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Best amp/ IC's to go with my Thiel 2.4SB's

Hello All,
It has been many years since I have joined in on the forums, sadly it was because I sold off all of my Ayre components, but fortunately I kept my Thiel speakers. 
As for the amp question I pretty much know the answer before asking, the Ayre V-5Xe. That is the amp I previously owned. But just like before I am at the crossroads of do I go with an Integrated or a stand-alone two-channel. Before I started with the BAT VK-300x SE, Ayre A7-Xe, and finally the Krell KAV-400xi. The Krell out of the three Integrated s performed the best as I was completely surprised at it's power output and ability to drive the Thiels. Then when finances allowed I purchased the V-5xe and the Ayre K-5Xe pre-amp. I have a shot at another V-5Xe, except this one is Black (originally a $250 up-charge) for $2,750 from the original owner.
My second question is at the time I went with AudioQuest Cheetah XLR IC's they were second from the top at the time. I always like the neutrality of AQ's when it came to their sonic footprint. But after working for 5 years for a local company, which will remain unnamed. I found out what many people don't know and that is that all of AQ's cables are marked-up aprrox. 300% from what an employee would pay. Now to me I just won't pay that kind of money I would rather buy something used at half the price. With that being said since I was last in this game I see the Siltech cables which from what I read are high quality and very neutral. Can anyone give me a fair comparison between AQ and Siltech .
Finally, I am trying to decide if I should go with an Integrated first. The only reason I am even considering this is because I have found a very clean Ayre K-5e pre-amp but to be up to date it would be $1,200 to send it back to Ayre to have it brought up to the present K-5 xeMP pre-amp that sells new for $5k. I am looking a a 5 month old Music Fidelity M5si, they are asking $1,500 but is accepting offers, I figure $1,250. It being rated at 150 W @ 8 Ohms and only puts out 265 W per channel @ 4 Ohms.
Sorry for the long thread but I greatly appreciate your input.
Thanks,
David
f1wheels
beetlemania
834 posts
 
I assume you mean "SE"? Never heard of the CS2.4 SB.

Most differences are cosmetic: veneer and finish, stainless steel outrigger spikes and driver screws, laser-etched binding post plate. The *only* sonic upgrade was Clarity SA caps on the coax feed. That’s it. You can read about it at Ultra Audio and EnjoyTheMusic.

IOW, the drivers are identical. There is nothing to upgrade there. Rob Gillum can repair them if need be, and he has the Clarity SAs if you want to upgrade from the stock Solens. But I would wait to see what Tom Thiel comes up with. I think he’ll have an upgrade path that will handily surpass the two Clarity SAs.
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,602 posts
 
Very nice system! f1wheels.

beetlemania is spot on with his advice. I can attest that if you get an opportunity to buy AQ Volcano speaker cabling- do it!
Otherwise, your gear/cabling selection is perfect.

Happy Listening!
f1wheels OP
22 posts
 
Right now I still have the Mont Blanc speaker cable from my old system and liked it very much. I don't see any reason for changing it out I am going to have to spend enough money on IC's just as it is.
David
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,602 posts
 

f1wheels


I like the AQ Sky IC -RCA or XLR. It is outstanding.

Happy Listening!

cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
If you're going to consider pass, I would call them and ask for a recommendation. I used an xa30.5 on mine, which was much better than a 250.5. At the time I was warned by pass that the 250.5 would be "a little bright" with the 2.4s, and that was true. The xa series lost that brightness and felt more natural to me. With the new lines, I'd ask for their recommendations. They don't care if you're buying used.
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