to make one over the weekend after I talked to him sent it to me on Monday to check it out ? I decided to keep this one instead of the mid -mono, maybe who knows ?



"I always assumed that he did that to be more direct: AC at the rear where it enters, speakers at the front where the Output Transformers are located. The way he has it the two never need to be close to each other, thereby avoiding any interference."

I will call Mike and ask him , but I am assuming that may be the reason

@FullRangeman,
Yup that is the first thing I noticed clean  soldering and short path wiring , and his custom made caps. I believe he makes his own power  transformers  or has them custom made to his own specs.

My units has the  output transformer same  as the mono-120  but a smaller power transformer ,
Tubes he gave me are 1. Philips ECC 82 - 12FQ7
                                 1. Yugoslavia 12AU7
                                 2 KT-88 -98 (chines es)
                                 per mono amp.

Sound Quality (to my ears of course this is subjective) Resolution , level of refinement exceeded my expectation, very very nice mid-range, harmonic resolution very pleasing and non fatiguing to my ears tonality is good but what surprised me is the deep  Decay , which to me was amazing ! :D :thumb:


                       

« Last Edit: 13 Apr 2018, 05:04 am by A_shah »

A_shah

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #12 on: 11 Apr 2018, 06:38 am »
Wow very great hand solder inside :thumb:
This welder was very smart, he use the legs of the own components to solder in the terminal, saving wiring, solder and less an joint and less an electrical transition.
Congratulations.
@ fullRangeman
Any recommendations for substitution tube  for 12FQ7 vacuum tube  :?: :slap:
Asghar

FullRangeMan

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Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #13 on: 11 Apr 2018, 06:57 am »
@ fullRangeman
Any recommendations for substitution tube  for 12FQ7 vacuum tube  :?: :slap:
Asghar
No, by little I know this tube have no subs.
6FQ7 and 8FQ7 have different heaters.

A_shah

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #14 on: 15 Apr 2018, 09:17 am »
 I am getting a quad matched KT-88  Shugang Treasures  from a friend on A/C , my question is about Biasing ? My QS- Mono 60 does not have an instruction book yet , and does not have meter , it does have a small button that once you press it is supposed to light up up and than I can use a screw driving to adjust the fixed Bias just on each mono   amp.
So my question should I have some brightness on the LED when I bias or just turn it counter-clock wise until the light goes away .
The bias control is between the output tubes near the power transformer.
To adjust the bias you will need a slot-head screwdriver.  Adjust by turning clockwise to increase
bias; counterclockwise to decrease bias.

Below are the instructions for the QS mid mono 40
There is a small black push button and a small red indicator light at the outer edge of the amplifier
near the center output tube. When the button is pushed and the bias set correctly, the red indicator
will light dimly. Increasing the bias will make the light brighter and decreasing the bias will make
the indicator no longer light. The relative brightness of the indicator is not critical however if the
bias is too high, the indicator will be very bright.
If the indicator will not light, even with the bias control turned completely clockwise, then one or
both output tubes are dead. If the indicator light will not go off, even with the contol turned
completely counterclockwise, then an output tube is shorted and the amplifier should be turned
off immediately. in either case the output tubes need replacing. Replace the output tubes as
matched pairs—matched pairs will sound better and last longer. :scratch:
I do own a volt meter is their another way to do it ?

Asghar

Tom Bombadil

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Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #15 on: 26 May 2018, 10:46 pm »
A_Shah wrote:  "Tubes he gave me are 1. Philips ECC 82 - 12FQ7"

This confused me as an ECC82 is a 12AU7, not a 12FQ7.   As you know the 12AU7 is a very common driver tube.   The 12FQ7 is similar to a 12AU7, it can sometimes be substituted if one uses an adapter, but it is not a direct plug substitution. 

InfernoSTi

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #16 on: 26 May 2018, 10:56 pm »
Probably two tubes that are different, so three tube types per mono.  I have the QS Silver 88's which have three different tube types.  12BX7, 12AX7, and two KT88s per side.

Congrats on the Quicksilvers, they are wonderful amps...

John

A_shah

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #17 on: 27 May 2018, 05:28 am »
Probably two tubes that are different, so three tube types per mono.  I have the QS Silver 88's which have three different tube types.  12BX7, 12AX7, and two KT88s per side.

Congrats on the Quicksilvers, they are wonderful amps...

John


John  !
thank you !

I just love the amps. they continue to amaze me ,  the mono's are  now my main listing amplifiers  Regarding the Tubes yes you are right !they are two different tubes. 12AU7 (INPUT) and the 12FQ7( Driver tube)


I have replaced Yugo ECC82 with a pair of matched Chinese Golden Voice 12Au7's ( I need to take it back to Mike Sanders  to adjust the Bias  on that one tube  in each mono which have  to be done by a professional tech , the adjust pot is inside the chassis for that tube  the power tubes KT-88 can be done by me . the Output transformers are the same hand wound  transformers that are used in his Mono 120 , but the power transformer is the one that is used in his mid mono amps. 
Asghar
 

Emil

Re: Quicksilver Audio new mono 60 watt amp.
« Reply #18 on: 27 May 2018, 11:45 am »
@ fullRangeman
Any recommendations for substitution tube  for 12FQ7 vacuum tube  :?: :slap:
Asghar

No substitution for that tube. You can get replacements from Mike Sanders
Or you can  contact http://vintagetubeservices.com/

I got of RCAs from there for my QS