Thiel Owners

Has anyone had success driving their Thiels with Modwright KWA 100SE?  Dan's response via email struck me as honest but maybe conservative - he said "The Thiels are a high current speaker and difficult load. The 100SE can drive them, but not as well as a more powerful amp. A load like that might even trigger the amps over-current protection."  Which is too bad bc I really would love to hear this amp.

Currently greatly enjoying my setup of Sonic Frontier Line 1 -> BAT VK-55, which is only rated at 55 wpc but sounds exceptional until 92 dbs or so.  Also tried an NAD M22v1 which sounds too squeaky clean in general but is much better at higher volume levels.  

I have CS 2.3s btw and am still thinking about modifying the xovers as well.  

My two cents on room and speaker placement, just keep experimenting with placement and room treatment.  For me clearing the space between the speakers by moving rack to sidewall and using heavy draperies and/or diffusion on front wall made a big difference.

I had a Modwright KWA150SE driving my Thiel 3.7s at one point.  Many moons ago I owned 2.3s and 7.2s after that.  Before the Modwright amp, I had a bunch of Proceed amps (HPA) and Bryston amps (ST and SST series).  I now use a Class D amp (and had a couple of other Class Ds before the modded LSA Voyager I have now) and they all drove my 3.7s better and sounded better.  The 3.7s are a harder load than the 2.3s, but not as hard as driving my old 7.2s.  

As you noted, the room is very important.  Also the way one listens both the type of music and how loud they listens matters.  I can play my 3.7s loud with no issue.  I also have an integrated AV system and still use my Modwright LS36.5 DM preamp for music.  The 2.3s when pushed (do you have the originat tweeters - I believe eventually they had newer ones which were vented) can start to have a bit of harshness.  The 2.4s were a bit better (when my friend worked at a high end shop many moons ago, I did most of his deliveries and installs with him over about a 6 year period - I remember delivering a pair of 2.3s with him and the room was just an awful choice for those speakers - high all glass walls on 2 sides, a stone and glass fireplace across the way and a small wall in between the glass walls with a coffee table at an angle that was used for the components - could not wait to get out of there - hurt my ears).

cascadesphil

Thank You for addressing thosb query on the ModWright gear. I knew that we had a Modwright owner or 2 on the Panel. Class D is a different kind of Amp. Good to read that you are enjoying success with the LSA Voyager.

Happy Listening!

thosb

Thank You for citing Dan Wright's reply to your KWA 100 SE query. Did Dan talk about peak current in (A)mperes ?

Happy Listening!

cascadesphil

Do you recall the peak Amperes of the KWA 150SE ? This measurement or Slew Rate are strong indicators on the performance of a Power amp.

Happy Listening!