Tube Pre for Klipschorn

Use a SS pre with the Quicksilver horn amps. You might want to try an Adcom 750. Passive mode dead silent, active mode has gain and nearly so. Good combo unless you have to drive LONG interconnects between pre and amp...

Quicksilver amps are a great match with vintage Klipsch horn-loaded speakers IMO. I have LaScala's and Heresy's, and have also owned two sets of Forte II's. Of those the LaScala's are my favorites (same drivers as your Khorns, different housing) and I run those with Quicksilver 300B SET's (prototypes). I've also run Klipsch speakers with Quicksilver's Silver 90's (Pentodes), Mini-Mites (push/pulls), and another prototype set of EL34 Triodes made by Quicksilver. I prefer the triode combination with horns. The Pentodes were a bit too punchy for my tastes (still very nice amps), while the Mini-Mites are great little amps and a good compromise between punch and air. With the efficiency of your Khorns you can drive them with a smouldering match so power is really not much of an issue. I'd say a whole lot would depend on what kind of music you like to listen to. If you're into rock and roll and more dynamic material, go for punchy (though I wouldn't recommend SS - Bob_Bundus and I were just contributing our difference of opinion on this very subject in a recent thread on Klipschorns under the review section if you care to look it up). I've never heard that combination sound very good, but then again I haven't had that much exposure to variations on that theme. Bob's experiences have been different from mine, and he seems to like that combination very much, so I have no doubt that some may prefer it, but I have yet to hear it sound good to my ears. If you can swing the $5800 price tag Mike Sanders new 6C33C based amps, "The Triode", would likely be magic with your Khorns. They are not on his site but are available now. My friend back east uses them and tells me they are the best he's heard with his Klipschorns.

As far as a tube pre-amp, I do like my very simple Cary SLP-50A with my LaScala's and SET's. It works great for me, and is a real sleeper of a pre. It is a 2-tube linestage using two 6CG7's. The SLP-50B uses the more popular 6DJ8 family. I tried one for about a month with all forms of premium tubes and ended up selling it and sticking with the SLP-50a....it just sounded better in my system. I've found the ARC LS-2b (GNS modified) that I own to be too analytical sounding for the SET/horn combination while the Cary seems to let it 'breath' better. The ARC sounds good with the Push/Pull Mini-Mites though. Synergy.

Just my .02 cents.

Marco

Marco,

You are probably right; everything I read seem to point to SET amps. I will continue to read and look for a decent priced SET amps. I would really like to hear an opinion on the Quicksilver horn amps, since they are designed for horn speakers. Will a tube amp cut down on the noise of my tube pre amp or is it that some tube preamps are quieter than others. I believe the gain on the my preamp is pretty high, which is why I hear the tube rush and the ringing when I touch the metal case.

Calvin

Calvin- Sorry, but I have no direct experience with the Horn Mono's to speak of. They do have 18db less gain than most of the other Quicksilver amps and for that reason may adress some of the noise issues you are having with your pre. I assume you've checked all the tubes you are running in your pre to make sure they're all healthy(?). If not, tubes that are failing tend to get noisier as they age. You could also have a bad capacitor in your pre (at least it sounds like you've isolated it to your preamp....is the noise gone when the preamp is shut down and your amp is running?..Is the noise in both channels or one?). The tube choice will also make some difference as I'm sure you know....some tubes within the same family are more microphonic than others. This is especially so with some of the smaller more delicate tubes like the 6922 family. My friend who owns the new Quicksilver "The Triode" amps does also use his full-function pre and has never complained about noise, but I'll ask him for you. He does like the way Mike's products work together (and this is someone who could afford a MUCH more expensive preamp, and owns several high-end amps and speakers). Mike Sanders (owner of Quicksilver) is very knowledgeable and approachable. If you give him a call and see if he has time to talk about your problem you may find he had a much better take on it than me. You can also try email but he tends to be pretty brief in his answers by email. I do know that he is pretty swamped with orders right now since I had the opportunity to correspond with him recently. Obviously he knows his products intimately.

I really love the SET/horn combination, but would qualify that you should definitely hear what it is like before selling your amp and investing in SET. The difference between SS and SET is most profound, and if you are like Bob and prefer the qualities that SS brings out of your music then you may not like the direction. I also don't know that going to SET would directly address the noise issues you are having. In fact, as I understand it, which is not to say very well, with the 300B designs there is the added issue of going to a directly heated tube that also can impart some tube noise to a very sensitive speaker. All of that said, I've never heard anything I like better, so it clearly works for me. Several Audiophile friends have also been very impressed with the sound. Two all-SS guys decided they had to try tubes when they heard my system. Mike Sanders (and some folks) on the other hand, do not like the harmonic distortions that SET imparts. After building several prototypes he decided he did not want to build them as production amps for those reasons (you can ask him about it if you talk to him or email him). For me the SET sound is heavenly! I'm using the WE 300B tubes in his amps, while I believe Mike only used Chinese 300B's to test them. I don't know if he knows how great these things can sound! To each their own! If you are ever in Seattle drop me an email and you'd be most welcome to listen for yourself Calvin. My only big compromise with that system right now is the room they are in, which is more a matter of keeping my system wife-friendly.

Marco

For those that are technically minded and interested in highly advanced tube designs that are both linear and built with common sense , try taking a look at Norm Koren's website. Just bring your "audiophile approved bullet-proof vests" with you as he's going to take a few pot-shots at those that are "tweak-o-philes".

Once you get past the initial "slagging" on the home page, i think that you'll find that Norm tries to design products that offer the best of both worlds i.e. the sonic characteristics of tubes with the linearity, low distortion and bandwidth of SS. The "extra cool part" about this is that he does so without any "trick" or custom made parts, so one can duplicate the circuits that he does use at very reasonable cost. One can even upgrade the components used to "tweaky audiophile" status if you feel the need.

Personally, i like Norm's "no nonsense / common sense" approach but have to disagree with some of his comments, especially those regarding passive parts quality and tweaking. Then again, if you could find someone that agreed with you on EVERY subject that you discussed, you should probably marry that person : ) Sean
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