Well, with in your bugget I would suggest an Adcom 5800 series, or a a Bryston 4B, both are very musical and can be found used/new for a good price. Sorry about the previous, I guess I misunderstood what you were actually seeking, all be it, my buddy Bill has the same speaker as you do, and he is driving them with a 50wpc VTL tube amp. They sound nice but do not have the slam I prefer for such a large speaker.
power for Thiel 3.5's
People I trust have suggested many, I think I've narrowed it down to the following: c-j 2300/A, 2500/A and Threshold s 500 II. The TacT gear sure is interesting to me as well. I could replace the supplied equalizer with a more modern one that would boost in sympathy with my room. There would be little fear of pushing the speaker beyond it's limitations as they were designed from the get go for such treatment. The best amps I've heard on these speakers are the Krell KMA 160's. I think with an appropriate line stage they may be out of my budget. I'd like to stay +/- $2500 for both pieces, maybe $1500 for the amp and $1000 for the line stage? This may seem silly, but my asthetic sense would prefer gear that doesn't have extras I won't use such as bi-wiring and balanced ins and outs. I also would prefer something with out fans. The Thiel 3.5's use an active equalizer with RCA only inputs and out puts that boosts frequencies below 70 Hz by up to 12 db. The equalizers input impedance is 91k Ohms and output impedance is 130 Ohms. The speakers are quoted as having a 4 Ohm nominal and 4 Ohm minimum impedance. Independent testing has shown this to be fairly accurate, with a small peak between 8 and 10 Ohms at about 33 Hz. The speakers are rated as 89 db in sensitivity. I'm presently using a solid state c-j amp that is rated at 80 watts per channel into 8 Ohms. My current roomis 23.5' X 11.75' with a ceiling that peaks at 14'. I place the speakers along the long wall firing across the short wall. I find that at louder volumes the sound begins to get hard. I think more power is needed. I don't listen at ridiculously loud volumes, but, I do like to play at a scale of volume that is appropriate to the room vis a vis what I suspect was the original venue. In other words louder than most folks but not as loud as many audiophiles. In my opinion the few problems that these speakers exhibit is a little courseness in the treble compared to the best modern designs, a little softness in the region between bass and mid range, a slight percussive ringing in the lowest bass and some limitations in ultimate loudness. This may seem as though I don't like them, nothing could be further from the truth. I've tried to aquire an after market equalizer (golden flutes) that might have offered the chance to use balanced gear, but have not had any luck as yet. Any suggestions would be appreciated, especially if you can consider a matching line stage.
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- 17 posts total
- 17 posts total