HIFIVE

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $550.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
Folks this is an excellent sounding preamp & by virtue of its simple design & superb engineering gives it a wonderful full sounding presentation. Transparency, width & depth are very good for a preamp in this price range. In fact sadly enough, it romps & stomps on some far more expensive preamps I have heard. It is not an anaylatical anaylizer nor is there too much warmth but falls somewhere in the middle. Right now I have two Sylvania tubes at work here but my gut feeling is that by tube rolling this preamp could easily be a sleeping giant. I have it connected to the excellent Sonographe SA-250 which it is a giant killer in its own right. For the price do yourself a favor and buy one. Forget about the remote, sound quality first. Strongly recommended component.

Strengths:
Huge soundtage with great depth and transparency.

Weaknesses:
None at this price point.

Similar Products Used:
Musical Design SP2B, Various ARC preamps. Conrad Johnson preamps. Audio Mirror T-61 & many others.

Price Paid:  $675.00 from Synergistic Sound

Summary:
System:

Bryston 4Bst
Magnapan IIIa
Arcam Alpha 9 CD Player
Yamaha Ct-7000 Tuner
BEL interconnects
Richard Gray Liine Conditioner

The Quicksilver unit uses two 12AX7's.

For the curious, here's my test. Whenever I get new gear, I listen to thirty or so recordings that I know quite well and enjoy -- after all, they're why I'm gittin' the gear. While listening, I determine which sound better, worse, or the same. This tells me whether I've really upgraded. With the Quicksilver, I certainly did.

This is a remarkable unit and for the price, even new ($1095 -- mine was a demo) OUTSTANDING! The instruments sound like real instruments, and it is as kind to older recordings as it is to newer, higher resolution efforts. All genres sing, and dynamics are great and never lost for warmth. (Tube equipment sometimes compresses highs and thus loses dynamic range.) It's detail surpasses both the SFL-1 and the BP-20, particlarly with regard to the texture of various instruments, both electric and acoustic. It also casts a wider and more fluid sound stage than either unit (both of which I liked, by the way). Bass is tight and extremely rich -- that surprised me the most. Mids (voices, horns, cello, piano) are remarkable -- right there. Highs are never harsh, sibilance (sp?) disappears, and cymbals shine without grating. If you like to rock out (which I do from time to time), some of the bass control slackens and the overall image muddies a tiny bit [although this may be a result of a small room, not the unit!]. Also, I think the HDCD recordiongs sounded better on the BP-20, but only marginally so, and all non HDCD recordings sound much better on the Quicksilver.
On the whole and in the parts, this unit is a gem. At $1095 (3 year warranty), with only two tubes to replace from time to time, I can't see doing better.

Strengths:
Rich highs, mids, anmd lows, detailed, dynamic, inexpensive!

Weaknesses:
Loses some clarity at higher volumes

Similar Products Used:
Sonic Frontiers SFL-1, Bryston BP-20

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Upscale Audio

Summary:
Overall this is the best pre-amp that I have had. It is wonderfully smooth and open with excellent dynamics. I am at present using it with Audio Innovations S200 and Counterpoint SA12 power amps and it sounds marvelous with both. Mine is the one with 12AX7 valves and I did find that using Mullard long plate 12AX7 or Mullard box anode M8137 valves did improve its sound to the standard valves fitted to a point that I would not use it again with the stock valves supplied even though they sound pretty good. I understand from several people thats its slightly better than the 6DJ8 version although I would like to try this for myself. I really appreciated its quality when I listened through my stax signature headphones and I think you would have to pay alot more to to try and improve on its sound. Also I like that its hard wired which makes it very reliable.

Strengths:
Very smooth but open and dynamic

Weaknesses:
no phono stage

Similar Products Used:
Audio Innovations S200 and L1, Krell Pam 1, CJ PV10, Audio Research SP9. Pink Triangle pip.

Summary:
I would like to say that the LS is one of the best linestage preamps I have ever listened to SMOOTH,DYNAMIC,and without question MUSICAL! It is also one of the best matches for the Sonogy Black Knight power amplifier,this setup with Vandersteen speakers is almost eerie,in it's letting you get INTO the music as if you were there!