amp for thiel cs1.6??

I just hooked up one of the Unison Unico's to my current model 1.6's and they sound amazing. They have the tubey sound with good punch and very good lower end. I had solid state and found it a bit bright also. These speakers are very technical and benefit from the "warming" of the tube front end. The amp is not lacking for head room either, very good volume. Kevin at Upscale hooked me up, great transaction!

When I had the Thiel 2.2s, I had hooked them up to a Forte 6 (the 200wpc version of the 4A), Krell KST-100, and Pass Aleph Os. The Aleph Os (60 watt class A) had the best midrange, and overall warmth that made them a great combo. I've since upgraded to the 3.6, but still kept the Aleph Os. It's not powerful enough for the 3.6, so I have relegated it to powering a pair of Unity Signature 1s in my second system. This great amp is designed by Nelson Pass and put Pass Lab on the map of high-end. You should be able to find it for under $1500 these days.

FrankC

Hello,

You might want to consider one of the fine integrated amps from Consonance. These amps caused great excitement at CES 2003. The C1 (120) watts for example was used with the excellent Buggtussel speakers and was picked as one of the top four rooms at the show. The C1 sounds great also with the 1.6s.

audiolon.com

Hi,

I inherited a pair of thiel cs2's from my uncle a couple of years ago and at the time had an acurus a100. I had a similar experience with the Thiel's being very revealing a little on the power hungry side they sounded a little cold and harsh. I upgraded to an aragon 4004 mkII which is 200 watts at 8 ohms and 400 watts at 4 ohms! I have been very happy with the setup. My uncle heard the setup and said they had never sounded that good when he had them, and he had driven them with an adcom 200 wpc amp and pass monoblocks with 100wpc. I think you'll find the 4004mkII typically around $800 on this site and the 8008 around 1200-1500. Definitely worth checking out.

good luck

Dear new wes,
I have the amps for you. VTL 80 watt mono's. I use them with my Maggie 1.6's(84db). They sound great! Tube magic while keeping the highs and lows intact.
Let me know
Bill

Hi,

Take a look at the fine amps from Consonance that were such a big hit at CES2003 in Las Vegas.

audiolon.com

I like my 185 wpc McCormack DNA-1 with Thiel 2.2's and BAT VK-3i (tube) preamp.

Overall I really like the McCormack and recommend it. I wouldn't call the DNA-1 either dark or bright. It has plenty of power, and great value. I bought mine used about 8 years ago, and it hasn't really gone down in value during that whole time!

In my room, the stage is wider than the speakers (8+ feet), and deep with pin point accuracy. But this only happened after many tweaks (speakers pulled out into the room, toe-in, iso bearings, upgraded power cables, speaker cable lifters etc...).

On the other hand, I think the sound gets congested at higher volumes (100dB!), the combo is still a little bright (hard on piano, sizzles on poorly recorded sibilants), and I'd like better inner detail.

I wouldn't consider this equipment combo to be deficient. I've just grown higher expectations as I've been with this gear for over 5 years.

I recently heard the 2.2's with a Krell FPB 600 ($12k) and a Wadia CD ($8k), and was amazed at the improvements. I didn't know they could play that wide, deep and dynamically. Brightness didn't change. This makes me think the Thiels can continue to benefit from really expensive electronics.

Of course, you can get a used DNA-1 for about $800, and the reviews are consistently very favorable for the Rev B and A upgrades (I think a Rev. A upgrade is about $1200, and then you have a Stereophile "class A" amp).

I have a new pair of Thiel 2.3's (love them) and I've ordered the Odyssey Stratos monoblocks (1800.00). They have a 30 day money back policy, so I think its worth checking out. You can get the Odyssey Stratos 2ch x150 amp for aprox. 1000.00. I have yet to hear a single bad thing about this amp from any source. Check out odysseyaudio.com (no I don't work for them!).

I would suggest a Sonic Frontiers SFS-40 and SFL-1. That would be withing your price structure, and is similar to what I run. It is a stunning smaller setup.

For about 500 bucks you can get a Forte 1A or the 4A. Class A circuitry. These amps are incredible. Then you have some loot left over for cables. BTW-These amps are 50 watts of class A,and thats a very conservative rating.

You did not mention the cables that you are using. Thiels are a very revealing speaker. Don't forget to budget cables into the equation. I've used MIT's and currently am using Straightwire.

You should be able to find one of the older bigger Parasounds for under $500. At least with the older Thiels, you really can never give them too much power. My speakers are rated at maximum 250 wpc and I'm running 385 wpc into them and they handle the power ease. If you are patient, you should be able to find a nice preamp to match and fall within your budget.

I have a set of Thiel 22's, Parasound 2200 ($400 used) and Jeff Rowland Coherence One ($1000 used). The Parasound is not going to be the last amp I own, but for the money, it is one heck of a value in my opinion.

I listened to the same combo (Thiel plus VTL); The integre DT was better.

Lafish, when you find a JRDG integrated for $1,500, please let New_wes know...

As for tube integrateds, I demo'ed the 1.6 in conjunction with the VTL ST-85 (which is available in integrated form as the IT-85) - the combo was exceptionally fine and the prices make sense together.

Jeff Rowland will be a good match to Thiel