First of all, thanks for your inputs. I found and purchased a set of Bryston 7B ST's at a relatively good price. I plan on sending them to Bryston for a checkup and/or repairs, if needed.
I'm now looking for a preamp to go with them. I'm also looking to get a CD player, a turntable and, maybe, a music server. My dilemma is whether to focus on my 2-channel setup, and then improve on the video portion later or to simply buy an A/V controller at the outset.
Another thing, why are preamps so expensive?
In short, what preamp do you recommend? |
Out of the amps you mentioned I would go for the 352 but it depends on what kind of sound you prefer. |
Get the Bryston amp(s)
or the Sanders Magtech amp.
Either will drive almost everything you throw at it, with great headroom, power, finesse, detailed everything, nice bass ,
the other brands ur paying for.a name, the Mac stuff is great, but if we’re. My money, I would probably lean towards the Sanders Sound Magtech.
Side note, no such thing as overpower.
the results are stellar, I have 650W feeding my speakers rated at 250W. The no strain, breakup of music, and wicked fast with a tube like sound.
I’m happy.
Power you need. Just watch the volume knob.
Happy metal! |
I have the Krell K300i with Monitor Audio Platinum PL300 ii and love the sound. |
@w-j The 7B-SST is not the same as the 7B-SST2. In your earlier post I was under the impression that you wanted to get the 7B-SST not the Squared. The SST line is a bit harsh on top compared to the SST2 and SST3.
I find the Bryston gear, even the cubed, a little strong on top. For some speakers, that is not a problem. For your Thiel it could be. Even though my CS3.7 is not harsh on top I would not want the Bryston gear on it. I have owned a lot of Bryston back in the day. I owned 3B-ST, 4B-ST, PowerPac 300, 4B-SST, 7B-SST. I ended up with a very warm BAT VK-42SE preamp to tame the amp harshness. I used my 7B-SST with my Thiel SCS4 because that was the only amp I had left. It was previously powering Revel Salon1.
I just traded-in my less than a year old D-Sonic M3s 800s stereo amp (tons of power and good at 2 Ohm) for the Voyager. I can highly recommend the D-Sonic Class D Pascal module amp for Thiel’s. I was using it periodically with mine and it was very good. It has a bit of warmth on top. If you are interested in my old amp give Walter at UnderwoodhiFi.com a call. Brand new that amp is $1500.
The Voyager is not harsh at all. It is rather exciting, detailed, and powerful and NON-FATIGING. It is better than my old 7B-SST in all those attributes. I do not have mine broken-in yet but at 60 hours on it I like it a lot and can see myself using it long term.
A used CODA #8 amp is another great amp for Thiel. Is is very pleasant, detailed, and powerful (I have one). An integrated amp that I have used on the Thiel that is the smoothest of all the amps I tried is the KRELL 300i. It also has the most bass with Thiel CS3.7. The first 90 watts of the KRELL is Class A. KRELL has a whole line of separate amps in the XD line that are like my integrated. You may want to consider them for your Thiel.
I get the K-300i back from KRELL on Monday, hopefully FedEx can manage to do that. If the less than 1 year old integrated is in perfect shape and performance I will sell it. |
Thanks for your suggestions; keep them coming. I must admit though, that I'm a bit surprised at some of them. Before buying my speakers, I did a lot of readings about them, mostly here. And I read a lot of amplifier reviews on Stereophile (which somehow fueled my bias toward the behemoth amps). One thing that would come up about the thiels was how hard they are to drive and that their impedance would drop down to, and remain at, 2 ohms. So, I thought that nothing but Class A or Class AB amps would do. As you can see from my original post, I've only been considering high power behemoths. So I'm surprised that some of you are using Class D amps to power yours. As suggested, I have been researching the LSA Voyager 350 GAN amps. More surprising is that the LSA Voyager is said to be nicer than the Bryston 7B SST.
@yyzsantabarbara, it would be much appreciated if you could elaborate on why and how you find them to be nicer, because I'm seriously considering a pair of used 7B SST2's.
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if you want an amp that u can upgrade speakers to, and never worry about impedance, or anything else, get the Sanders Sound Magtech amp.
the last amp you will ever need!! |
@thosb The Benchmark AHB2 is what Tom Thiel uses with his Thiel, not sure which model. I used the AHB2 in stereo and mono with the Thiel CS3.7. The AHB2 is my all-time fav amp. I still have them. However, on my CS3.7 and the 2 Ohm dips the AHB2 was not ideal to bring out the very best in the CS3.7. The AHB2 are also not going to hide any brightness if it exists anywhere in the system The CS3.7 ae not bright.
Your speakers many not play in the 2 Ohm region so they could be OK. However, there are certain speakers I would not use with the AHB2 even if the power specs matched. Such as a Paradigm Persona, TAD ME-1, or bright sounding speakers.
After now close to 60 hours of break in on the Voyager I have decided to use it on my Thiel CS3.7 and use the excellent CODA #8 on my RAAL SR1a headphones. Both would be great on your Thiel.
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And am now adding the LSA Voyager to the list. |
I have the same speakers, and on my list of amps to consider are Ayre, Parasound A21 or 21+, and Benchmark (if I recall Tom Thiel uses these as a reference for his Thiel hot rodding projects). Currently I run a Krell 350il coupled with a tube preamp and it sounds pretty darn good for the price, more musically immersive is a BAT VK55 so do consider tubes as well! BTW I hate it when posters add to the list of options rather than help narrow it down, so my apologies for doing this to you! |
+1 fuzztone - Never too much only to little.
+1 for Bryston, you need to compare. |
Bryston monos’ and don’t look back!
those are top tier amplifiers, and will last you longer than those other brands!
Bryston!
end of thread! |
It's been a while since I auditioned Thiel speakers and the one's I listened to may not have been the exact model you are looking to pair with an amplifier, but I remember how the highs produced by the one's I listened to were very detailed and with some of the amps at the showroom I did the audition at, to me they sounded a bit too bright. With the list of amps in your posting, I'd say the McIntosh is the one with the smoothest high end.
As for amplifier power output, I agree with what has been stated here, you can't have too much, but you certainly can have not enough. |
fuzztone, I thought that until I herd a stack of Emotiva amps powering a set of VERY rare Strathearn speakers. I’ve NEVER herd anything sound that bad, when I knew it could sound so good. :-)
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I’m with E, Parasound for the money and the SQ.
It’s not that I’m not a fan of Bryston, I’m just not that familiar with it.
Mac SS is by the unit, there is no house sound with Mac SS power amps.
Add the wrong preamp, syrup comes to mind. Get the right preamp it’s a great amp.
ML, been there done that.. They always left me with more questions than answers. They could make a large panel sound so good and yet a small planar system you want to claw your own eyes and ears out.. Weird!
Regards |
No such thing as over power, only under. |
w-j
Feel free to join Us over on the Thiel Owners thread. We have a few fans and owners of the CS 2.3 on the Panel. You could not go wrong with any of the choices as above. It is a matter of Aural taste.
Happy Listening! |
I would go for the current model Krell amps. They are extremely smooth, but they are not high frequency monsters. The pairing with the Thiel (which can be harsh in the highs) is likely going to work very good.
The McIntosh may be another good choice as it is excellent, but mild and laid back in the mids and highs.
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Check out the new LSA Voyager 350 GAN amp for $3K. I am breaking it in with the Thiel CS3.7 and it sounds excellent. It is definitely nicer than my old Bryston 7B-SST. I had that on a Thiel SCS4 at one time years ago.
I had the Parasound A23 (not their best) with the Thiel SCS4 and it was nothing great. Too much warmth.
I have a KRELL K-300i and it is excellent with the Thiel CS3.7.
I liked the ML 585 integrated but never heard it with Thiel. Heard it with Magico A3.
Not a fan of MAC. |
If the Mark Levinson 331, has been serviced (good caps) up to date it will be great amp. Great detail at low volume. Good midrange and highs the bass will not be as good as some others, but it will not be bad. Very smooth sounding. |
I don't know any of those amps really, but for your speakers I'd go with Parasond in a heartbeat.
The point I think you should listen for is the high frequencies. Too much detail will make the speakers tire your ears out quickly.
Parasound is a more neutral and laid back presentation which won't add any more in that range. On the other hand, if you need more etching, McIntosh.
Best,
Erik
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You’ve got three very different amps there. What amp are you using now, and what improvements are you looking for? And what’s your budget?
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Bryston services every amp they have built. Customer service is one of the best in the industry. You can also go to Audio Circle forum and Bryston CEO James Tanner has an active thread. He'll answer any question you have. |
Thanks for your responses. Any advice on the Sonics? If you're familiar with them, how are they different from the Brystons? I have read that they can be used only in a parallel mode, not bridged. Any other differences? Will Bryston, the Company, service them? |
Look at PASS 350.8 a little better than those. |
The late Jim Thiel was a fan of Bryston amps. He used them at many of his demos. He also disliked McIntosh amps. My dealer who knew Jim Thiel for many years talked to him one time and told his he was using McIntosh amps. He was not pleased. |
