Thiel Owners

@tomthiel you are probably right… although the Copland, despite not doubling the power at half the impedance, it is a amplifier designed for tough loads.
From the Hifi-News review:

…the CSA70 is a distinct, standalone amp in the range, capable of delivering 2x90W/8ohm and 2x140W/4ohm with sufficient headroom to sustain peaks of 110W, 206W, 352W and a full 475W (21.8A) into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads, respectively [see Graph 1, below]. Add to this fine load tolerance a usefully low 0.01-0.07ohm output impedance and response that's flat to –0.3dB from 1Hz-20kHz (and –1.9dB/100kHz). 

Also the LRS+ are quite demanding, very evident after some listening test with very capable amps, but the Copland finally showed a very firm grip and sure footed performance.

But in the end it was the Kinki Studio combo that revealed everything (!) about the CS.5 capabilities. 
One question: what kind of speaker cable is recommended for the Thiels?

Thanks for the instruction on the Copland. What do you suppose accounts for the Kinki Studio superiority with Thiels?

@johnnotkathi,

 Take this with a grain of salt.

Jim Thiel thought Class D amps were only suitable for sub-woofer duty. But a lot of progress has been made with Class D since Jim's passing. 

I haven't experienced these for myself.

Before considering those older amps that might need to refreshed with new caps, etc., which if you don't have the where with all to do yourself could end up costing as much as the current purchase prices..

FWIW, I would consider the offerings from:

Buckeye Amps

Though there is a 10% restocking fee for non-faulty returns, I think these might actually be better performing with less risk for less money.

Buckeye, VTV and a bunch of other businesses merely integrate stock Hypex modules (or ICEPower, Pascal, etc.) into enclosures, add connectors, etc.

Typically those modules are powered by their own onboard switching-mode power supplies, which are notoriously noisy.

They’re not terrible amps and they may work very well in applications like home theater, but you can’t expect to substitute them for proper class A or A/B amplification and hear no differences.

FWIW, the SINAD measurements would suggest otherwise. Not all switch-mode power supplies are the same. At the $1K (and perhaps even more) is a compelling consideration.