Thiel Owners

Jon, I accept your perspective. The doubling itself is less important than is having the required power at 2 ohms. So, the most important factor is how well the amp performs at 2 ohms, which is the critical impedance of Thiel designs.

That said, there are some matters of subtlety. When an amp is depleting its powersupply and therefore recharging capacitors in real musical time, the signal waveforms lose their integrity. Much of that "wow" factor that thrills Thiel owners comes from that very wavefront integrity.

Ron, that PS amp is highly likely to do what you need.
TM, I don't have such a list, being out of the loop for a long time. The amps that Jim used all did it. Big Krell, Levinson, I don't remember what else. The amp I use is a pair of Classé DR9s at Stereo: 100, 200, 400 and Mono: 400, 800 and 1200 watts per channel. I notice real improvement from one amp to two, and the one amp has 400 wpc into 2 ohms. My room is not huge and I listen at moderate levels. My main point is that many of the criticisms leveled at Thiel speakers are attributable to inadequate power and/or cable interactions. In manufacturing circles it is impolite to call out such perspectives. But, source signal integrity is a huge part of the picture.

I'll also note that global negative feedback messes with phase integrity. One reason Ayre products sound so good on Thiel is that they both maintain phase integrity to a high degree.

I would enjoy seeing the amp list that you guys might put together.  

Tomthiel...

Compared to most folks I’d offer that my listening level is VERY conservative 99% of the time. When pressed on occasion to show off how good my Thiels were I could be convinced to crank up the juice but...then I’d immediately direct their attention to the sonics, not the volume. The very thing that got me hooked on Thiel at the get-go. 

I have a very bright living room.  Laminate floor with a small carpet, a ceiling that starts at 9 foot on the left, sloping up and to the right until it tops at 17 feet.  I sit around 10 feet from the speakers.  (Sat, to be more specific. My current situation forced to me sell off my stuff to meet medical obligations and associated misfortunes.). Temporary though this may be, my current setup is simply a Peachtree Audio Deepblue2 and an Oppo disc player.  

This is will shortly develop into an equally simple setup in the guise of a re-gifting from my girlfriend.  I had given her a Marantz 2252b receiver a few years ago along with a small pair of Usher S520 bookshelves which we utilized in her master bedroom. A true “high school” hifi setup indeed!

When I am able to begin the rebuild it’s going to start with Thiel.  I’ll be as patient as Jafant in finding a pair - and THAT’s patient if you’ve followed his search for amps to power his 2.4’s with.  Patient!

OK, i have finally read this entire thread and have learned a ton.  Big thanks to jafant for the initial "I just scored...", and the handful of regular contributors, you know who you are and what you've added.  And of course tomtheil, wow, all the insight!  Being new at this, I can't contribute much other than questions, and of course, as requested, some favorite tracks.  Reading through the thread prompted me to pull up many that I had yet to play on my new set-up (James Taylor, Dave Brubeck, Everything But the Girl, Fleetwood Mac, and more), and helped me find a couple new artists (Kim Richey, Bill Frissel) so thanks! 

Here are some recent tracks I currently have in heavy rotation - "Shark Smile" and "Mythological Beauty" by Big Thief;  "I'll Still Destroy You," "Carin at the Liguor Store," and "Dark Side of the Gym" by The National; "Scrimshaw" and "Last Rose" by Anna Meredith; "Bodys" by Car Seat Headrest; older favorites that keep getting played are First Aid Kit and Spoon's album "They Want My Soul."

Ob, Used gear offers great opportunity, with some cautions. Most gear, including Thiel speakers use electrolytic capacitors. Even very high quality E caps have a projected life of 25 to 40 years. Rob says he has never seen a Thiel outright cap failure, but nonetheless, their performance deteriorates with time, causing migration of crossover points and slopes, or a vast array of parameters in amps. Some old gear becomes non-inspiring due to this performance deterioration. So, you might pick up used, under-performing gear on the cheap and have it re-capped for like-new performance, or upgraded for better than new performance.

In your room, you might consider Conrad-Johnson or other tube gear. Pay attention to its damping factor and bass management. Tubes can be very sweet.
 
Best of luck with your system rebuilding.