Thiel Owners

@Jafant, sure an amp that doubles down from 8 to 4 Ohms is satisfactory enough for a speaker that operates within that load. For a speaker that operates below that, it’s a matter of physics and the necessary electrical engineering to navigate it. After that it’s a matter or taste. I’m not out to burst your bubble, after all the point of all of this is to seek joy. You believe what you want, spend your money as you see fit, but it’s hard to argue with the facts.

@thieliste, Depending on the specific models of course, I think the Krells are closer to the Gryphons than the Brystons. On the used market here in the US one could can get Krell separates that perform closer to the Gryphon separates for less than the price of a Gryphon integrated. Too often in this hobby brands become victims of their own previous success's. They lose the mystique of their elusive exclusivity, and undeservingly become shunned upon by the snobs.

@yyz,Glad to hear you are enjoying the 3.7s with the all Benchmark setup -- same as I have. Yes, the sound is wide open and glorious. I've never had the AHB2 clip light go on in my 18 x 18 room, even with full-on orchestral music. It's just not an issue running a single amp in stereo mode.

Great feedback. Some updates.

1) Rory at Benchmark forwarded my email to John Siau, the amp designer. He has the Thiel CS3.7 specs from Stereophile measurements linked in the email. He is out now but I hope to hear from him once he gets back.

2) I am trying to get my speaker measured again today to send to the Audio Engineer in Canada for the DRC. A lot of crazy stuff happening in the home front (like flooding, no babysitter, etc..) so I need to sneak in some time.

I will work with a dealer if I get the CODA as an alternative second amp. This dealer also has Krell. He said the new Krell XD is somewhat like the CODA but even warmer. Though for the cost differential it is a no brainer to get the CODA. As I mentioned before the power specs on the specific model I am referencing #8 is perfect for the CS3.7. There are 3 versions to choose from. This is set at the factory.

• 150 watt @ 8 Ohm (first 18 in Class A) | 300 @ 4  | 600 @ 2
• 250 watt @ 8 Ohm (first 12 in Class A) | 500 @ 4 | 1000 @ 2
  
• 350 watt @ 8 Ohm (first 8 in Class A) | 700 @ 4 | 1400 @ 2
  

The cost is under $6K with 10 year warranty. Another great American company like Benchmark and Thiel. CODA can also customize the speaker outputs for me, to use SpeakON so that flipping my SpeakON ended speaker cables would be a breeze. I would never need to unplug from the speaker end.

@tmsrdg Thanks for the follow-up. I thought of your earlier posts on the AHB2 with the CS3.7 and did decided not sell to fund a new CODA #8 because how much you liked it. I figured something was not right on my side and wanted to wait until at least the DRC work. Now it is really a great sound even without DRC. It is shocking actually the difference since the wring was fixed. I now know I have 1 of the 2 best speakers I have ever heard.

@thieliste
There is the meat to the sound of the all Benchmark stack. It is not the warmish meaty+ Luxman sound but a great sound nevertheless. Not saying one is better than the other. I love both.

I have been in the demo rooms of many show with Philip Hanlon of Luxman and now Gryphon fame. I do not think I need to spend at his cost of gear to get the best out of the CS3.7 but until I demo the Gryphon this is an assumption. I must say that I am not a fan of "fat on the meat" sound, just "lean meat on the bone" is fine. Luxman was one of the few that I liked that was tubey and warm sounding, but I did not want to cross that limit of meaty sound. Different strokes for different folks.

BTW - In December The Absolute Sound will do a review of the gear I have, maybe minus the AHB2. Which will be good for me to read how other amps work with my stack. 

@yyzsantabarbara, The latest Krell’s unlike most of the earlier Dan D’Agostino era separates models are no longer spec’d into 2 Ohms. The newest Krell’s like the original models have returned to forced fan cooling. Something I personally don’t care for. I’ll hazard an assumption that at 2 Ohms those Coda Class A specs can be reduced to 25% of their 8 Ohm Class A rating.