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Thiel speakers--can you power them with reciever?

Or do they really need a separate amp?

I am getting the bug to make a speaker change(for my front L/R speakers), and from what I read, it seems like a used set of Thiels may be up my alley in terms of sound characteristics.

But, looking at their rated specs, they are rated at 4 ohms, with a minimum of 3 ohms, and have fairly low sensitivity at 87Db.

I'm also looking at used Vandersteen, Eggleston, Merlin. It seems like most of these have similar ratings to the Thiels.

Any thoughts? I am currently running my 5.1 system off a 130wpc receiver, but I do have a 5 channel power amp I could use. The receiver is not known for having much output into 4 ohm loads.
mtrot

Showing 1 response by hevac1

hevac1
812 posts
 
What model Thiel are you thinking about?

If you are talking about anything model6 and higher you will need LOTS and LOTS of power and be able to handle 2 ohm loads and maybe lower.

A friend of mine has Thiel model 7s amd his new Moon W-7M 500 watt amps had to be modified by Simaudio to handle the load at loud volumes.

Thiels I think were not intended to be used with a receiver and I also agree with Mitch4t.
THX has nothing to do with weather you can handle Thiels, you will need real transformer power not chip power.
Most speakers built today do not have the constant loads Thiels have, we use Subs more now for that kind of bass.

Thiels are great speakers but are hard to power and give justice to with just any amp.
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