I owned the CS2 from 1988-2014. Honestly, never heard anything else, at any price, that made me want to "upgrade" until another Thiel model came through the door.
You can read more about my impression at https://coherentsource.wordpress.com/2016/11/05/thiel-audio-truth/
Anyway, the combo I used with them was an Audio Research SP9 Mk. II hybrid tube preamp and a Mark Levinson No.27 power amp. There seemed to be a lot of synergy with plenty of clean power. Never blew a single driver.
Really enjoyed these speakers.
Warren
You can read more about my impression at https://coherentsource.wordpress.com/2016/11/05/thiel-audio-truth/
Anyway, the combo I used with them was an Audio Research SP9 Mk. II hybrid tube preamp and a Mark Levinson No.27 power amp. There seemed to be a lot of synergy with plenty of clean power. Never blew a single driver.
Really enjoyed these speakers.
Warren