Thiel Owners

@xyzsantabarbara, Yes, for a small room you can get away with less power. But, it’s at 2 Ohms where you need it. The 3.7’s don’t just visit that impedance, that’s where they live. What you don’t need is massive amounts of power at 8 Ohms; they don’t go there. Keep in mind that 2 Ohms loads are about 1/4 as sensitive as 8 Ohm loads. It’s all about what the amp can do in the actual working conditions at hand, all else is moot.

@unsound I hear you. I have very good sound now, I cannot stop listening. However, I think there is still another level I can get with more power. I sent Rory Rail at Benchmark an email asking about a second AHB2. I know 2 AHB2 and the CS3.7 has been discounted on this thread but I wanted to get confirmation from Benchmark before I close the door on that.

I forgot how fast the C3.7 sounds. Just an incredible speaker. I am incredibly happy I went with the CS3.7 over the newer speakers I had demoed and liked a lot. I love the CS3.7 sound, it just feels correct.

I did some online research and I found out that 1 AHB2 in stereo puts out 259 watts into 2 Ohms.  That is not too bad.

https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/speaker-efficiency-and-amplifier-power

Near the bottom in the section titled, " AHB2 OUTPUT VOLTAGE AND OUTPUT POWER"

They do not list any specs for mono mode at 2 Ohms.

I was not specifically pointing at the Benchmark. The Benchmark's are a somewhat unique, but perhaps not enough to be a clear exception. Most amps when bridged into mono don't like working into lower impedances. Benchmark does sort of dance around a 4 Ohm nominal recommendation when used in mono configuration. The 3.7's despite claims to the contrary are really below a 4 Ohm nominal load.  When taking the reduced sensitivity of 2 Ohms into consideration, it's 259 Watts 2 Ohm rating would comparable to about 65 Watts of power into 8 Ohms. That might be enough in a small room, but if you push it, it might lead to driver damaging clipping. Those 2 Ohm power ratings can often misleadingly appear to be providing tremendous power, but when one considers the reduced sensitivity it's really not all that much to work with.

Great info thanks. 

I will likely hear back from Benchmark that mono is not doable with the CS3.7. Your comments give even better reason to look at other options.