Tube Power Amp Reviews

Sidebar 1: Amplifier Comparisons

Comparing the Quicksilver MS190 with the Berning 2100 that I also review in this issue was rather difficult because they sound so different. If you like "tube sound," you are more likely to be happy with the Quicksilver, because it embodies more of what are generally conceded to be the positive (and, by tube detractors, negative) attributes of good tubed components. If you like solid-state bass and tube midrange, the Berning approaches this rare amalgam more closely than any other amplifier we have tested. For the best "tube highs," choose between the Paoli S.O.B. and the Conrad-Johnson Premier One, although the Quicksilver comes remarkably close to the Premier One at the high end, and at a much lower price.

Of these two, the Berning is tighter and more controlled at the low end and is, overall, probably the more neutral-sounding of the two. The Quicksilver is warmer through the midbass and sweeter-sounding at the high end, and thus fares better with electrostatics. The Berning, despite its somewhat softer-than-solid-state high end, really does much better than the Quicksilver with most dynamic speaker systems. In fact, with many dynamics, certain aspects of the Berning's sound (its aliveness and depth) were preferred to the sound of our current favorite solid-state amp, the Electron Kinetics Eagle 7A.

This description should not serve to minimize the uniqueness of each product. With, electrostatics, or with a dynamic speaker which "likes" its midbass warmth and soft high end, the Quicksilver's remarkable depth presentation and other™ wise lush sound could make a wonderful music system. Likewise with the Berning: its combination of tight low end and remarkable aliveness will work perfectly in some systems. Both of these are superb-sounding amplifiers, but both have definite "earmarks" which are going to make loudspeaker choice exceedingly important if one is to achieve the best sound either is capable of. If you're going at things the other way around—starting with the speakers, and seeking the ideal amplifier for them—these two should certainly be on your list of possibly state-of-the-art amplifiers to try with those speakers.—J. Gordon Holt