How Good is Walker Extreme SST Contact Enhancer

The Quicksilver enhancer appears to be nearly identical to Walker SST. It looks the same, costs the same, and its instructions for use are exactly the same (I downloaded and read the PDF instruction sheet).

I'm not exactly sure what the advantage would be of Quicksilver over Walker SST. Considering they cost the same...$70...why would someone choose the contender over the undisputed champion? Curious to say the least.

I found it interesting that Arthur Salvatore positively mentioned CAIG Pro Gold in his preliminary review of Walker SST. Yes, he said that the Walker SST was better, but it's still nice to see that Pro Gold gets some love, too!

That may very well be, Rushton. I'm just sharing what one amp manufacturer warned me about. It seems that he has had several pairs of amps and pre-amps returned lately for repairs because silver conductive paste leaked down and shorted between the tube pins on the underside of the tube socket. Your list of names is impressive, however, it does not change the fact that the repairs were required because of the tube pin terminals had shorted out with the silver conductive paste, does it? These guys still had to ship their amps or pre-amps back for repairs ...

I understand your point of view, you haven't had any issues ... yet. It is not my desire to be-rate any of the numerous silver conductive products, I'd used it for years in the military, it is nothing new. I only wish to share the warning of a manufacturer who has seen several units fail because of use (or perhaps mis-use) of a product.

In regard to Lloyd not recieving any complaints, I will repeat what I had over at Tweakers Asylum; How many guys are going to call someone up and admit that they were foolish enough screwed up their amps? (And worse, to be without music while the unit is repaired!) It's human nature to keep our faults to ourselves and our victories well known. It's known that you and Lloyd are very good friends, so if you made a mistake or had a problem, it is probable that you'd report it to your friend, Lloyd. (Most folks don't have the friendships with manufacturers that you do).

As I'd stated earlier, I have no interest in damaging the reputation of any of the numerous silver conductive pastes sold in the audiophile market today. I DO feel it is my responsibility to share the info given to me by a man that deals with improper or mis-use of the product, as I'm sure that you can understand.

This said, I will not use silver conductive paste on my tube pins.

Jes45, can you comment on your experiences with using the paste on other areas of your system (i.e. IC's, PC's, etc.). Is your warning (which is well taken) only against use on tube pins, or are there more global concerns. Do you find that it provides performance enhancement to the degree that it is worth considering?

Rushton,I respect your opinions,as I've read quite a few of your posts,and you seem to be quite reliable.I will have an opportunity to hear within 2 weeks the results on EBM's set-up as he is a friend,and I know his system well.Don't get me wrong I don't consider myself a contrarian and hope I come away from that listening session with my hand on my wallet.I just wish that the mark-ups on some(most)of the products in this hobby would seem reasonable to me,and the SST looks like it is rediculously overpriced.However,what do I know,I just bought my wife a 300.00 COACH(FREAKIN')pocketbook!!So who am I to pass judgement.Anyway,thanks for the feedback,and I'll post my own observation,on a system that I'm intimately familiar with,in the future.

Jes45, this is good robust conversation, presented fairly and courteously. Thank you. I value your contributions to this dialog and our Audiogon community; your cautions about tube pins are appropriate to consider seriously.

Tvad, I agree: Caig Pro Gold is a good product that works very well. I've used it and liked it very much.

Sirspeedy, please do share your observations once you've listened to EBM's system. I'll be interested to read them.

Regards to all,