Thiel Owners

In addition,  according to Paul at PS Audio,  not only do mono blocks let you play louder,  the sound quality is substantially increased with greater definition and a larger sound stage.

Unsound, you probably know that the xo is a parallel design and each section is wired to the binding post. To bi amp is only a minor modification.

Hello all & Thank You so much for the incredible input!  

Looks like my initial thoughts of increased performance are seconded by you all, while my fear of potentially damaging my Thiels was not as big of an issue as I thought.

I will definitely keep you up to date on how adding the second amp goes.  Right now, I’m waiting hear back from ARC to see if they can take both amps and “refresh” them so that they are as close to each other in terms of measurements and sonics as possible.

If I may, a question regarding the Bass EQ:  How noticeable should the audible difference between the two EQ settings be? The reason I ask is that while I can definitely hear the difference in my system with the EQ in place than without it (I went about 2 months sans EQ while it was being service by Rob at CS), the difference I hear between the two settings is much less noticeable to me, if at all.

Again, Thank You all for the great help!

Arvin

Unsound - my apology. Indeed adding an amp and cables is a huge expense. My thought is with used market prices such an upgrade has potential to raise the performance level of the 5i a lot. And more to the point, the CS5i's difficult load practically limits its performance to where it rarely sings. Jim used a Krell FPB-600 - and it sounded beautiful. But doubling your existing favorite amp might be an attractive alternative to finding that Krell or other beast to drive them. Most amps buckle under the load.

You have a point that feeding only the woofer with the eq can cause a delay in the signal and should be avoided. For the bass, a slight delay may not be as critical as it would be for the mid and high.