Does a Class D amp match well with Thiel Speakers?

Just wanted to say how much I appreciated (and agree with) Dob's extended explanation of what he is looking for in music and in audio technology. I'm off to listen to Itzhak Perlman this evening, and I certainly hope I don't find myself analyzing the sound stage or the detail I'm hearing, both because he is a wonderful musician, and because it will be live, so what I hear is what there is.

I'm reminded of a chamber concert I went to a couple of months back at a local church. My wife and I were sitting about 5th row, the quartet was up on the "stage." I remember at one point thinking that I couldn't locate the instruments with pin-point accuracy, there wasn't a lot of depth to the soundstage and ... I remembered this was a live performance, not me sitting at a dealer evaluating equipment. Whatever I was hearing was what the musicians were doing, even if it didn't fit the vocabulary that is typically used when reviewing audio equipment. So of course I said "stop this, enjoy the music" and I did. Reminds me of a separate thread somewhere which made the point that when we listen to audio at home, we're listening to microphone placement and equalization and equipment, lots of stuff which isn't really the music or performance itself, so we develop a vocabulary to fit, which again isn't the vocabulary that would be appropriate for the performance itself. Which I believe is exactly what Dob said very well in his post.

I don't think using live music as an example is any kind of valid argument against detail or any other aspect of good sound in home audio.

Yes, live performances are the benchmark that many of us strive to achieve at home.

Detail and all the rest DONE WELL helps achieve that. It's not done in opposition to that goal.

And if someone decides to do what they do for other reasons, more power to them. As long as they enjoy the results.

There really is not a substantive audio correlation between listening to live music and listening to music being reproduced on a high end system. Thus, they are both 2 entirely different musical experiences without being right or wrong regardless of how well both are executed. However, I still want to hear (if possible) much detail in a live setting as opposed to just a wall of sound.

Does anybody like the preamplifier BAT VK-42SE?

Mapman, Tommy: I was not trying to create an opposition between listening to live music and listening to audio. Nor was I arguing against detail, "air," sound staging, or any of the other terms we use when evaluating an audio system. But what I was trying to say is that what I value most about my system, i.e. the moments which I wish would occur more often, are those when I'm listening at home, and rather than being conscious of the detail, etc., I suddenly sit up a little straighter because for a moment (usually with solo voices) it sounds like the singer is actually in my room, and I go "wow, that's amazing." So in fact I'm agreeing 100% with Mapman when he says that detail and the rest, done well, achieve a bit of that benchmark of the live performance; I'm just happier when they are working their magic at a sort of subconscious level. And I haven't forgotten where this thread began, with a question about class-D amps and Thiels. As I said in my first posting, my combination of class D ARC amp and tube ARC pre, with Maggies (since I have no experience with Thiels) does, on occasion, provide that little bit of that magic; it is very possible that other combinations may provide that magic even more consistently.

From the subconscious perspective of listening to music, I concur and should not be a homework assignment. With certitude, I like the 'let the music flow' attitude while immersing in the audio delight experience. Indeed, I appreciate the feedback about the Class D ARC amplifier with difficult to drive speakers as it is working well for you. Conversely, most audio dealers do not want to embrace Class D (assuming because most do not sell the product). With all sincerity, a good audio amplifier should not be designated to 1 particular class, especially in the year 2011! Oh, by the way, we all are getting just a bit older than yesterday and think where high end audio will be in 2050 and beyond. Will Audiogon still exist or will it be......gone.