Best amp choice for Thiel 2.4

I haven't found the Pass X series amps to be lean at all with Thiels, if anything ever so slightly on the other side of neutral, and a very lovely match indeed. As for the power levels, so much of that depends on the specific Thiels under consideration and the room, but all else being equal and as budget permits I would almost always suggest more rather than less power with Thiels. Tube's or ss pres work just fine with Thiels. Whether or not a tube pre is appropriate might have more to do with the partnering amplifier. It's more likely to find ss pres with the impedance and balanced outputs that the Pass Labs amps prefer.

Definitely agree Thiel and Aerial’s are totally different and I would agree as well to use a tube preamp with a Pass amp on Thiel’s, but not to tame the Pass. I use a tube preamp on my Pass, but I wouldn’t consider my preamp to have a fat tube sound. Only mentioned Aerial’s as they require power and a X250 will drive the Thiels just fine. If Curio is by chance leaning to Pass, a X250 should be enough juice so why spend more for a X350. If money is no issue then why not I suppose, but then I’d go X250.5 or look at the XA series. I question the a X1 will really show how great the .5 series is though, or the X250.5 might bring out something in the X1. I remember many years ago listening to a pair of Thiel 2’s (don’t recall what version) through an ARC LS3 at the time; and although I believed the LS3 to be a very, very good SS preamp in its day, it did not work on the Thiel’s. Maybe I haven’t heard enough Pass gear but I don’t find their amps to be lean at all, but have heard a few Krell’s and other big dog SS amps from many that didn’t do it for me. No Pass amp is going to fool a tube amp user it’s a tube amp, but they get it close for the money, and closer than most.

I strongly agree with Carmenc on a tube preamp. I might have looked at a nice tube preamp first before picking up the X1. I personally will always take a tube preamp over a SS unit, but can go either way on tube or SS amps such as a Pass. I choose not to go with tube amps as they are a pain in the butt to run over the long haul and cost of re-tubing and heat especially on a big tube amps. Had a couple tube amps over the years and I appreciate what they do, but not for me at this point in time.

Sounds like Mark at Reno HiFi is easy to work with and the most you’ll be out is shipping if you don’t like a Pass amp... that’s if you return it. Maybe Ayre and others will directly or one of their dealers do the same so you can try one out at home first. ModWright KWA 150 SE might be another amp to read up on as well, and Dan is a great guy and will be honest with you on how he thinks his amp will work with your system. Good luck.

Thiels are a lot different than Aerials, IMHO.  I've owned both Thiels and Aerials.  They're more towards opposite ends of the spectrum in fact.  The Pass will be lean with the Thiels, especially with a Pass preamp.  I can see how it would sound great with the Aerials.  You want a tube preamp if your going to get the best out of the Thiels.  Even Kathy Gornick, formally of Thiel, said she never heard a Thiel speaker that didn't sound better with a tube preamp.

BAT, Belles, CJ and Ayre would be my choices  for Thiel if going with newer amps.  The old ML and certain Krells were great, but as stated, recapping may be an issue.  Good luck.

Knowing most the manufactures on your list - meaning I have experience listening to them, except the Ayre I'd lean to the Pass X250.5. My Aerial are probably no harder to drive than your Thiel's and I use a X250. The X250 will have plenty of juice unless you're playing crazy levels which eventually you'll cook your ears and it might not matter later. I wouldn't consider a 300 series ML unless you know it's been recapped and there's proof of it; hardly worth recapping these amps because of the cost doing being so high. With a X1 I'm not sure you're going to hear as much of a difference between an X250 or X350 vs the .5 series but you might. If you had a X10 or up I'd say for sure the .5 series. The .5 series is definitely better, but that being said you might look at a X350 if you really need the power over a X250.5 if you're watching the budget. Before I would spend the difference I'd maybe upgrade to the X10 as well... just a thought. The X1 is a nice preamp so don't get me wrong... just saying if you're leaning towards a pass don't rule out a X250 or X350 and don't sweat the .5 series because the older models are still very good amps. Best of luck.

All excellent suggestions- it is going to me a matter of personal taste.
Classe' Ayre, Mark Levinson, Pass Labs...etc., all make outstanding solid state power amps. Krell is going to provide high current, important to know, when considering any Thiel speaker. Happy Listening!

BAT VK-600 has the juice and musical ability to make you very happy.

Has anyone matched the Thiel 2.4 with Channel islands D-200 ?

Thanks for your suggestions
Pratically the best choice is to remain in the Pass family and to buy a X350.5

I had a pair of Thiel 3.6s. I paired them with a ML333 for over 8 years. Because of a repeating issue with capacitors, I finally gave it up two years ago and bought a Pass X350.5. The thing sounded amazing right out of the box. I had thought that with my system at that time, I had pretty much "maxed" the performance of the Thiel 3.6. But the Pass brought out more details, more bass, and better soundstage.

The friend that introduced me to the X350.5 had at the time both the X0 and ARC Ref 2 in his system. The panel of judges (3 of us, not including the owner) all prefer the X0 slightly over the Ref 2. But we ended up voted for him to keep the Ref 2 because we felt that with some NOS tubes, it would probably outperform the X0. He was using one of the big Avalon speakers.

The point I am making is to steer away from Mark Levinson amps. (Except the 33 or the 33H)

FrankC

Krell FPB400CX.

I have heard the 2.4s with the V-1XE and the sound is great. I preferred the Ayre amp to both the 350.5 and the 600 monoblocks with my 7.2s. However it didnt have enough power for my Thiels.
It does have enough for the 2.4s.
I have heard several amps with your speakers and the Ayre was my favorite.
All that said, when I put Krell FPB amps with my 7.2s I was done looking for amps. I would think the same would be with your Thiels. (although I have not heard them together)