As a long time Thiel owner, I concur with the previous reponses. You'll cheat yourself and never know what the Thiels are capable of, if you cheap out on ampification. You might want a giant dog, but if you can't afford to feed that kind of puppy, you'll never truly get what you want.
Reciever Questions. Thiels.
I have a set of Thiel 3.5 speakers. They are currently hooked up to an old onkyo stereo reciever. They sound alright (but I'm sure not up to their potential). I am looking to use them as the fronts in a surround system, but I'm not sure what reciever to buy. I really can't afford much now, and I was wondering if a used NAD surroud reciever would be able to power them... and the surrounds for the time being. I would like to add a seperate amp to the fronts later. Or should I just buy a cheaper reciever like a HK, and a cheap amp first? Any opinions? I also have a set of Thiel 1.2s... would it even make sense to use them as rear speakers in ss setup? I might just use them in a different room. Any ideas on what to do? My budget is VERY limited... but I don't mind waiting to look for a good deal used equipment. Thanks.