Quicksilver Headphone Amp

[deppkg]

Does this amp pair well with the Auteurs in comparison to something like the feliks echo?

[M0N]

I don’t have auteurs or other zmf on hand to compare, but I would assume it pairs well given from what I’ve tried on it. The auteur + echo combo is pretty nice if you want to relax and warm up the auteurs without sacrificing too much technical performance (great for timbre, smoothness, tonal density, and more relaxed organic presentation), whereas the quicksilver will be a more neutral and technical amp in comparison (better control and impact, more detailed, more dynamically impressive, spatially more expansive, a bit more forward, better speed, tightness, and also texture while still being fairly rich sounding and not overly forward). Generally I’d say the quicksilver would be the higher preforming pairing but if you are really looking to chill out and relax the auteur the feliks might make more sense. But I can only estimate performance based off how the auteurs reacted to amp changes along with how the quicksilver paired with other headphones that amp similarly to the auteur (or can give me some sort of frame of reference)

[deppkg]

Thanks for the response! ill keep that in mind when I buy a tube amp in this price range later this year.

[ckhirnigs]

I couldn’t resist registering here after reading through this thread. I have been on the fence on whether or not to purchase this Quicksilver Headphone amp for 3-4 months now. @M0N it has been great reading all your detailed impressions of the amp with various headphones and DACs. It is hard to find much info on this amp, but the people that have it all sing its praises. You have provided the most helpful insights I’ve come across to date.

I’m patiently awaiting an SW51+ to pair up with my Bifrost 2 and Verite Closed. It’s one of the main reasons I haven’t pulled the trigger on the Quicksilver yet. I’ve been making due with a budget amp for the past couple of months, the JDS Labs EL Amp II. It’s been fine, but I really look forward to seeing what kind of improvements a quality tube amp brings to the table.

Needless to say, I’ve enjoyed this thread and hope the discussion continues!

[M0N]

@ckhirnigs

It is hard to find much info on this amp, but the people that have it all sing its praises.

Yeah there is little out there. If it weren’t for my previous experiences with quicksilver before, I don’t know if I would have gone with this amp tbh lol

@ckhirnigs

I’m patiently awaiting an SW51+ to pair up with my Bifrost 2 and Verite Closed. It’s one of the main reasons I haven’t pulled the trigger on the Quicksilver yet. I’ve been making due with a budget amp for the past couple of months, the JDS Labs EL Amp II. It’s been fine, but I really look forward to seeing what kind of improvements a quality tube amp brings to the table.

Niceeee, the sw51 is a real solid amp for the price if you can get your hands on one, the quicksilver would be a nice upgrade later on, but for now I would really be curious to hear your thoughts on the sw51 when you get it

[ckhirnigs]

@M0N

but for now I would really be curious to hear your thoughts on the sw51 when you get it

I’ll be sure to post some impressions when it finally arrives. I’m hoping this batch gets finished some time in April. Have you had a chance to listen to the SW51+? I wonder if the Quicksilver is an upgrade or just more expensive. I know of one person that will soon have both amps and will be reporting back with a comparison of the two. I’m eager to hear his thoughts.

[M0N]

@ckhirnigs

Have you had a chance to listen to the SW51+?

Only in passing, but it was solid for the short time I did get to hear one

@ckhirnigs

I wonder if the Quicksilver is an upgrade or just more expensive.

Upgrade to my ears.

The sw51+ to me is almost similar to the hagerman tuba when it comes to sonic goals and performance actually, those amps are both more cleaner dryer leaning overall, similar technicality wise, with some differences but I’d rate them pretty similar tier. I have much more time with a tuba though, but that’s what the sw51 reminded me the most of. The sw51 is a better value than the tuba, but the tuba is much more readily available. So my thoughts on the tuba vs quicksilver would most likely end up being similar to the sw51 vs quicksilver

[ckhirnigs]

That’s very helpful info. The Tuba was another amp I strongly considered before I discovered the SW51.

I forgot to ask, did you give the Quicksilver a thorough listen with the stock tubes before rolling in your current tubes? I think every other owner’s impressions have been with the stock tubes, so I’m interested in how you’d rate the stock setup versus what you’ve got in there now.

[M0N]

@ckhirnigs

I forgot to ask, did you give the Quicksilver a thorough listen with the stock tubes before rolling in your current tubes? I think every other owner’s impressions have been with the stock tubes, so I’m interested in how you’d rate the stock setup versus what you’ve got in there now.

I did, although not for a long time, it was very solid, the tubes I swapped in there mainly improved dynamics, slightly more detail, and more accurate spatial recreation, and added a bit more warmth overall, but I would be very satisfied with stock as well

[Souldriver]

As for the BHC, is this a thing where over the past decade+ since the BHC was introduced there has been more options made available in the market space or, in your opinion has it always been not competing in the $800 range? And when i say bhc i also mean with the speedball and the differences it makes.

[M0N]

Hmmm. In the past there were indeed less sub 1k competition, so that statement might have been a tad more true, but I’d have to think about it

[Polygonhell]

The issue with the Crack is it’s a very specific sound.
It’s a very rich wet sound, you can tune it to a point with tube rolling, but it’s never going to be neutral, and I don’t really know what it’s competing with that has a similar signature.
It’s a great amp with Speed ball, has surprisingly good control and it’s a great listen with say HD600’s
To me though unless you love that wet sound it’s a better change up amp than it is a primary amp.

Most of the sub 1K competitor are going for a different presentation and that makes them difficult to compare. I would take at least the SW51+, Haggerman Tuba, (possibly ZDT Jr if you can find one) over the Crack with SB, some of that is they are more neutral presentations with much of the same value adds you get with the Crack.

Normally whenever I’m asked to compare the Crack to amps in it’s price range, my cop out answer is, “they are different amps”, it’s just difficult to give more than a preference when the signatures are so different.

What’s missing with almost all the sub 1K tube amps is the ability to drive planars and lower impedance headphones well, it’s one of the reasons the Quicksilver intrigues me.

[ericg]

@ckhirnigs

I’m patiently awaiting an SW51+ to pair up with my Bifrost 2 and Verite Closed. It’s one of the main reasons I haven’t pulled the trigger on the Quicksilver yet.

I have the Bifrost 2 > SW51+ > ZMF Auteur and enjoy it very much. The SW51+ was definitely worth the wait.

My other tube amp is the BHC and imo they complement each other nicely.

[ckhirnigs]

@ericg

I have the Bifrost 2 > SW51+ > ZMF Auteur and enjoy it very much. The SW51+ was definitely worth the wait.

That’s great to hear! I was very close to getting the Auteur but needed a closed back so I ponied up for a VC.

[Souldriver]

This is some good insight. I am building my bhc+sb basically for my hd6xx and nothing else can really use it. And i do want it for a very tube, non-solidstate sound.

Yes there are things like the mlp that play nice with my planars, but having an all tube headphone amp do it all intrigues me.

I want to take logical snd slightly bigger steps and savor each one. If not, or if the quick could of been used as a preamp, then this comes across as some good kit.

[M0N]

If you are looking for something that has that fairly heavy richer tone overall with the expected otl sound, and a logical upgrade to a crack, I would point you toward a decware csp3. It’s also somewhat got a similar look too lol, and pre outs. It has the rounded and pronounced bass, really thick tonal density, a softer tone, forgiving of some music, and also a bit exaggerated stage. Technical step forward from the crack, and pairs similarly well headphone wise, although it doesn’t do a great job with lower impedance and planar either (on the decware side of things you would want to move up to the taboo mk4 but that’s outside of the price class)

[Souldriver]

Oh darn, yeah when the pic popped up i thought it was one of the higher end bottle head amps. Similar look and it seems the offer some customization too.

I will keep these in mind but im trying to stay away from purchases. I want to put all my money on getting that house and a nice 2ch set up. But a tube headphone amp like that can let me keep the hd6xx in the room for headphone sessions and warm or change the flavor of the 2ch. All extremely preliminary.

[bruhmanfromthefifflo]

Actually I was curious about something now that you mentioned the Rupert Neve RNHP. Some people say the Little Labs Monotor is a better buy overall. What do you think about it?

[M0N]

It depends, I like both of them alot. It will really come down to synergy and preference, I don’t think one is a higher level than the other, some more thoughts pulled from another thread

@M0N

If I had to pull some thoughts (which are based off a short amount of time and limited headphone selection), it would potentially be in between a rnhp and g111 in terms of signature, it was very studio neutral (not neutral smooth like the g111 nor neutral-natural like the rnhp), it’s stage was accurate but not overstated (wasn’t as deep and sharp placement wise as the neve, but nor as wide and spacious as the g111 can be, but the neve can sound somewhat more intimate and the g111 more artificially wide and lack placement accuracy), it’s timbre was solid but not stand out (neve was more timbrally and tonally accurate, g111 is prob more an equal here), detail wise most likely on par with the rnhp and lake people imo, for tonal density it was a slight bit dry but not an issue. It does sound better extended in the bass than the neve and better extended in the treble than the g111 (both of which though can be compensated with the proper dac pairing, same goes for other qualms mentioned with the rnhp and g111).

To me the more stand out thing about it was the control and impact it had, while still having very good microdynamics, it really did punch fairly hard and made dynamics pretty easy to judge. It felt very fast and tight especially in the bass, the g111 has more raw impact but the little labs more likely had more control

@M0N

So far, it really feels like an inbetween rnhp and g111 but more forward than both, so very solid, so another great option in this price range. If I had some qualms, it might be that it sometimes sounds a bit over emphasized in it’s resolving power and can sound a bit unnatural at times but that’s not really a downside more just a trait to note. For out of the 3, you really can’t go wrong as long as you pay attention to what cans you are using, as all 3 of them have compelling reasons over each other and it will just come down to preference so far.

To quickly touch on dac pairing, this is somewhat picky about what dac you use, not as much as the neve is, but it’s not as forgiving as the g111. So far, I’ve had the best experiences with dacs that lean either a touch warmer or are reasonably neutral, going too far analytical ends up being overwhelming and isn’t that enjoyable imo. Having the dac be a slight bit relaxed would also be a bonus. It did scale fairly well and let though some of the characteristics of a higher end dacs like the neve, so it’s fairly transparent there for the price

So basically, it’s going to be a toss up in my head and will come down to what headphones and source you have and what your preferences are

Edit: I should also add that with more time on the little labs, it might eek out more detail in the treble and bass than the neve

[Delta9K]

I hate this thread
Just when I think I am good to go and settling in for a while, something intriguing like this opens up…

Seriously - I am learning a lot from the discussion and it is appreciated.