2. amps-preamps
  3. 1077868113

Good Amp/Preamp for "bright " Thiel 3.6 speakers ?

I have a pair of Thiel 3.6 speakers that I am quiet fond of. I bought them a few years ago after listening to them on some very expensive equipment at a stereo store. They have been great at home with clean tight bass and exceptional detail. I am finally ready to get a decent amp and preamp to compliment these speakers and I am looking for a recommendation.

The two things that I have learned about these speakers is that they are considered to be Bright and power hungrey. The minumum power required to drive these monsters is 250 watts. I personally would say that they are extremely revealing of any flaws in a system and not "bright". And when paired with the right equipment they are beautiful, clear, and present a remarkable soundstage which is what I love.

So what I am looking for is an Amp / Preamp combo that provides beautiful detail and imaging but no Brightness or Harshness. I need a combo that with amaze me with detail and presentation but will also let me listen for hours without exhausting my ears. The ultimate complement to these speakers.

I have browsed around this site for a few days and have stumbled across the following mainstream equipment but have not been able to make a decision about a single item let alone a pairing.

Bryston amp 4b-st 250w $1,100.00
Rotel amp rb-1090 380w $1,200.00
Krell amp kav-250a 250w $1,350.00
CJ amp mf-250 250w $1,750.00
Bryston amp 4b-sst 300w $1,800.00
Musical Fidelity amp a-308cr 250w $1,900.00
Krell amp kav-2250 250w $2,000.00
Musical Fidelity int nu-vista 300 300w $3,000.00
Musical Fidelity int tri-vista 300 350w $4,200.00
Krell int kav500i $1,700.00

Krell pre kav-280p $1,800.00
Krell pre kav-250p $800.00

I know there are other great pieces out there and I haven't really gotten a feel for the available preamps yet but the conrad johnson preamps have caught my eyes a few times.

I am hoping to spend less that $4000 total and would be happy if I could keep it under $3000.

I haven't decided on a cd player but may end up with a high quality DAC later. For now I just want to get the amp and preamp and then start auditioning cd players.

Thanks for any help you can give me.
montanarane
montanarane OP
8 posts
 
Amps I can afford that may drive my Thiel CS3.6 speakers:

Classe CA-301 300W ~$2200
Classe CA-300 300W ~$1700
Bryston 4B-SST 300W ~$1700
Conrad Johnson MF 240W ~$1800
Musical Fidelity A308CR 250W ~$1850
Krell KSA 300 300W ~$2500
Krell KSA 250 250W ~$2100

Of those amps I am getting the feeling that the Classe and CJ are probably going to work out well. It was nice to hear from people who are actually using this combination and are happy with it.

The other suggestions so far were either lower power than I want to try or too expensive.

I will try to audition some of the above equipment this weekend to get a feel for it.

Thanks for all your help and advice so far.

Montana Rane
ejliu
109 posts
 
I had a pair of Thiel 3.6 quite a while ago. Older Levinson 23.5, Levinson 332 or 333, Aragon 4004mk2, older Rowland all are excellent match.

I think Pass Aleph series would be a mistake. Single ended amp tend not to do well with low impedance speakers. At least that's my short experience with Pass Aleph 3. As soon as you hit a bass note and it's clipping.

Not sure about X series though.
acrylic
20 posts
 
I am enjoying tremendously the Classe combination with transparent wave 2 speaker cables. Can’t say enough about he cam200 with my 2.3's.
sroka004538e
4 posts
 
You should try out some Mac gear. I heard a set of Thiel CS 3.6's with a McIntosh MC352 power amp and C2200 (tube) preamp and to say the least I was blown away. Mac gear seems to work well with thiel as it is warmer sounding and eliminates the thiel's brightness. McIntosh gear is also the most unfatigueing equipment I have heard, it simply sounds like music and not hifi. I am in the process of putting this system together for myself. I have heard Mark Levinson, Classe, Bryston and many others and none of them as good as they are impressed me more then the Mac.
ckoffend
684 posts
 
Having owned Thiel speakers (2.2s not the 3.6s) my experience was that these speakers sounded very good with my Mark Levinson 331.5, this was with an Audio Aero Capitole running direct to the amp. I also found the Thiel speakers good with my Krell FPB 200 via a BAT VK 5i preamp. On the otherhand, I found that with my (long since sold) Theta Dreadnaught II I found these and all other speaker combinations completely unenjoyable for 2-channel performance. I kept this amp for 2 weeks and sold it, with my impression that it was the worst 2-channel performing amp I have ever owned. On a similar note, having owned several multi-channel amps, I have yet to find one that has done an admirable job in 2-channel operation. If you are combining a 2-channel and multi-channel system, get a two channel amp (or monos) for the main speakers, a 5 channel amp is fine for HT, but I have yet to hear one that is suitable for high quality 2-channel (after listening to many).
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