Thiel Owners

Hi Everyone,  Been awhile since i looked in here mainly because I didn't have a system up and didn't want to think about it. I now have a great room that i have claimed. Finally a dedicated Home Theater 2 channel room. I have everything but amps and wanted to get your opinion on the few i have found, my main concern is the front three which will also be my two channel set up, so there are a couple 3 channel amps and a few 5 channel amps that might work. 

1- Mark Levinson 533H  3ch by 300 8ohm 600 4 ohm
2- Krell TRIO 300   3 ch  300- 8ohm  600 -4ohm
3- Parasound Halo A-51 five ch This plays first 7 to 10 watts in pure A  250 -8ohm  500- 4ohm
4- Dan D'Agostino Master Power 3+  300- 8ohm  600- 4ohms                                                                                                   5-  McIntosh MC303 Three Channel  300w in all ohms                                                                                                     
These are what i can find used the other speakers are easy to find the same brand, except the Dan Dagostino that i would need to get another brand amp

I'm running 3.7 for 2 ch/left&right  Center MCS1  L&R rear cs1.7  4 atmos power point 1.2  and center surround power plane 1.2  4 SS2 subs

Anyone have any preference out of these 5 amps??  Any other suggestions?  I am so pumped to finally put this together.

Thank you 

Dan
                                                                                                                     

I have heard other variants of the brands you have listed. The KRELL and ML are the 2 I liked.

I had done some amps swaps with the Thiel 3.7 in the last 6 months and this maybe useful for you or others.

The best amp was the Benchmark AHB2 in stereo and mono. However, it was also the worst because it had less power in the 2 Ohm than the others I tested. So I loved the sound of it the most but it lacked that low grunt or power that the others possessed.

The next 2 were equally good
- KRELL K-300i integrated, very smooth and killer bass
- CODA CSib integrated, did everything well 

D-Sonic M3A 800s Class D ($1500)
- surprisingly good. Maybe not as refined on top but it showed me that tons of power are appreciated by the Thiel CS3.7

- I bought my final amp for the Thiel CS3.7 a few days ago. It is the CODA #8. I will get delivery in 4 weeks. I plan to rotate the CODA #8 with the Benchmark AHB2 (likely in stereo mode) with the CODA 07x preamp and the Benchmark HPA4 preamp. A very easy task and something I was already doing with the D-Sonic and a single AHB2. The CODA #8 replaces the D-Sonic. The CODA #8 is rated anywhere from 600 watts to 1200 watts at 2 Ohm depending on the version one buys (1, 2, or 3).

dancastagna

An incredible system in the making!

Those amp(s) are heavy hitters to be sure. You have a tough decision my Audiophile friend.  All Amp(s) are special in their own way. At this level of price-performance, take time to visit dealers/retailers to audition.

Of the considerations listed, I have only auditioned Mark Levinson and D'Agostino models.  Each were matched w/ corresponding pre-amps (same brand). Very musical and powerful. Endless current for driving a Thiel loudspeaker.

Over on Audio Asylum, John Ellison, drives his CS 3.7 with Parasound gear exclusively. Read up on his postings if interested.

I cannot comment on the Krell Trio 300. It certainly has the specs to drive a pair of CS 3.7 loudspeakers.  Keep me posted on your findings.

Happy Listening!

Dan - that is quite a system you’ve got going. I have no direct experience with your prospective amp models, but note that they all look great for current delivery and the brands pass the sniff test. But you knew that. Good work.
I have two general thoughts: power supply and the 1.7. I’ll address system power later.

I have observed that the CS1.7 may not be as advertised. Jim had his CS 1.7 nearly ready to go when he died, which then simmered behind the 2.7 in the last few years of Original Thiel outsourced product development. New Thiel changed the 1.7 design significantly, replacing Jim’s first order crossover with "high order" (probably 4th), and introducing a 2db/decade slope down from bass to treble - a standard PSB-type crossover. I also read that the tweeter sports a "new voice coil and re-designed motor". That sounds suspiciously like a normal overhung tweeter, again standard industry fare available from suppliers, whereas Thiel’s underhung drivers were made in-house. The underhung motor exhibits an order of magnitude less onset transient distortion and a completely symmetrical push-pull linearity - albeit at the expense of greater manufacturing cost, lower efficiency requiring a larger magnet, and greater hazard of burn-out due to voice coil geometry. I don’t know whether the woofer also opted for a "normal" motor rather than Jim’s design specialties. I have queried Rob for further insight. In the past he said to me of the 1.7 "It’s not Jim’s work".
The 1.7 caused a parting of ways for the first team of New Thiel which included Steve DeFuria, a long-time industry insider who had collaborated with Thiel over its entire life-span. Steve objected to New Thiel calling the 1.7 a "Coherent Source", the application of a house curve, and allowing reviewers to represent it as a first order, phase coherent transducer. Notice that Stereophile among others never reviewed the 1.7 - I’ve been told that they didn’t want to play New Thiel’s game. I am not disparaging the performance of the 1.7. I am told that by conventional standards applied to normal speakers that they have been called "more refined than previous Thiels".
Do any of you here in Thiel-land know how the CS1.7’s step response looks?

To correct the record: Rob says the 1.6 and 1.7 use the same moving system in the tweeter and the only difference is that the 1.7 has an additional bucking magnet.