mapman - Your Bel Canto integrated should be fine. It's rated at 60 watts @ 8 ohms, but double to 120 watts @ 4 ohms...always a good sign of a well-engineered amplifier. More importantly, it's able to deliver 30 amperes of peak current, so it should be able to handle most any Thiel quite well, even the notoriously demanding 3.6's & 3.7's.
Bel Canto's amplification products typically measure much better than they rate them, so you may be well surprised at how loud you can make the Thiels play. Again, just be mindful that the woofers, mid-bass & tweeters are handling a wider range of frequencies than usual due to the First-Order crossovers, so blowing a driver is a concern if you ever move on to something with 300+ watts. At 120, you should be fine...
What I've found is that, while they instantly captivate & amaze at lower & moderate listening volumes, the Thiels really "clear their throats" as you start going past 12:00 on the volume knob. They LOVE to sing with some real volume being applied. It sometimes becomes a bit "uncomfortable" listening this loud, but it's astonishing how easy & detailed the presentation is at these sound levels. Amazing speakers...
My wife wasn't exactly thrilled when I moved from stand-mount monitors (Martin Logan LX-16's w/Dynamo 300 sub) to the full-range 3.5's, but she appreciated the fact that the wood & cabinetry was much more "high-end", looking more like furniture than electronic equipment. Also, as my Thiels are truly full-range, I was able to ditch the sub as well, which resulted in a much more cohesive sounding system (the Thiels seem to play lower than the ML system ever did with the sub!) One less box in the room made my wife happy.
Please keep us updated as you search for that perfect pair!
