Build me a killer Rock/Metal Rig for 1K

I couldn't disagree with hifiguy more. I used to own the Thiel 3.5's and solid state gear is awful with these speakers. The Thiel's are bright! I also have always found the Parasound gear to be bright. If you want your ears to bleed then go that route. Right here at Audiogon in a Demo gear ad there is a AQ1003 for sale for $620. That is a great piece and you get it with a warrenty. They are big sounding tube watts and it can drive low impedance loads. Pick up a Sony SACD Crutchfield for$250, also new with warrenty. You're not going to get remote at this price but after buying the amp and CD player that leaves you about $100 for cabling. The guys selling the amp can help you there. The Thiel's really are beasts and the only way to tame them in my opinion is to use tubes. In your price range I don't think you can do better than the AQ1003.

The Jolida 1501RC is 100wpc SS amp with a tubed pre section - I don't know if that's enough to run those Theils? About $600.

NAD C541i CD player - $350-400.

There is a Hafler DH-500 (250wpc) right now on E-BAY for $349. Then you could build a Bottlehead Foreplay for $150, or some turn up built and used, usually tricked out for about $300.

It is tough to meet all of those specs at that price, but not impossible if you are patient.

I just went through a similar transformation.My speakers are Infinity RSIIIb's,spl 89 dbs same as your Theil's.
The Sony sacd from Cruchfield for 250 new in a no brainer.
For a preamp YS-Audio a Hong Kong manufacture ,sells their symphony tube model including shipping to your door for $400.00.It is a killer preamp.We compared it to a Cary $1600.unit,Counterpointe 5.1,Audio Innovation's,and Conrad Johnson's PV-5 it blew them all away.This may be the biggest give away in hi-end audio today.The construction,metal work,and sound are to die for.Good people too.
For the amp I suggest a used Golden Tube SE-40,these are available in great shape in the 400-500 range.It is rated at 40/ch, has 3-5881/channel.They look and sound like a $3000.00 amp.That is why in my opinion they went out of business.They lost money on ever one they made. This amp I feel is a steal a these prices.
Best of luck on your system.
Mike

Metal, eh? Sweeten the Thiel beast inside your cage, eh? Forget bright sounding solid state gear with Thiels, obviously. Can you tolerate neutral gear with the Thiels? If not this maybe ultimately the wrong speaker, IMO. But given your situation you'll have to make them work. So we need a lush solid state amp, then. A tube amp with the testicular fortitude you crave will be over your budget. But there is lush solid state to be had. The best example I've seen is an Audio Alchemy OM-150 amp. Figure $500-600 used for one with both external power supplies. You'll probably need both. Lush midrange and a bone crushing bottom end. Class A up to 15-20W, 150W into 8, 250-300W into 4 (depending on who you ask), stable into 2.

Parasound also has some powerful amps in this price range, and they're decent, but a little colored in their sound. I'd forget adcom and rotel for this task. I prefer 6550/KT88s for metal, and adcom is very much the opposite of that. You might also look at B&K. I think they have a Reference 2220 that isn't too bad. Not sure what it goes for used, but it's like $1k new, so it might be close to the Audio Alchemy. Other brands I liked metal on were Classe (CA201?) and a McCormack DNA. But those are probably too much, even used.

As for the preamp. You're not gonna find a remote control tube pre, and stay under budget. Especially after budgeting for a muscle amp. The matching audio alchemy pre amp (DLC) wasn't bad. ($125-250 used, depending on what power supply). Sort of transparent for the $$$. Personally I'd just get the amp first, and try a discman with volume control directly into the amp. See how you like it. That may be good enough.

After for the player. I'd be tempted to try a DVD player with volume control or even a discman. It depends on what you have on hand. That would someehat eliminate the need for a line stage preamp. If you're after SACD, your best bet is a Sony 500V or CE775 changer. Figure $100-200 depending on if you can find one. I haven't heard them, but they are reported to the somewhat warm sounding. So they shouldn't suck too bad. :-) but if you get one of those, you'll need a line stage for volume attenuation.

Feedback? (pun not intended).

David, I understand your wish list. Now let's get real. Some one on a tight budget should forget remote controlled tubes. To expensive to start with. An older model will probably need new tubes. That means more money. Most tube preamps have high output impedances which would restrict your choice of solid state amps with their usual low input impedance. The one exception that might fit into your budget is the McCormack amps, which by the way would accomodate a passive preamp as well. IMHO the McCormacks while rather smooth on top (important) and having good power below( also important) are a bit too forward for the Thiels. Though they would work very well only the big(read expensive)C-J solid state amps can handle the 4 Ohm load. I'm going to make some suggestions that may not fit all your criterion but I think will none the less work nicely together. These items are currently for sale on Audiogon: AMP Muse 100 2000 Special Edition (200 Watts into 4 OHms) at $625 OBO, PREAMP Audio Alchemy DLC (remote, 4 inputs, no tape loop or phono)$245 OBO, CD CAl Temperst MK III $225 OBO. I know that adds up to $1120. Remember that all these items are listed with OBO (or best offer). I think (hope) you can negotiate at least 10% off. There are some other choices out there as well. If you pay for shipping I'll send you free a pair of good condition Monster Power Line 2 speaker cables (I believe they were once Monster's top of the line). I think some body can offer you a good deal on some decent interconnects. Good luck.