Vintage Amps for Thiel 1.5

I have a sub low-passed at 50hz, so they pick up around where the Thiel's leave off. I don't want to mess with their phase with bass management. If I can get more punch with a better amp, I may skip the sub.

Thanks for the recommendations!

I want to stay solid state, so I'll keep a lookout for Pass and Bryston. Would a Bryston 2b be good enough? Those seem to be in my price range.

I did a little more research and learned that Jim Thiel used Bryston amps when building and exhibiting his speakers. So even if there are more exotic or euphonic amps available, I think a Bryston 3B would be a safe pairing.

Would it be worth it to spend a little more for a 3B-ST, or is the older 3B close enough in sound?

Ok an update:

I did a little more reading on McCormack, Bryston, and Pass, and dug up the service manual of my Sony just out of curiosity to see how their designs compare.

The Sony service manual has more detailed specs than I had seen elsewhere and, as it turns out, my TA-1150 can actually put out 55w into 4 ohms when using one channel at a time, as I do. And it appears it was ahead of its time circuit design-wise. The specs are actually stellar by mid 70's standards, some even by today's standards. Signal to noise = 110dB! Damping factor = 100! Distortion better than McIntosh of the time.

So I decided to give my amp another sniff before throwing it out with last week's vegetables. I noticed the power amp input impedance is the same as the preamp aux input impedance, so I connected my DAC directly to the power amp section and switched it to separate. Lo and behold the dynamics are now excellent. Startling. Bass has more speed and power and treble sounds a little more smooth and precise. Imaging was already great but is now remarkable--glass removed from the window.

I am still using the sub, but I tried switching it off and I didn't lose any punch, just sub bass extension. I could live without it. 

I'm going to guess the filter caps in my preamp need replacing. Makes sense considering their age. 

I'll keep tabs on those other amps on here and Ebay in case any rare deals pop up, but for now I think I can live with running my DAC direct into the power amp, and switching back to integrated when I want to use the phono input. This sounds good enough that I want to get on with it and listen to music.

Listening now to the Evergreen Club Gamelan: Road to Ubud. I've performed in different gamelan ensembles for years and this is what it sounds like when you're there. Stunning.