Basic question about impedance and watts

they did come with the bass EQ that you mentioned, and it does plug into AC. when i hook it up, a hum/static comes out of both speakers. i got a little bit of a deal because of this, hoping that thiel could fix the unit at a reasonable cost. i've only heard great things about their service, even if the 10 year warranty is up. we'll see!
anyway, i will call them tomorrow and ask about the eq and their power recommendtion.

if amp produces 50W to 8Ohms than to 4 ohms it should double the output current or have a transformer's secondary coil stable to 4 Ohms.
Not neccessarily the wattage will double. The output power is rather dictated by peak capabilities of the output devices.

I've heard great things about Thiel's service as well. Good luck to you!

1-you should get as much wattage as you can afford. Thiels will suck your amp dry. Don't get me wrong, I love thiels. However, anyone buying that level of speaker must match it with an equal amp.
2-a little help with wattage:
Doubling the power will get you a 3db gain
Every 10db will double the perceived listening volume
Therefore, a 94db speaker, 8ohms, will produce about 110db at 50watts. An 87db speaker will require about 150 watts to get the same volume.

Ketchup,
model CS3.5
Bandwidth (-3dB) 20Hz-22KHz
Amplitude Response 23Hz-20KHz +/- 2 dB
Phase Response minimum +/- 10 dgrees
Time Response minimum +/- 50uS
Sensitivity 89dB @ 1 watt-meter
Impedance 4 ohms
Recommended Power 50-250 watts
Size 33 X 33 X 107 cm
Weight 77 pounds

When I questioned Jim Thiel about the power recommendations he said that they were given with high quality (amps that could "double down") solid state (standard 8 Ohm) power ratings in mind, and that as such one should double those ratings if they chose to use tubes. Your power requirements will depend on your listening room and desired volume. Bottom line, the absolute minimum amp should be capable of providing 100 watts into 4 Ohms. IMHO you would be best served using a quality (quatliy is the operative word) amp capable of at least 200 watts into 4 Ohms. Plato is right on with regard to the equalizer!
BTW, Thiel recommended a least 1 foot from a rear wall, 3 feet from the side walls, and 8 feet from the listener, set up in an equilateral triangle as a start. Thiel also suggested that 3 feet from the back wall, 5 feet from the side walls, and 10 feet from the listener would be preferable.
Thiel also suggested quality cables tightly connected.
Thiel's customer service is second to none!
Good luck.