I have owned VTL ST-85, Silver Mono 60, ( only for 1 week ) and the V-4's. In my mind the VTL had a " muddy " sound compared to the Quciksilvers. If your looking for everything to open up ( using the Quciksilvers ) try the KT-88 or the kt-90 type 3 tubes they will give you a much better presentaion, and will definitely tighten up the bass. BTW, the Silver Mono's do sound much better than the older 60 quciksilvers.
I ran pure silver speaker cables and interconnects with the quicksilvers. I was using a pair of Vandersteen model 3 speakers in conjuction with a BAT VK-5i. I have yet to find a setup that would touch the midrange I had, and the rest of the soundstage wasn't bad either. I also used a VK-3i with good results, but it couldn't touch the magic I had with the VK-5i.
I ran pure silver speaker cables and interconnects with the quicksilvers. I was using a pair of Vandersteen model 3 speakers in conjuction with a BAT VK-5i. I have yet to find a setup that would touch the midrange I had, and the rest of the soundstage wasn't bad either. I also used a VK-3i with good results, but it couldn't touch the magic I had with the VK-5i.