As a long time Thiel CS 2 owner let me say while your old Pioneer will work, you won't ever get what these speakers are capable of from it. The CS 2's with their 6 Ohm minimal 5 Ohm nominal impedance may be the easiest of all Thiels to drive. However, the soft ported bass highlights the extended high frequencies and they are at best moderately sensitive at 87db. All Thiels require are seriously good amp! Your room, desired listening levels and type(s) of music you listen to will determine how much power you will need. Very few integrated will do them justice. With the right ancillaries them are quite capable of providing magic. Without, they are can be a whole lot less satisfying. If you just want backround sound, I humbly suggest you look elsewhere.
Amp for Thiel CS2's
I've read Thiels can be hard for amps to drive. I have a chance to get these speakers cheap (under 300) for my computer room and wonder if I could get away with using an old Pioneer SX 780 at 45 wpc into 8 ohms receiver to drive them. Listening levels here are moderate only. How this receiver would react to a low impedance load I don't know. If need be I could get an integrated as I certainly have plenty of tuners laying around. I don't want or have enough room for separates nor do I want to spend much money on this as it's for background music only. Thanks for any help.