2. amps-preamps
  3. 1352437950

I've been gifted a pair of Thiel CS2s

So, I'm starting with the speakers first. :D

They'll more than likely be sitting in an 10' x 8' x 9' (height) room, which hopefully is big enough for them.

Since, as I understand Thiels crave a lot of power,
I'm looking at amps that will double down to 4ohms.

My budget is probably about $1000 for both the amp (or integrated amp and a pre-amp.

I'm currently looking at Aragon 4004.
I'm wondering if this will be "too much" power,
as I live in a condo and it seems a number of sellers are selling the high power amps because they are downsizing.

Anyhow, what would be a good matching pre-amp for the Aragon 4004, in the $500 range?

I've also considered:
< $500 amps: Acurus, Anthem MCA2.

$500-$750:
Rotel RB-1080, PS Audio HCA2, McCormack DNA 0.5, Anthem MCA2 (here as well)

$750-$1000:
Bryston 4B (but it sounds like the ST or SST would be better, but more costly), Conrad Johnson MF-2200, McCormack DNA-125.

I've been reading a lot and learning some.

All opinions welcome.

Thanks,
Mike
mrfarnham

Showing 2 responses by rcprince

rcprince
3,085 posts
 
When I first got into this hobby, it was listening to a pair of Thiel CS2s. I think they will probably work OK in your room, and I think the Aragon would work fine with them--I heard them with that amp, an NAD 2200 and a Rotel amp. The better the amp, the better they will sound (my CS3's sounded really good with a Krell KSA 50 Mk II), and in a room your size I don't think that you need huge amounts of power. I have never heard the CS2s with tube amps, but I did hear 3.5s with them (a CJ Premiere amp) and they were beautiful, so you might not completely rule out a tube amp or integrated. If you do go with the Aragon (and you could get the 2004 as well, if you find one, as I don't think you'll need all the power of the 4004 in that room), the Aragon preamp, the 24K, I think, would be a good match.
rcprince
3,085 posts
 
Newbee and Chuck are right. I had thought your room was larger than it actually is. You are supposed to sit a fair distance from the Thiels for them to sound their best, and while they don't go much below 40Hz in frequency response that's still a good deal of bass for a smallish room. Experimenting as Newbee suggests is a good idea. I like the Thiels, and in the right room they're pretty good speakers, but they might not work at their best in your current room.
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